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In-Cave Dye Tracing And Drainage Basin Divides In The Mammoth Cave Karst Aquifer, Kentucky, Chris Groves, Joe Meiman, Shannon Herstein

Chris Groves

Karst ground-water basin divides are generally depicted as two-dimensional lines on maps, but they are better considered as three-dimensional surfaces within the subsurface. Dye traces are necessary to map out these surfaces and to locate conduits inaccessible to cave surveyors, and are indispensable for understanding the geometry of the complex networks of flow paths through the aquifer. A key reason why the Mammoth Cave System is the world's longest known cave is that its passages extend over several major ground-water basins. The divides between these basins define the drainage system geometry and precise location of them is critical for understanding …