Delineation of point sources of recharge in karst settings

Abstract

Karst, a geomorphic landscape that arises from the combination of high rock solubility and well developed subsurface drainage networks on rock types that are easily dissolved by water notably carbonate rocks such as limestone, dolomite or marble (Bretz 1942; Sweeting 1981; Jennings 1985; Palmer 1991, 2007; Bloom 1998; Klimchouk et al. 2000; Gunn 2004; Culver and White 2005; Ford and Williams 2007) and to a lesser extent evaporites such as gypsum, anhydrite and halite (Kozary et al. 1968; Klimchouk 2002; Johnson and Neal 2003; Ford and Williams 2007), constitutes 20–25 % of the earth’s land surface (Ford and William 2007; Bakalowicz 2005). These areas are regraded to represent the earth’s most diverse, scenic and resource-rich terrains with much of their wealth hidden underground including minerals, oil and natural gas, limestone quarries, apart from beautiful housing sites for urban development (Lamoreaux et al. 1993; Schmitz and Schroeder 2006). It is worldwide observed that nearly 40–50 % of the human population utilizes drinking water derived from karst aquifer systems, either directly or indirectly (Cost 1995; Ford and Williams 2007; Cooper et al. 2011; Brinkmann and Parise 2012). However, the unique hydrologic, geomorphologic and hydrogeologic features of karst (White 1988; Ford and Williams 2007; Palmer 2007; Parise and Gunn 2007) make these aquifers more vulnerable to pollution and contaminants (Drew and Hötzl 1999; Böhlke 2002; Parise and Pascali 2003; Bonacci 2004; Kovačič and Ravbar 2005; Ford and Williams 2007; Parise 2010).