Monica Mustain

From groundwater encyclopedia: “Refers to lands
primarily underlain by limestone and dolomite where
surface water is integrally connected to the ground
water system from preferential flow routes.”

Roughly 15-20% of Earth has karst land surfaces

Water from karst terrain supports upwards of 25% of
the current world population (Ford and Williams, 2007)
A map of karst terrain in the
United States ( from USGS)
Caveman
Ancient China
Mayan Civilization
Jerusalem

Caves are a feature of karst terrain

Caves were used for water, dwelling, and shelter

Some of the cave drawings date back 40,000 years ago
(Seiveking, 1997)

Chinese were some of the first to study and record about
karst hydrogeology

Early recordings started before the Qin and Han Dynasties,
221 BC- 220 AD

Karst was targeted for studies because of its water properties

Water would be redirected to irrigate crops and for use in
water mills
“ There is much water and
many caves in the south
mountain, the water flows
into the cave in the spring
and out of the cave in the
summer and stops in the
winter.”
Mountain Scripture (between 475 BC-8
AD) from LaMoreaux, 1999
SE China karst
topography
Guilin (top) and
Yunnan (right)

Mayan population expanded over Belize, Guatemala,
southern Mexico and western Honduras

Some evidence for Mayans mining clays and minerals
from karst caves (Stone, 1997)

Heavily relied on water from karst caves as their
primary source of water

A major engineering project was undertaken: the Siloam
Tunnel

Tunnel would carry water over 530 meters through
Jerusalem

Thought to have been built on already existing fractures

Tunnel is fed by the Gihon Spring
Siloam Tunnel
was estimated to
have been built
on existing
fractures and
these fractures
were widened by
quarrying
Figure from Sneh et. al.
2010
Agricultural Industries
Mining and extracting industries
Direct pumping of groundwater

Karst is highly vulnerable to contamination because
• Transport water several orders of magnitude greater than
nonkarst systems
• There is minimal absorption or other natural cleaning
processes
• To large to provide effective filtration of pathogens
• In areas of localized recharge, surface water is directly
linked to groundwater

Deforestation and clearing of land

Pollutants from pesticides and fertilizers

Irrigation and drainage

A study in Turkey showed that a limestone quarry was
acting as a direct sinkhole for contaminants to flow into
groundwater (Ekmekci 1991)

Some mining operations want to work below the saturated
zone; this can cause failures of springs, changes in the
direction of water flow, and increased potential for direct
contamination from oil or sediments

When large volumes of water are pumped from karst
aquifers, a greater number of sinkholes will appear in
the pumped area

A study in china looked at different variables for the
formation of sinkholes

Results showed that pumping does not cause sinkholes
but is a factor in their formation