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ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND SUSTAINABILITY IN KARST SYSTEM
NEWSLETTER PROJECT 598
EDITORS: LU Qian
ZHANG Cheng 2011
KARST DYNAMICS LABORATORY GUILIN, CHINA
Project Co-Leaders Dr. Zhang Cheng The Institute of Karst Geology, CAGS International Research Center, UNESCO 50 Qixing Road, Guilin 541004 Guangxi, P.R. China Phone: +86 773 5837343 Fax : +86 773 5845576 Email: [email protected]
Prof. Chris Groves Hoffman Environmental Research Inst. Dept. of Geography and Geology Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY. 42101 USA Phone:1-270-745-5974 Fax: 1-270-745-6410 Email: chris.groves@ wku.edu
Project Secretary Dr. Pu Junbing， Lu Qian
The Institute of Karst Geology, CAGS 50 Qixing Road
Guilin, Guangxi, China 541004 Phone: +86 773 5835576 Email: [email protected]
________________________________________________________________________ Website1: http://igcpkarst.com Website2: http://www.karst.edu.cnWebsite3: http://www.irck.edu.cnWebsite3: http://hoffman.wku.edu
Photo1: Opening ceremony of the International Research Center on Karst Under the
Auspices of UNESCO on 15 December, 2008. Following successful implementation of previous four karst-related IGCP projects.
Cover photo: Big Dragon (Da Longdong) Underground Cave, in Xiangxi,
Hunan Province of South China.
A Large Polje and its seasonal karst lake, Cerknica, Slovenia. Photo was taken in February, 2010
Deep-cut valley karst landscape of HuaJiang in GuanLing, Guizhou Plateau, China, which is one of the 100 national level demonstration sites for rock desertification reconstruction in the years of 2008-2010 (photo by Pei Jianguo)
Flood and Soil erosion Small patches of soil tilled to grow maize in a doline with soil erosion cause by storm water during the summer season. The scene illustrated is near Jiangzhou Township in northern Fengshan County, Guangxi, China (the lower photo by Pei Jianguo, in July, 2010)
Contents
PartⅠ An Introduction to IGCP/SIDA 598: Its Background, Basic Ideas, Objectives and Work Schedule.................................................................................1
Part II Report on the Progress of IGCP 513: “Global Study of Karst Aquifers and Water Resources” in Its Final Year (2010), by Professor Chris Groves, Western Kentucky University........................................................................................14
Part III Responses and Suggestions ............................................................................17
1. China, Liu Dunyi and Dong Shuwen .........................................................................17
2. Slovenia, Simon Pirc ....................................................................................................17
3. Germany, Nico Goldscheider .....................................................................................18
4. USA, David Keeling......................................................................................................18
5. USA, Chris Groves .......................................................................................................19
6. China, Yuan Daoxian ...................................................................................................19
7. Brazil, Augusto Auler ...................................................................................................19
8. Slovenia, Martin Knez..................................................................................................20
9. USA, Thomas J. Casadevall.......................................................................................20
10. Spain, Bartolome Andreo-Navarro.........................................................................20
11. China, Zhang Cheng ................................................................................................21
Part IV Previous Works of IGCP/SIDA 598
..........................................................................................................................................22
Participants Relevant to the Project
1. Karst carbon sink potential and climate change ............................................................22
Influence of diel biogeochemical cycles on carbonate equilibrium in a karst river ,
V. de Montety, J.B. Martin, M.J. Cohen, C. Foster and M.J. Kurz .................................22
A new direction in effective accounting for the atmospheric CO2 budget:
Considering the combined action of carbonate dissolution, the global water cycle
and photosynthetic uptake of DIC by aquatic organisms,
................................................................................................23
Zaihua Liu, Wolfgang
Dreybrodt, Haijing Wang
Carbonate rock dissolution rates in different landuses
,
and their carbon sink
effect .......................................................................................................24Zhang Cheng
2. Karst aquifer systems and water resource processes .....................................................36
Effects of land use on hydrochemistry and contamination of karst groundwater
from Nandong underground river system, China, Jiang Yongjun, Yan Jun .............36
Monitoring groundwater in the discharge area of a complex karst aquifer to
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assess the role of the saturated and unsaturated zones,
...................................................................................................................37
M. Mudarra, B. Andreo
and J. Mudry
Formations of groundwater hydrogeochemistry in a karst system
,
during storm
events as revealed by PCA ............................38Yang Pingheng, Yuan Daoxian, et al.
