Temporal variations of spring hydrochemistry as clues to the karst system behaviour: an example of Louros Catchment.
Environ Monit Assess
; 196(7): 624, 2024 Jun 17.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38884659
ABSTRACT
Effectively managing water resources in karst systems requires a thorough understanding of their general conduit network along with their seasonal dynamics. Their investigation has involved well construction or several advanced natural tracer data, most of which are not always available. Hence, this work showcases a pragmatic approach that makes use of basic hydrochemical variables of springs with coarse temporal resolution in characterising a karst system. In this study's example, physicochemical variables like major ion concentrations/ratios, Electrical Conductivity (EC), pH and water temperature (Tw) were measured on 20-day basis for a hydrological year at the Louros Catchment, Greece. We further performed the frequency distribution and variation analysis of EC and Tw, principal component analysis (PCA), scatter plots of carbonate ions vs sulphate and hydrochemographs to determine relevant hydrochemical processes and hydrogeological features. PCA and the scatter plots showed that the simple-type upper karst level is entirely dominated by carbonate dissolution, whereas the complex-type middle and lower levels also involve gypsum and dolomite dissolution. Presence of mixing between karst units was also detected. EC and Tw analyses revealed the degree of karstification of different units and relative depths of flow systems. Hydrochemographs reflected the seasonality of limestone and gypsum dissolution's contributions linked to the dominant flow type (conduit vs diffuse). This study thus was able to demonstrate the usefulness of such holistic hydrochemical analyses to better understand karst systems. Given their cost-effectiveness, they can be easily applied to any understudied karst system worldwide.
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1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Monitoramento Ambiental
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Monit Assess
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article