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Results of a tracing test in the high mountain lake of Jezero v Ledvici (Triglav Lakes area) are presented. The tracing experiment proved hydraulic connections between lakes Jezero v Ledvici, Močivec and Dvojno jezero. The article also deals with a comparison of the faunistic and floristic characteristics of the Triglav lakes. The occurrence of biotic species in different lakes is not very similar. No clear explanation for this phenomenon was found up to now, so further investigations of this system are proposed.
Arabika is an outstanding high-mountain karst massif in the Western Caucasus composed of Lower Cretaceous and Upper Jurassic limestones continuously dipping southwest to the Black Sea shore and plunging below the sea level. The central sector (elevations within 2000-2700 m) is characterized by pronounced glacio-karstic landscape and hosts several deep caves including the deepest cave in the world (Krubera-Voronja Cave) recently explored to the depth of -2191 m. Dye tracing experiments conducted in 1984-1985 revealed that the Krubera Cave area is hydraulically connected with major springs at the Black Sea shore and the submarine discharge, with the flow directed across major fold structures. Krubera Cave has an extremely steep profile and reveals a huge thickness of the vadose zone. Its lower boundary is at elevation of about 110 m, which suggests a very low overall hydraulic gradient of 0.007-0.008. Reported low salinity groundwater tapped by boreholes in the shore area at depths 40-280, 500, 1750 and 2250 m, which suggests the existence of deep flow system with vigorous flow. Submarine discharge in the Arabika coast is reported at depths up to ca. 400 m bsl. Huge closed submarine depression is revealed at the sea-floor in front of Arabika with the deepest point of ca. 400 m bsl. These facts point to a possibility that the main karst system in Arabika could have originated in response to the Messinian salinity crisis (5.96 – 5.33 Myr) when the Black Sea could have almost dried up, similarly to the adjacent Mediterranean where the sea level drop up to 1600 m is well established. Further development of the huge vadose zone and a super-deep cave have been caused by subsequent uplifts during Pliocene-Pleistocene, highly differential between the shore sector (0.1-0.2 km of total uplift) and the central sector (2-2.5 km) of Arabika.
The hydrogeological characteristics of some springs supplied by high-mountain carbonate rock aquifers, located in the south of Piedmont, in Italy, are presented in this work. The aquifers have different geological-structural conditions, including both deep and superficial karstification. Their catchment areas are located in a typical Alpine context at a high altitude of about 2000 m. These aquifers are ideal representations of the different hydrogeological situations that can be encountered in the high-altitude carbonate aquifers of the Mediterranean basin. It is first shown how the high-altitude zones present typical situations, in particular related to the climate, which control the infiltration processes to a great extent. Snowfall accumulates on the ground from November to April, often reaching remarkable thicknesses. The snow usually begins to melt in spring and continues to feed the aquifer for several months. This type of recharge is characterized by continuous daily variations caused by the typical thermal excursions. The hourly values are somewhat modest, but snowmelt lasts for a long time, beginning in the lower sectors and ending, after various months, in the higher areas. Abundant rainfall also occurs in the same period, and this contributes further to the aquifer supply. In the summer period, there is very little rainfall, but frequent storms. In autumn, abundant rainfall occurs and there are there fore short but relevant recharge events. It has been shown how the trend of the yearly flow of the high mountain springs is influenced to a great extent by the snowmelt processes and autumn rainfall. It has also been shown, by means of the annual hydrographs of the flow and the electric conductivity of the spring water, how the different examined aquifers are characterized by very different measured value trends, according to the characteristics of the aquifer.