Methodology for groundwater recharge assessment in carbonate aquifers:
application to pilot sites in southern Spain, .................38Andreo, B.; Vías, J.M. et al.
Hydrochemical variations of epikarst springs in vertical climate zones: a case
study in Jinfo Mountain National Nature Reserve of China, Cheng Zhang, Jun Yan,
Jianguo Pei, Yongjun Jiang .............................................................................................39
3. Karst watersheds sustainable protection ........................................................................40
Microbial atrazine breakdown in a karst groundwater system and its effect on
ecosystem energetics, ...........40Iker, B.C., P. Kambesis, S.A. Oehrle, C. Groves et al.
Comparative application of two methods (COP and PaPRIKa) for groundwater
vulnerability mapping in Mediterranean karst aquifers (France and Spain),
.................................................................................41
A. I.
Marín, N. Dörfliger and B. Andreo
Evaluating disturbance on mediterranean karst areas:
,
the example of Sardinia
(Italy) .........................................................................................................41Jo De Waele
Environmental Geological Problems in China Karst Area, ..............42Zhang Cheng
Application of a Karst Disturbance Index in Hillsborough County, Florida, Philip
van Beynen, Nilda Feliciano, Leslie North, Kaya Townsend .........................................43
Interregional comparison of karst disturbance: West-central Florida
,
and
southeast Italy ..........................44Leslie A. North, Philip E. van Beynen, Mario Parise
Proposed methodology to delineate bodies of groundwater according to the
European water framework directive. Application in a pilot Mediterranean river
basin (Malaga, Spain), .....44Damian Sanchez, Francisco Carrasco, Bartolome Andreo
4. Interpretation of environmental change records over various timescales ...................45
South China Sea hydrological changes and Pacific Walker Circulation variations
over the last millennium, ...................45Hong Yan, Liguang Sun, Delia W. Oppo, et al.
Real-Time Observation of Carbonic Acid Formation in Aqueous Solution,
.................................46
Katrin
Adamczyk, Mirabelle Prémont-Schwarz, Dina Pines, Ehud Pines
Cyclic sedimentation in Brazilian caves: Mechanisms and palaeoenvironmental
significance, ...........................46Augusto S. Auler, Peter L. Smart, Xianfeng Wang et al
High Mountain Karren in Northwestern Yunnan, China,
......................................................................................................................47
Martin Knez, Hong Liu &
Tadej Slabe
Part V Publications reached at IGCP 598 Secretariat before June, 2011......49
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Part VI Upcoming events ..................................................................................................51
1. Bowling Green, Kentucky USA, June 4-10, 2011 ..........................................................51
2. Birmingham, UK, June 26-29, 2011 ...............................................................................51
3. Brisbane, Australia, 2-10, 2012.......................................................................................52
Part VII Email addresses of IGCP/SIDA 598 Participants ....................................53
Part VIII Registration Form of IGCP/SIDA 598 ..........................................................58
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PartⅠ An Introduction to IGCP/SIDA 598: Its Background, Basic Ideas, Objectives and Work Schedule
by Zhang Cheng (Institute of Karst Geology, CAGS/International Research Center on Karst Under the
Auspices of UNESCO, Guilin, China)
Background A new UNESCO/IUGS IGCP/SIDA Project, the IGCP/SIDA 598 “Environmental Change and Sustainability in Karst Systems: Relations to Climate Change and Anthropogenic Activities” was approved by the IGCP Scientific Board at its 39th meeting, held late February, 2011 in Paris. The Project is accepted for implementation from 2011 to 2015.
It is a successor project of IGCP 299 “Geology, Climate, Hydrology and Karst formation” (1990-1994), IGCP 379 “Karst Processes and the Carbon Cycle” (1995-1999), IGCP448 “World Correlation of Karst Geology and Its Relevant Ecosystem” (2000-2004), and IGCP 513 "Global Study of Karst Aquifers and Water Resources" (2005-2010).
The proposal of the IGCP/SIDA 598, written by Prof. Zhang Cheng of Karst Dynamics Laboratory(KDL), the Institute of Karst Geology, Guilin, China and Prof. Chris Groves of Hoffman Environmental Research Institute, Department of Geography and Geology, Western Kentucky University, was first initiated at the joint IGCP 513 and the conference of sustainability of the karst environment in Plitvice, Croatia, September, 2009. It is supported by the major international karst organizations, including the Karst Commissions of IAH, IGU, and UIS, and National IGCP Committees of USA, Spain, Slovenia and China. Moreover, it gets written supports from many individual karst scientists of the world.
