Earth Sciences Commons^™

Human Impact On Karst: The Example Of Lusaka (Zambia), Jo De Waele, Roberto Follesa

International Journal of Speleology

Lusaka, the capital of Zambia with over 2,000,000 inhabitants, is built on an extensive plateau composed mainly of schists and dolomitic marbles, constituting a very important aquifer that provides the city with almost half of its drinking water needs. Recent demographic growth, leading to uncontrolled urban expansion, and mismanagement of the water resource and of urban waste has lead, in the past 20 years, to an overexploitation of the aquifer and to a generalised water quality depletion, putting in serious danger the future social and economical development of the capital. This third world city has, for these reasons, become a …

Inventory Of Karst Springs Of Fayette County, Kentucky, James C. Currens, Qianhong Wu, Kenneth G. Pidgeon

Map and Chart--KGS

The purpose of this publication is to document karst springs in Fayette County and provide a resource to help the county's citizens avoid the geologic hazards associated with building near springs during future urban development. It may be used as an aid in locating potential groundwater discharge points in case of hazardous material spills, and to provide a foundation for future studies of the hydrogeology and karst geology of the Inner Bluegrass Region.

It is also a basic historical record of the springs of Fayette County. Although over 350 springs are reported here, this inventory is not exhaustive. At the …

Mapped Karst Groundwater Basins In The Lexington 30 X 60 Minute Quadrangle, James C. Currens, Randall L. Paylor, Joseph A. Ray

Map and Chart--KGS

This map shows karst groundwater basins in the Lexington quadrangle, determined primarily by groundwater tracer studies. It can be used to quickly identify the groundwater basins and springs to which a site may drain. Major springs and the relative size of their catchment areas can be evaluated for potential as water supplies. The map also serves as a geographic index to literature on karst groundwater in the area.

Kentucky Is Karst Country! What You Should Know About Sinkholes And Springs, James C. Currens

Information Circular--KGS

Kentucky is one of the most famous karst areas in the world. What is karst? It's a landscape with sinkholes, sinking streams, caves, and springs. Much of Kentucky's beautiful scenery, particularly in the Inner Bluegrass Region, is the result of the development of karst landscape. A large amount of Kentucky's prime farmland (including its famous horse farms) is underlain by karst, and springs and wells in karst areas supply water to thousands of homes. Many of Kentucky's major cities, including Frankfort, Louisville, Lexington, Lawrenceburg, Georgetown, Winchester, Paris, Versailles, Nicholasville, Fort Knox, Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, Munfordville, Russellville, Hopkinsville, …

Subsidence Hazards As A Consequence Of Dam, Reservoir And Tunnel Construction, Petar Milanovic

International Journal of Speleology

Considering all man-made structures in karst areas, dams, reservoirs and tunnels are the most vulnerable in relation to induced subsidence and caverns. Reservoirs that are located entirely or partially on karstified rocks covered with unconsolidated sediments are especially subsidence-prone. As a consequence of induced subsidence a number of reservoirs in karst areas failed and were never fully filled. Such subsidence formation is very damaging because the development is unpredictable and practically instantaneous. Reservoirs in karst areas may fail to fill despite an extensive site investigation programs and sealing treatment. Every problem is unique and past experiences are never repeated. This …

Karst Subsidence In South-Central Apulia, Southern Italy, Marco Delle Rose, Mario Parise

International Journal of Speleology

Subsidence in the karst of Apulia (Southern Italy), one of the classical karst areas of Italy, is described in this paper. The carbonate rocks that make up the geological structure of the Apulia region are affected by subsidence, which is of different type and intensity depending upon geological, topographical, and hydrogeological conditions. In particular, we discriminate between inland subsidence and coastal subsidence. Inland subsidence is generally restricted to the presence of individual cavities, either empty or partly or totally filled with deposits produced by dissolution of soluble rocks underground. Locally, such subsidence can cause severe effects on anthropogenic structures above. …

Generalized Block Diagram Of The Western Pennyroyal Karst, James C. Currens

Map and Chart--KGS

Karst occurs where limestone or other soluble bedrock is near the earth's surface, and fractures in the rock become enlarged when the rock dissolves. Sinkholes and sinking streams are two surface features that indicate karst development. In karst areas most rainfall sinks underground, resulting in fewer streams flowing on the surface than in non-karst settings. Instead of flowing on the surface, the water flows underground through caves, sometimes reemerging at karst windows, then sinks again to eventually discharge at a base-level spring along a major stream or at the top of an impermeable strata. The development of karst features is …

