Further Studies at the Blue Waterholes, Cooleman Plain, N.S.W., 1969-77, Part I, Climate and Hydrology, 1983, Jennings, J. N.

Previous study of the temporal and spatial distribution of limestone solution at Cooleman Plain rested on monthly discharges and water analyses of the Blue Waterholes over 4 years. For this study automatic recording of discharge (8 years), rainfall (8 years), evaporation (7 years) and temperature (4 years) was attended by variable success in the face of interference, rigorous climate and inaccessibility. The most important aspect of the climatic data was the support obtained for the earlier assumption of similar water balances in the forested igneous frame and the grassland limestone plain. Runoff was again shown to be highly variable from year to year and to have an oceanic pluvial regime, with a summer-autumn minimum owing much to evapo-transpiration. The flow duration curve from daily discharges puts this karst amongst those where neither extremely high nor low flows are important. The stream routing pattern offsets the effect of 71% of the catchment being on non-karst rocks, damping flood events. An inflection of 700 l/s in a flow duration plot based on discharge class means is interpreted as the threshold at which surface flow down North Branch reaches the Blue Waterholes. Storages calculated from a generalised recession hydrograph parallel Mendip data where baseflow (fissure) storage provides most of the storage and quickflow (vadose) storage only a secondary part. Water-filled conduit storage (the phreas) could not be determined but is considered small. The baseflow storage seems large, suggesting that it can develop independently of caves in some measure. A quickflow ratio for floods derived by Gunn's modification of the Hewlett and Hibbert separation line method appears relatively low for a mainly non-karst catchment and is again attributed to the routing pattern. For analysis of variation of the solute load over time, estimates of daily discharge during gaps in the record where made for the author by Dr. A.J. Jakeman and Mr. M.A. Greenaway (see Appendix). A small number of discharge measures of two contrasted allogenic catchments of the igneous frame shows a unit area yield close to that for the whole catchment. Together with the guaging of most of the allogenic inputs, this supports the idea that the water yield is much the same from the forested ranges and the grassland plain. This is important for the estimation of limestone removal rates.

Modeling of regional groundwater flow in fractured rock aquifers, PhD Thesis, 1990, Kraemer, S. R.

The regional movement of shallow groundwater in the fractured rock aquifer is examined through a conceptual-deterministic modeling approach. The computer program FRACNET represents the fracture zones as straight laminar flow conductors in connection to regional constant head boundaries within an impermeable rock matrix. Regional scale fracture zones are projected onto the horizontal plane, invoking the Dupuit-Forchheimer assumption for flow. The steady state flow solution for the two dimensional case is achieved by requiring nodal flow balances using a Gauss-Seidel iteration. Computer experiments based on statistically generated fracture networks demonstrate the emergence of preferred flow paths due to connectivity of fractures to sources or sinks of water, even in networks of uniformly distributed fractures of constant length and aperture. The implication is that discrete flow, often associated with the local scale, may maintain itself even at a regional scale. The distribution of uniform areal recharge is computed using the Analytic Element Method, and then coupled to the network flow solver to complete the regional water balance. The areal recharge weakens the development of preferential flow pathways. The possible replacement of a discrete fracture network by an equivalent porous medium is also investigated. A Mohr's circle analysis is presented to characterize the tensor relationship between the discharge vector and the piezometric gradient vector, even at scales below the representative elementary volume (REV). A consistent permeability tensor is sought in order to establish the REV scale and justify replacement of the discrete fracture network by an equivalent porous medium. Finally, hydrological factors influencing the chemical dissolution and initiation of conduits in carbonate (karst) terrain are examined. Based on hydrological considerations, and given the appropriate geochemical and hydrogeological conditions, the preferred flow paths are expected to develop with time into caves.

Proposal for a micro-climatic research to be carried on in deep underground zones, 1994, Choppy Jacques, Cigna Arrigo A.

Deep underground zones of karst systems are practically isolated from the outside influence and their climatological characteristics are scarcely known. To improve the knowledge of the karst areas it would be therefore rather useful to obtain energy balances for different environmental situations in order to evaluate both the deep climatological phenomena and the outside influence.

Patterns of dissolution porosity in carbonate rocks, 1999, Palmer A. N.