FULL TITLE : Environmental Change and Sustainability in Karst Systems: Relations to Climate Change and Anthropogenic Activities
SHORT TITLE : Environmental Change and Sustainability in Karst Systems DURATIOIN : 5 years (2011-2015) PROPOSERS : Zhang Cheng, Chris Groves, Yuan Daoxian, Augusto Auler, Jiang Yongjun, Martin Knez, Bartolome Andreo-Navarro
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Dr. Zhang Cheng Karst Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences International Research Center on Karst Under the Auspices of UNESCO 50 Qixing Rd. Guilin 541004, Guangxi, P. R. China Tel: +86 773 5837343 Fax: +86 773 5845576 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.karst.edu.cn or
http://www.irck.edu.cn Professor Chris Groves Hoffman Environmental Research Institute Department of Geography and Geology Western Kentucky University, 1906 College Heights Blvd., Bowling Green, Kentucky 42101 USA Tel: +1 270 745 5974 Fax: +1 270 745 6410 Email: [email protected]: http://hoffman.wku.edu Professor Yuan Daoxian The Institute of Karst Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences International Research Center on Karst Under the Auspices of UNESCO 50 Qixing Rd, Guilin 541004, Guangxi, P. R. China Tel: +86 773 5834232 Fax: +86 773 5837845 Email : [email protected] Website: http://www.karst.edu.cn
http://www.irck.edu.cn Dr. Augusto Auler Instituto do Carste Rua Barcelona 240/302 Belo Horizonte - MG 30360-260 - Brazil [email protected]
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Dr. Jiang Yongjun School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University No.1 Tiansheng Ave., Beibei, Chongqing 400715, P. R. China Tel:+86-23-68254191 Fax:+86-23-68252425 Email: [email protected] Dr. Martin Knez Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU Titov trg 2 6230 Postojna, Slovenia Tel: ++386 5 700 1900 Email: <[email protected]> Dr. Bartolome Andreo-Navarro Centre of Hydrogeology of the University of Malaga (CEHIUMA) and Department of Geology Malaga, Spain Tel: +34 95 2132004 Fax: +34 952132000 Email: [email protected] site: http://www.cehiuma.uma.es/
Why the Project Karst landscape/aquifer systems cover some 15% of the Earth’s land surface and are estimated to supply drinking water to some 25% of the world’s population. A critical scientific and development gap concerns the fact that the evolution and dynamics of these systems remain incompletely understood while they present serious challenges to human development with regard to water access and quality, agriculture, and landscape stability, especially in the face of climate change.
Due to the hydrogeologic characteristics of karst landscape/aquifer systems, especially considering commonly extreme permeabilities and thus rapid groundwater flow rates, groundwater in karst areas is often highly vulnerable to contamination. Karst areas often have little or no soil cover with little filtration and rainwater and surface contaminants can easily move down to the underlying karst aquifer. Flows in a karst drainage system are often conduit-dominated and the residence time is usually short. During storms, cave streams can rise very rapidly (back cover photo). In order
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to monitor the changing hydrochemistry of groundwater (photo 1), high temporal resolution data are often necessary. The analysis of temporal variations of karst groundwater chemistry can offer insights into the functioning and structure of a karst system, such as the degree of karstification, residence time of water, the origin of water and flow paths, and the internal structure and geometry of karst aquifers(Fig.1).
Photo 1
Bitan spring monitoring site with hydrochemical data logger installed, Jinfo Mt. Chongqing, China
Fig. 1
Temporal Variations of Hydrochemistry at Bitan Spring (June, 2004)
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In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to increasing rates of global environmental and climate change and relations to the carbon cycle. Most of this work has been focused on terrestrial and ocean ecosystems, largely neglecting geological elements of the carbon cycle. Nevertheless, results from IGCP379 showed that CO2 uptake from the atmosphere by carbonate rock dissolution processed may well be a component of the missing carbon sink which has been identified as necessary to balance the global carbon cycle, and that the magnitude of the carbon sink in an area on the continents from carbonate mineral weathering is a function of the local geochemical environment, including biological processes (photo 2). Key scientific questions still need to be answered concerning how various geochemical environments on the continents and in the oceans influence carbon sources and sinks associated with carbonate mineral weathering and precipitation.