Generalized Block Diagram Of The Eastern Pennyroyal Karst, James C. Currens

Map and Chart--KGS

Karst occurs where limestone or other soluble bedrock is near the earth's surface, and fractures in the rock become enlarged when the rock dissolves. Sinkholes and sinking streams are two surface features that indicate karst development. In karst areas most rainfall sinks underground, resulting in fewer streams flowing on the surface than in non-caves, sometimes reemerging at karst windows, then sinks again to eventually discharge at a base-level spring along a major stream or at the top of an impermeable strata. The development of karst features is influenced by the type of soluble rock and how it has been broken …

Protect Kentucky's Karst Aquifers From Nonpoint-Source Pollution, James C. Currens

Map and Chart--KGS

No abstract provided.

Karst Occurrence In Kentucky, Randall L. Paylor, James C. Currens

Map and Chart--KGS

This map was compiled from a digital version of the 1:500,000-scale geologic map of Kentucky (Noger, M.C., comp., 1988, Geologic map of Kentucky: U.S. Geological Survey). The areas of potential karst development were delineated using stratigraphic units mapped on the geological map. The classification of the potential for karst development was based on the field experience of the authors and other data. A number of isolate carbonated unites that would not have otherwise been differentiated on the geologic map were newly digitized for this map.

Generalized Block Diagram Of The Pine Mountain Karst, James C. Currens

Map and Chart--KGS

Karst occurs where limestone or other soluble bedrock is near the earth's surface, and fractures in the rock become enlarged when the rock dissolves. Sinkholes and sinking streams are two surface features that indicate karst development. In karst areas most rainfall sinks underground, resulting in fewer streams flowing on the surface than in non-karst settings. Instead of flowing on the surface, the water flows underground through caves to eventually discharge at a base-level spring along a major stream or at the top of an impermeable strata. The development of karst features is influenced by the type of soluble rock and …

Exploring A Small Thrust Fault And Related Features On U.S. Highway 62/68, Near Maysville, Mason County, Kentucky, Paul Edwin Potter, John Grover, Gregory A. Schumacher

Map and Chart--KGS

One of the most unusual highway cuts in all of Kentucky is located approximately 395 ft (120 m) south of the high bridge that crosses Lawrence Creek on U.S. Highway 62/68, near Maysville, Mason County (see Figs. 1-2). The Carter coordinate location of the outcrop is 400 FSL x 900 FEL, 24-AA-69, which corresponds to 38°40'3" N latitude, 83°48'10" W longitude. The roadcut is approximately 1,315 ft (400 m) long, and rises in benches to a height of almost 110 ft (33 m). About 30 to 36 ft (9 to 11 m) of the Grant Lake Limestone is exposed at …

Generalized Block Diagram Of The Inner Bluegrass Karst, James C. Currens

Map and Chart--KGS

Karst occurs where limestone or other soluble bedrock is near the earth's surface, and fractures in the rock become enlarged when the rock dissolves. Sinkholes and sinking streams are two surface features that indicate karst development. In karst areas most rainfall sinks underground, resulting in fewer streams flowing on the surface than in non-karst settings. Instead of flowing on the surface, the water flows underground through caves, sometimes reemerging at karst windows, then sinks again to eventually discharge at a base-level spring along a major stream or at the top of an impermeable strata. The development of karst features is …

Mapped Karst Ground-Water Basins In The Bowling Green 30 X 60 Minute Quadrangle, Joseph A. Ray, James C. Currens

Map and Chart--KGS

This map shows karst ground-water basins in the Bowling Green quadrangle, determined primarily by ground-water tracer studies. It can be used to quickly identify the ground-water basins and springs to which a site may drain. Major springs and the relative size of their catchment areas can be evaluated for potential as water supplies. The map also serves as a geographic index to literature on karst ground water in the area.