Unlike most geologic processes, the origin of dissolution porosity lends itself readily to analytical solutionsFour salient "laws" govern the process: two mass balances (water balance and chemical mass balance) and two kinetic equations (which describe the dissolution rate and the flow rate of water), and in combination they provide a theoretical basis for quantifying the solutional history of karst aquifersThe greatest difficulty is in applying these clean-cut analytical tools to the complex and rather disordered world of geologyIt is impossible to model a karst aquifer in all its details, because most of the details are unknownHowever, a great deal can be learned about the origin and distribution of dissolution porosity by using the analytical approach to obtain a battery of governing concepts that can be applied to all karst aquifersThis paper summarizes the evolution of a conceptual model whose details were first developed on the basis of field observation and hydraulics, and only later substantiated by chemical kineticsIt applies specifically to carbonate rocks, although the general approach can be modified to fit any geologic setting by substituting the appropriate expressions for kinetics and fluid flow

Nutrient processing capacity of a constructed wetland in western Ireland, 2002, Healy M. , Cawley A. M. ,

In Ireland, constructed wetland systems are increasingly being used to perform tertiary treatment on municipal waste effluent from small towns and villages located in areas whose receiving waters are deemed sensitive. The bedrock formation in the west of Ireland is primarily karst limestone and where the overburden-soil cover is very shallow, such waters are highly sensitive to pollution sources, as little or no natural attenuation and/or treatment will occur. Constructed wetland technology has been seen to offer a relatively low-cost alternative to the more conventional tertiary treatment technologies, particularly when dealing with low population numbers in small rural communities. This paper examines the waste treatment performance, in terms of nutrient (P and N) reduction, of a recently constructed surface-flow wetland system at Williamstown, County Galway, Ireland. Performance evaluation is based on more than two years of water quality and hydrological monitoring data. The N and P mass balances for the wetland indicate that the average percentage reduction over the two-year study period is 51% for total N and 13% for total P. The primary treatment process in the wetland system for suspended solids (between 84 and 90% reduction), biological oxygen demand (BOD) (on average, 49% reduction), N, and P is the physical settlement of the particulates. However, the formation of algal bloom during the growing season reduces the efficiency of the total P removal

Patterns of dissolutional porosity in carbonate rocks, 2003, Palmer, A. N.

This paper reviews the hydrochemical processes that determine the patterns of caves and other solutional features within carbonate rocks. The model presented relies on the functional relationships expressed by chemical mass balances, flow equations, and kinetic expressions for dissolution rate. Although it shares many aspects of purely conceptual models and is backed by field evidence, its quantitative basis places it into the realm of analytical models.
The conclusions merely summarize earlier work (mainly Palmer, 1981, 1991). Solutional enlargement of caves and other karst features is highly selective in water that is close to equilibrium with dissolved carbonate minerals, enlarging only the most favorable openings – i.e. those that transmit the greatest discharge. This is characteristic of long flow paths within a typical karst aquifer. In contrast, solutional enlargement will be rather uniform along many competing flow paths where there is (1) high discharge, (2) sustained steep hydraulic gradients, (3) short flow paths, or (4) local renewal of aggressiveness by mixing, oxidation of sulfides, etc. These conditions produce maze caves and epikarstic networks. In general, this condition prevails if Q/rL > 0.001 cm/sec (tubes), or /bL > 0.001 cm/sec (fissures), where Q = discharge, r = tube radius, b = long dimension of fissure cross section, and L = distance of flow from where the initial aggressive solution comes in contact with the carbonate rock.

Ice caves as an indicator of winter climate evolution: a case study from the Jura Mountains, 2005, Luetscher Marc, Jeannin Pierre Yves, Haeberli Wilfried,

Subsurface ice fillings were first described in the Jura Mountains at the end of the sixteenth century. In order to assess the impact of climate change on low-altitude cave ice a detailed inventory has been drawn up and more than 50 objects have been identified. Comparisons between older cave maps, photographic documents and present-day observations outline a negative trend in ice mass balances, a trend that increased at the end of the 1980s. As most of these ice caves act as cold air traps, this negative mass balance is mainly attributed to higher winter temperatures and to reduced snow precipitation at low altitudes. The equilibrium line altitude of ice caves is believed to have increased several hundred metres between AD 1978 and 2004. Photographic comparisons and proxy records in some of the caves studied provide evidence of a rapid mass turnover. Ice ages range between less than a few decades and a millennium. Climatic records in these ice fillings will therefore present only short time series compared with other cave sediments. However, indications of former ice fillings have been found in different caves of the Jura Mountains and outline their potential role as palaeoclimatic markers

GROUNDWATER FLOW IN CRYSTALLINE CARBONATES (JESENIKY MTS., CZECH REP.): USING STREAM THERMOMETRY AND GROUNDWATER BALANCE FOR CATCHMENT DELINEATION, 2008, Kukač, Ka J. , Altová, V. , Bruthans J. , Zeman O.