Photo 2
A large underground river-fed wetland in
Huixian, Guilin, China. Large systems with
abundant subaquatic vegetation act
potentially as nature sink of carbon
At the same time, environmental challenges are being presented from increasingly frequent extreme climate events, imprudent land use, and increasing populations within karst regions that creates pressure on karst water resources and associated environmental conditions. Environmental exploitation should be balanced with protection, and associated policy decisions must be based on appropriate, sound science-based understanding of the key processes. For the purpose of sustainable use of karst water (photo 3, photo 4) , it is very important to clarify how the hydrological and water resources processes respond to different climatic and hydrogeological conditions, especially to extreme droughts and floods(back cover photos), as well as circulating and regulating functions of karst watersheds and epikarst zones. Research is required to better understand anthropogenic impacts on karst water environments, ground water vulnerablity assessments, and on the applications of karst disturbance indices.
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Photo 3 Rain water collecting technology. Water storage tank and the roof of houses
were used to collect rain water for rice field irrigation, an example from Haizi village, Jinnan township, Xinyi County, Guizhou Province, China (photo by Pei Jianguo)
Photo 4 FuLiulang doline reservoir with a storage capacity of 13 million m3, completed in 2007, Xincheng County, Guangxi. A very successful example of exploitation and utilization of karst water resources by building a dam in underground stream. People who lived nearby don’t suffer anymore from shortage of farm irrigation water
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There are still critical unresolved questions concerning karst water environments and the capacities of karst watersheds, including their epikarstic zones, responding to climate change and especially to extreme climate events. The project will move the study of karst hydrological processes and their relations with environmental change forward, and improve the technology and methods for karst environmental investigations and groundwater vulnerability assessments for water resource protection.
Objectives of the Project We propose a multi-disciplinary approach to address the four major areas of emphasis for the project that focus on key temporal and spatial scales associated with environmental change in karst systems:
1) significantly better estimation of the carbon sink potential from carbonate rock dissolution on the continents with improvement of approaches used for these estimations that consider geobiological processes and anthropogenic influences; 2) research on the responses of hydrogeological behaviour of karst aquifers and water resource processes under the influence of different weather and climatic events, including extreme events of droughts and floods; 3) research on the improvement of methods for ground water vulnerability assessments to contamination and development karst disturbance indices in different karst landscape/aquifer systems; 4) quantification of records of environmental change within water, sediments, speleothems, and cultural records preserved within karst systems that provide information over various timescales. Specific objectives of the Project include: 1) High quality, multi- and interdisciplinary basic and applied scientific research to advance the understanding of how environmental change over a variety of timescales impacts functions of karst systems, where appropriate to inform sound decision making; 2) Research into concepts associated with sustainability of karst systems, both with regard to human activities and health, and ecological protection. To support this the project has in place a strong program of academic capacity building. 3) Careful tracking of leveraging to quantify an example of how IGCP projects have engaged associated efforts that have added enormous financial, technical, and human resources.
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Relationship with Previous Projects IGCP 299: Concentrated on the correlation of karst morphology and its environments of formation.
Photo 20 Only salt obligate species can grow around a waste pile of Bereznik Potassium Mine, Perm, Russia
IGCP 379: Emphasis on the impact of karst processes on global change, especially on the source and sink of greenhouse gas, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction with karst records.
IGCP 448: concentrated on the ecological problems of karst.
IGCP 513: concentrated on karst water resources with regard to both ecological and human health concerns
IGCP/SIDA 598: will focus on key temporal and spatial scales associated with environmental change in karst systems
The Results of IGCP 598 Expected General expected results from the Project 1. A better understanding of the hydrological and geochemical behavior of a wide range of karst dynamic systems in the context of karst aquifer evolution, the carbon cycle, the hydrologic cycle and element migration as bases for more reasonable and sustainable land use in karst areas. 2. A better understanding of particular water supply and other environmental problems associated with human interaction with karst landscapes and aquifers, and using and sharing this information to synthesize new and cost effective solutions. 3. A better understanding of the relationships between water movement and behavior in karst systems and its relationship to ecological behaviors and health. 4. Widespread dissemination of the information obtained in the Project. 5. Beneficiate the Society with the results of the investigations on karst media in term of climate changes and water resources. Specific Annual Goals are outlines below: Year One, 2011. 1) Design and implementation of basic Project website and listserv, 2) communication to and addition of Project participants, 3) beginning of associated research efforts, 4) Project planning workshop and field excursions at the International Conference on Karst Hydrogeology and Ecosystems, Western Kentucky University and Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, USA, June.