Mass Flux Of Agricultural Nonpoint-Source Pollutants In A Conduit-Flow-Dominated Karst Aquifer, Logan County, Kentucky, James C. Currens

Report of Investigations--KGS

Changes in water quality in a karst ground-water basin used intensively for agriculture are being measured before, during, and after the implementation of best management practices (BMP’s) and other management practices, to determine the success of such programs in protecting ground water. The study was divided into three phases. The results of the first two phases are included in this report and cover research conducted between August 1990 and October 1994. During phase I of the study the overall ground-water quality of the basin and its hydrogeology were investigated. Phase II began monitoring the water quality at Pleasant Grove Spring …

Impacts Of Agricultural Transformation On The Principal Karstic Regions Of France, Jean Nicod, Jean-Noël Salomon

International Journal of Speleology

The recent extension of intensive agriculture on the karst plateaus has caused different types of impact: soil management, generalised and/or localised pollution. Yet paradoxically rural depopulation can also have negative impacts, which largely depend on the characteristics and the hydrological function of the different karst environments. They are often negative, particularly as far as the water quality is concerned, which is why protection measures are undertaken, either in a defined area for a catchment, or in the framework of regional parks. But this is not always the case, so it is appropriate to analyse the problem of karst pollution as …

Environmental Vulnerability And Agriculture In The Karstic Domain: Landscape Indicators And Cases In The Atlas Highlands, Morocco, Brahim Akdim, Mohammed Amyay

International Journal of Speleology

After the brief presentation of the major karstic areas in Morocco, the article focused essentially on the Atlas mountains to investigate the impact of the agriculture on the natural systems equilibrium. Socio-economic changes (demographic pressure, escalation of the landscape use, utilisation of new techniques in water harvesting, etc...) have sometimes fathered mechanisms of degradation. Many indicators seem to reflect these mechanisms. The pedologic indicators, soil erosion, the hydrologic and geomorphic indicators, are apprehended to demonstrate existent correlation between different variables and the often negative impacts of land over-use in the karstic domain of the Middle Atlas.

Mapped Karst Ground-Water Basins In The Somerset 30 X 60 Minute Quadrangle, James C. Currens, Joseph A. Ray

Map and Chart--KGS

This map shows karst ground-water basins in the Somerset quadrangle, determined primarily by ground-water tracer studies. It can be used to quickly identify the ground-water basins and springs to which a site may drain. Major springs and the relative size of their catchment areas can be evaluated for potential as water supplies. The map also serves as a geographic index to literature on karst ground water in the area.

Mapped Karst Ground-Water Basins In The Campbellsville 30 X 60 Minute Quadrangle, Joseph A. Ray, James C. Currens

Map and Chart--KGS

This map shows karst ground-water basins in the Campbellsville quadrangle, determined primarily by ground-water tracer studies. It can be used to quickly identify the ground-water basins and springs to which a site may drain. Major springs and the relative size of their catchment areas can be evaluated for potential as water supplies. The map also serves as a geographic index to literature on karst ground water in the area.

Mapped Karst Ground-Water Basins In The Beaver Dam 30 X 60 Minute Quadrangle, Joseph A. Ray, James C. Currens

Map and Chart--KGS

This map shows karst ground-water basins in the Beaver Dam quadrangle, determined primarily by ground-water tracer studies. It can be used to quickly identify the ground-water basins and springs to which a site may drain. Major springs and the relative size of their catchment areas can be evaluated for potential as water supplies. The map also serves as a geographic index to literature on karst ground water in the area.

Mapped Karst Ground-Water Basins In The Harrodsburg 30 X 60 Minute Quadrangle, James C. Currens, Joseph A. Ray

Map and Chart--KGS

This map shows karst ground-water basins in the Harrodsburg quadrangle, determined primarily by ground-water tracer studies. It can be used to quickly identify the ground-water basins and springs to which a site may drain. Major springs and the relative size of their catchment areas can be evaluated for potential as water supplies. The map also serves as a geographic index to literature on karst ground water in the area.

Mapped Karst Ground-Water Basins In The Lexington 30 X 60 Minute Quadrangle, James C. Currens, Joseph A. Ray

Map and Chart--KGS

No abstract provided.

Hydrology And Water Quality In The Central Kentucky Karst: Phase 1, James F. Quinlan, Donald R. Rowe

KWRRI Research Reports

Study of springs and cave streams has shown that heavy metal-rich effluent from a wastewater treatment plant can be traced to Hidden River Cave (beneath the city of Horse Cave) and thence 4 to 5 miles north to a group of 39 springs at 14 locations along a 5-mile reach of Green River. Nickel, chromium, copper and zinc in these effluent-bearing springs are in concentrations of as much as 30 times greater than other springs upstream and downstream from this reach, 20 times greater than the Green River, and 60 times greater than in shallow domestic wells between Horse Cave …