Strips of metamorphosed carbonate rocks in a contact-karst area in the Jeseniky Mts, Czech Republic, act as aquifers, draining broad areas of crystalline rocks, mostly phyllites. Significant groundwater resources that are partly used as a water supply are in carbonate rocks. Detailed temperature and conductivity measurements coupled with discharge measurements along all streams in the area demonstrate a relatively quick method to locate virtually all important groundwater outflows from carbonates. Discharge measurements of streams crossing carbonate strips enabled us to locate and quantify the capacity of ponors and losing parts of streams in various water stages. Thanks to a detailed knowledge of losing and gaining parts of streams, we were able to select appropriate profiles to separate catchments with differing hydrologic balances (balanced, gaining, losing). Flow directions in carbonates and recharge and discharge areas were delineated by comparing the specific discharges of individual catchments. Resulting flow directions agree with tracer tests in the area. Our outlined approach can be used in many other areas to locate hidden inflows into streams and to estimate flow between individual small catchments, and it may partly compensate for tracer tests as it allows flow directions to be estimated from hydrological balance and rock geometry.

Glacial processes in caves, 2012, Luetscher, M.

Glacial processes are known to impinge on many karst systems, of which the active formation of cave ice represents a salient feature. In temperate environments, the preservation of massive, perennial cave ice deposits, comprising sometimes tens of thousands cubic meters, represents probably the most severe test for models of sporadic permafrost distribution. Additionally, stratified cave ice deposits foster detailed glaciochemical investigations to decipher this environmental archive. Recent investigations have shown that the accessible time window for paleoclimate reconstructions sometimes covers several thousands of years, but understanding the relation between external climate change and the cave ice mass balance still remains challenging. Process-oriented studies suggest that interannual cave ice mass balances respond primarily to modifications in the winter thermal and precipitation regimes. By contrast, cave ice ablation is largely driven by heat exchange with the surrounding rock, which is a function of the external mean annual air temperature. Many mid-latitude, low-altitude ice caves are thus likely to disappear under a warming climate scenario. Yet, traces of former glacial processes can be observed in several temperate cave environments. Cryoclasts, solifluction lobes, sorted sediment patterns, cryogenic calcite, and broken speleothems provide clues for the reconstruction of paleo-permafrost. Because they can be accurately dated with U-series methods, cryogenic cave calcites offer a promising field of investigation for past glacial processes 

Glacial Processes in Caves, 2013, Luetscher, M.

Glacial processes are known to impinge on many karst systems, of which the active formation of cave ice represents a salient feature. In temperate environments, the preservation of massive, perennial cave ice deposits, comprising sometimes tens of thousands cubic meters, represents probably the most severe test for models of sporadic permafrost distribution. Additionally, stratified cave ice deposits foster detailed glaciochemical investigations to decipher this environmental archive. Recent investigations have shown that the accessible time window for paleoclimate reconstructions sometimes covers several thousands of years, but understanding the relation between external climate change and the cave ice mass balance still remains challenging. Process-oriented studies suggest that interannual cave ice mass balances respond primarily to modifications in the winter thermal and precipitation regimes. By contrast, cave ice ablation is largely driven by heat exchange with the surrounding rock, which is a function of the external mean annual air temperature. Many mid-latitude, low-altitude ice caves are thus likely to disappear under a warming climate scenario. Yet, traces of former glacial processes can be observed in several temperate cave environments. Cryoclasts, solifluction lobes, sorted sediment patterns, cryogenic calcite, and broken speleothems provide clues for the reconstruction of paleo-permafrost. Because they can be accurately dated with U-series methods, cryogenic cave calcites offer a promising field of investigation for past glacial processes in caves.

Quaternary glacial cycles: Karst processes and the global CO2 budget, 2013, Larson Erik B. , Mylroie John E.

Extensive research has been conducted investigating the relationship between karst processes, carbonate deposition and the global carbon cycle. However, little work has been done looking into the relationship between glaciations, subsequent sea level changes, and aerially exposed land masses in relation to karstic processes and the global carbon budget. During glaciations sea-level exposed the world’s carbonate platforms. with the sub-aerial exposure of the platforms, karst processes can occur, and the dissolution of carbonate material can commence, resulting in the drawdown of CO2 from the atmosphere as HCO3−. Furthermore, the material on the platform surfaces is primarily aragonite which is more readily soluble than calcite allowing karst processes to occur more quickly. During glaciations arctic carbonates and some of the temperate carbonates are blanketed in ice, effectively removing those areas from karst processes. Given the higher solubility of aragonite, and the extent of carbonate platforms exposed during glaciations, this dissolution balances the CO2 no longer taken up by karst processes at higher latitudes that were covered during the last glacial maximum The balance is within 0.001 GtC / yr, using soil pCO2 (0.005 GtC / yr assuming atmospheric pCO2) which is a difference of <1% of the total amount of atmospheric CO2 removed in a year by karst processes. Denudation was calculated using the maximum potential dissolution formulas of Gombert (2002). On a year to year basis the net amount of atmospheric carbon removed through karstic processes is equivalent between the last glacial maximum and the present day, however, the earth has spent more time in a glacial configuration during the quaternary, which suggests that there is a net drawdown of atmospheric carbon during glaciations from karst processes, which may serve as a feedback to prolong glacial episodes. This research has significance for understanding the global carbon budget during the quaternary.