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Year Two, 2012. 1) Continued individual project research and dissemination, 2) Communication among participants via website, as well as conferences in Guilin China, Brisbane, Australia, and Niagara Falls, Canada, 4) summary of CGS Karst Carbon Sink Project, 5) work on geological carbon cycle special issue of Journal of Environmental Earth Science or Acta Carsologica, 6) establishment of Groundwater Vulnerability and Karst Disturbance Index communication network Year Three, 2013. 1) Continued individual project research and dissemination, 2) Communication among participants via website, as well as joint international Karst Commission Conference of the 16th International Congress of Speleology in Brno Czech Republic, 3) Mid-project reports, submission and editing of peer-reviewed journal manuscripts. 4) publication of geological carbon cycle special issue of Journal of Environmental Earth Science or Acta Carsologica, 5) Groundwater Vulnerability and Karst Disturbance Index symposium Year Four, 2014. 1) Continued individual project research and dissemination, 2) Communication among participants via website, as well as conferences/workshops and field excursions, potentially in Spain, Brazil, and/or Indonisia, 3) Planning for scope and outline of Project final report, 4) submission and editing of peer-reviewed journal manuscripts. 5) Groundwater Vulnerability and Karst Disturbance Index publication
Year Five, 2015. 1) Continued individual project research and dissemination, 2) Communication among participants via website and listserv, as well as the Final Project conference/workshop and field excursions, 3) editing and submission of peer-review journal manuscripts, 4) final Project report.
Implementation Individual scientists, including geologists, geochemists, biologists and ecologists, chemists and geographers around the world at universities, governmental agencies and environmental consulting firms that undertake research in karst-related topics, will work together for the purpose of better understanding the environmental change impact on karst systems at a range of time scales from hours to millions of years, meanwhile, there are a few key laboratories/research groups that in many cases play a leading role in advancing the field. Many of these individuals and laboratories have participated in the past four projects and would contribute to the project.
The two scales of field activities are the individual research projects that will be occurring throughout more than 50 countries have karst water resources, and the locations of conferences/workshops for which there will be field correlation excursions. Although additional excursions will very likely be added as the project evolves, currently planned ones include the karst areas of Australia; Slovenia; Brazil;
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Guangxi, Guizhou, Chongqing (China); Kentucky, Tennessee (US); Spain; and/or Indonesia, Iran, South Africa.
The majority of the research work done in this project will be by individual scientists or small research groups, as opposed to highly developed laboratories. However, key laboratories and institutes that have provided confirmation or are anticipated to conduct laboratory work include: 1) Institute of Karst Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences/
International Research Center on Karst under the auspices of UNESCO (IRCK), Guilin, China.
2) Hoffman Environmental Research Institute, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green USA
3) Karst Dynamics Laboratory of the Institute of Karst Geology of China, Guilin China
4) Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU, Postojna, Slovenia. 5) Institute of Karst Environment and Rock Desertification Rehabilitation,
Southwest University, Chongqing China 6) The Centre of Hydrogeology at the University of Malaga (CEHIUMA), Spain 7) National Cave and Karst Research Institute, Carlsbad New Mexico USA. 8) School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing China 9) Karst Research Group, Dept. of Geography and Environmental Science, Gadjah
Mada University, Yogyakarta Indonesia 10) Ukrainian Institute of Speleology and Karstology (UISK) Simferopol, Crimea. 11) Centre d'Hydrogeologie, Universite de Neuchatel, Switzerland
Tentative Work Schedule
Year One, 2011.
The websites http://hoffman.wku.edu, http://www.karst.edu.cn and http://www.irck.edu.cn will be continuously used for public relations, communication between project participants, and dissemination of Project results. Using the web site and communication at appropriate scientific conferences and other outlets, additional Project participants and laboratories will be recruited. We will also try to recruit a listserv coordinator.
A plan for the next five years will be prepared using electronic communication, as well as a formal planning workshop at the Karst Hydrogeology and Ecosystems in Bowling Green Kentucky, USA in 8-10 June (http://hoffman.wku.edu/k2011.html). It will include a selection of participants and karst field sites with different hydrogeological, climatic, and cultural conditions for understanding the relationships between environmental conditions and ecological function, water supply challenges,
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other karst environmental problems, and aquifer function and genesis. A working group meeting of the new IGCP project will be held.
