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Flow Dynamics In A Vadose Shaft – A Case Study From The Hochschwab Karst Massif (Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria), Eva Kaminsky, Lukas Plan, Thomas Wagner, Barbara Funk, Pauline Oberender

International Journal of Speleology

Karst aquifers are highly vulnerable to contamination due to quick water flow through conduits. Their high heterogeneity and the poorly known infiltration effect of the vadose zone make quantification of recharge processes difficult. This study characterizes the water flow and storage in the upper vadose zone with almost four years monitoring of a permanent stream in a vadose shaft (Furtowischacht). Its small catchment of 4,500 m² is located in a former glaciated high Alpine environment (Hochschwab, Austria). High discharge fluctuations between 0.002 and 19 l/s, relatively high hydrograph recession coefficients, and transit velocities between 0.0015 and 2.4 m/s estimated with …