19-21 September, Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA. Groundwater: Our source of security in an uncertain future. GSSA/IAH Conference. Organised by Groundwater Division of GSSA and IAH. INFO: Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.gwd.org.za
5-7 October, Kalavrita, GREECE. 9th International Hydrogeological Congress of Hellas. Organised by Hellenic Committee of Hydrogeology (Hellenic Chapter of IAH) and Association of Geologists & Mining Engineers of Cyprus. The Congress is aimed at scientists, students, governmental officials and specialists dealing with groundwater and the environment. Its main goal is the exchange of ideas, knowledge and experience in terms of a sustainable aquatic environment. It will be followed by a one-day field trip (October 8). INFO: Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.hydrogeocongress.gr
28 Nov-2 December A working group meeting will be held in conjunction with the training course on karst hydrogeology and karst carbon sink organized by the International Research Center on Karst under the auspices of UNESCO, sponsored by the Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia (CCOP) and China Geological Survey. CCOP is an intergovernmental organization with the purpose of carrying out joint applied geoscience programmes for sustainable development in East and Southeast Asia. CCOP has 11 member countries; Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, The Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. CCOP is being supported by 14 cooperating countries and 13 international organizations. Year Two, 2012.
The primary meeting for the year will be in Guilin China within the framework of a working project from China Geological Survey on karst carbon sink potential, July 25-28, with field excursions in the vicinity of Guilin as well as the Yunnan Province and Chongqing Municipality, and a working group meeting of the karst IGCP Project. This should provide an excellent opportunity for Project participants to discuss strategies for the protection of karst environments with a backdrop of the Chinese efforts to develop modelling schemes to identify contribution of carbonate rock weathering to the atmospheric CO2 sink.
At a minimum there will be Working Group meetings in Brisbane, Australia, and at the annual karst commission meeting in Canada during the 40th IAH Congress.
A symposium (36.4) in the theme 36 was listed in the second circular of the 34th International Geological Congress (IGC), in Brisbane, Australia, 2-10 August. Website: http://www.34igc.org
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Theme 36. Regional, Thematic and Specialist Symposia Coordinator: Ian LAMBERT [email protected] (Australia) and Paul KAY (Australia) These Symposia are organised by groups associated with the IUGS and other international and national associations. Oral presentations may be by invitation of the convenors.
36.4 Environmental change and sustainability in karst systems: relations to climate change and anthropogenic activities (2011-2016) [IGCP Project 598] Cheng ZHANG [email protected] (China), Chris GROVES (USA) and Augusto AULER (Brazil)
Confronting Global Change. 40th IAH Congress. 16-23 Sep. Niagara Falls, CANADA. Organised by IAH Canada. INFO: Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.iah2012.org/
Project participants beginning at the end of year two will be strongly encouraged to prepare and submit papers from Project work, as appropriate, in high-quality, international peer-reviewed journals. Year Three, 2013.
A working group meeting and field seminar will be in Brno Czech Republic during the 16th International Congress of Speleology, 21-28 July. e-mail: [email protected]: http://www.speleo2013.com
In June, in conjunction with the 21st International Karstological School "Classical Karst" organized by Karst Research Institute at ZRC SAZU E-mail: [email protected] Web page: http://kras.zrc-sazu.si
At a minimum there will be two additional Working Group meetings, with one at the annual Geological Society of America meeting on 2013 - Denver, Colorado, USA: 27–30 October. The project will continue to encourage, and assist with, the publication of Project results in peer-reviewed journals. Year Four, 2014.
There will be a primary Working Group meeting and field seminar at either Málaga University, Spain (in the frame of the V International Symposium on Karst) or Brazilian Karst Research Institute, Belo Horizonte, or both. The interactions between human activities, karst environment and water resources will be investigated in the field. A tentative summary of the Project up to that point will be made.
At a minimum there will be two additional Working Group meetings, with one at the annual Geological Society of America meeting on 19–22 October Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and tentatively in Indonesia. Most communication will continue to
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take place electronically, and a goal will be to define the scope, and organize production, of the final report. The project will continue to encourage, and assist with, the publication of Project results in peer-reviewed journals. Year Five, 2015.
The major goal of the year will be to prepare the final report, which will summarize the results of progress on all the four objectives of the project. Major Project contributions and advances will be synthesized at a final workshop and field excursion.
Suggestions and Comments are welcome Any suggestions and comments on the basic ideas, objectives, methodologies, selection of field correlation sites or work schedule are very much welcome.
Contact: Zhang Cheng PhD/Prof. The Institute of Karst Geology, CAGS 50 Qixing Road, Guilin 541004, Guangxi The People’s Republic of China
Tel. +86 773 5837343 Fax.+86 773 5845576 Email: [email protected]
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Part II Report on the Progress of IGCP 513: “Global Study of Karst Aquifers and Water Resources” in Its Final Year (2010), by Professor Chris Groves, Western Kentucky University
In its final year IGCP 513 received an “excellent” rating from the IGCP Scientific Board at UNESCO. During the year active participants came from 29 countries. Based on World Bank atlas method criteria, participants included those from one country with “low-income” (Ethiopia) and nine countries with "lower-middle income" economies (China, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Ukraine, and Vietnam) had an active part in this Project by organizing or attending IGCP-related Symposia or training courses. Project 513 completed its tenure as a successor to three successful karst-related projects carried out under the auspices of IGCP, which included Project 299: Geology, Climate, Hydrology and Karst Formation (1990-1994), Project 379: Karst Processes and the Global Carbon Cycle (1995-1999), and Project 448: World Correlation of Karst Geology and Relevant Ecosystems (2000-2004). It also preceded the opening of the UNESCO IHP Category II International Research Center for Karst that was initiated in Guilin, China in December 2008.
A remarkable level of synergy and leveraging has resulted from these activities, and many of the activities have been coordinated with appropriate working groups of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH), the International Geographical Union (IGU) and the Union Internationale de Spéléologie (UIS). Major conferences supported by IGCP 513 in the Project’s first five years included the UIS Congress (Greece, 2005), International Conference and Field Seminar in Water Resources and Environmental Problems in Karst” (Serbia and Montenegro, 2005), International Congress on Groundwater in Mediterranean Countries (Spain, 2006, produced special issue of the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Geology), 8 Conference on Limestone Hydrogeology (Switzerland, 2006),
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International Conference on Karst Hydrogeology and Ecosystems (USA, 2007), Karst sessions at the European Geoscience Union (Austria 2007), and karst and groundwater development session at the International Geological Congress (Norway, 2008). In addition to the contributions of various laboratories and individuals working within the framework of IGCP 513, we conducted karst resource related training workshops
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in the US, Slovenia, Spain, and China. The societal benefits achieved by Project 513 are in both the basic research results from the Project—as well as the applied: karst aquifers are estimated to supply 25% of the world’s population with drinking water. The primary IGCP 513 meeting in 2010 was the 4th International Symposium on Karst (ISKA-2010) organized by the Centre of Hydrogeology at the University of Málaga and the Spanish Geological Survey (IGME). Karst formations cover about an eighth of the Earth’s surface and have been studied since time immemorial. The results of this research have been presented and discussed at many congresses and scientific meetings, especially in the second half of the 20th century. The threshold of the second decade of the 21st century seems a good time to reflect on the progress made in recent times and to set out some of the lines of research to pursue in the near future. This is the aim of this 4th International Symposium on Karst (ISKA-2010) organized by the Centre of Hydrogeology at the University of Málaga and the Spanish Geological Survey (IGME), in the framework of their “Advanced Hydrogeological Studies” partnership. The 2010 meeting of the 4th International ISKA presented 80 papers in four key topics: karst hydrogeology and investigations, karst landscapes and ecosystems, human interaction with karst environments, particularly in caves, and engineering geology in karst areas. During 2010 universities, institutes, and other organizations closely affiliated with IGPC513 organized the following training courses and workshops: 1) Western Kentucky University Karst Field Studies Program, Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky (June), 2) the Karstological School of the Slovenian Karst Institute (June); 3) the HYDROKARST workshop in Malaga Spain (April) implemented by the Hydrogeological Group at the University of Màlaga; 4) the “International Training Course on Karst Hydrogeology and Karst Carbon Cycle Monitoring” organized by the UNESCO Category II International Research Center on Karst (IRCK) and supported by the Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources and 5) “Training and Communication on Understanding and Protecting Groundwater in Wuming County, China” supported also by IRCK along with Western Kentucky University’s China Environmental Health Project (CEHP) and the U.S. State Department through a grant to the Vermont Law School’s U.S.-China Partnership in Environmental Law. In 2010 we made significant progress in the fourth year of the China Environmental Health Project. The largest part of this initiative is to develop academic infrastructure for karst water hydrogeology and water resource development in southwest China.
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In 2010 CEHP personnel made cooperative project and planning visits to IRCK in Guilin and UNESCO World Heritage Site locations in Wulong Chongqing, and Libo Guizhou, and two visits were made to the US from teams representing IRCK and Libo.
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Part III Responses and Suggestions
1. China, Liu Dunyi and Dong Shuwen
It is worth mentioning that since 1990 four karst-related IGCP projects have been accomplished by the same international team, whose scientific results and teamwork as well social benefits are highly regarded by the IGCP SB and the colleagues worldwide. The new project has been proposed as a successor to move the study of karst hydrological processes and their relations with environmental change forward, and to improve the technology and methods for karst environmental investigations and groundwater vulnerability assessments for water resource protection.
The main purposes of this project are to significantly enhance the research on karst hydrological processes, as well as to promote international cooperation and technology sharing on water environment protection, education and training. Furthermore, this project will also benefit to the newly founded International Research Center on Karst (IRCK) in its process for becoming a major international cooperation and research platform in keeping with the mission of IGCP “Geoscience in the Service of Society”.
Prof. Liu Dunyi, Chairman of China National Committee for IGCP Prof. Dong Shuwen, Secretary-General of China National Committee for IGCP
2. Slovenia, Simon Pirc
The proposed new IGCP Project, “Environmental Change and Sustainability in Karst Systems (2011-2016)” is strongly supported by the Slovenian IGCP Committee in view of its scientific as well as societal importance. The project is a direct follow-up of the very successful IGCP Project “Global study of karst aquifers and water resources”.
An additional reason for endorsing the proposal is the part played by our country, Slovenia, in karstology. Our experts have played also a leading part in a number of previous IGCP projects related to karst, and are also among the team proposing the new project.
Sincerely,
Prof. Simon Pirc, m.p.
Chairman of Slovenian IGCP Committee
October 12, 2010
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3. Germany, Nico Goldscheider
14 October 2010
As the Chairman of the Commission on Hydrogeology of Karst of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH), I fully support the proposed IGCP project “Environmental Change and Sustainability in Karst Systems” by Dr. Zhang Cheng and colleagues.
Karst aquifers and karst landscapes are globally important for drinking water supply, but also as valuable ecosystems harbouring high biodiversity. At the same time, karst areas are particularly vulnerable to human impacts and environmental changes. Karst areas thus require specific protection and international research cooperation. Several previous IGCP projects, coordinated by Yuan Daoxian (China), Chris Groves (USA) and Bartolomé Andreo (Spain) have addressed these issues. These previous projects were major contribution to international research and collaboration in the field of karst groundwater and ecosystem protection.
There has always been a close link between the karst-related IGCP projects and the IAH Karst Commission. Most of the project leaders are members of the IAH Karst Commission, and many other members of our commission have also directly or indirectly contributed to these IGCP projects.
We are sure that this close cooperation will continue and that the newly proposed IGCP project will be as successful as the preceding projects. Therefore, we fully support the proposed project.
Best regards
Prof. Dr. Nico Goldscheider
Chairman of the IAH Karst Commission
4. USA, David Keeling
“Dr. Groves’ ongoing engagement with this global-scale project is indicative of the Hoffman Institute’s and WKU’s international reach,” said Geography and Geology Department Head David Keeling.
“In addition, the ability to attract internationally recognized karst scientists to WKU for a conference that is truly global in scope is a testament to the quality of research conducted by the Hoffman Institute and to the efforts by Hoffman Institute faculty, staff, and students to focus attention on one of humankind’s biggest challenges – the protection of water resources across the planet.”
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5. USA, Chris Groves
Dr. Chris Groves, director of the WKU’s Hoffman Environmental Research Institute, will serve as a co-leader of the five-year project. He traveled to China last September to work with Chinese government scientists on the proposal for the initiative.
“An exciting aspect of the project’s design,” Dr. Groves said, “is that it will merge basic and applied research by applying state-of-the-art hydrogeological concepts with participatory approaches that engage local, impacted communities.”
The work has a strong capacity building component with water resources-related training efforts already scheduled later this year in the United States, Europe and Asia.
The first business meeting for IGCP 598 will be held at WKU this June, during the International Conference on Karst Hydrogeology and Ecosystems, hosted by the Hoffman Institute.
6. China, Yuan Daoxian
Four karst-related IGCP projects have been implemented successively. All these four projects have provided opportunities for karst research communities worldwide to work together to study and solve resources and environment problems in the fields of karst formation, carbon cycle, karst ecology and water resources. Earth System Science is introduced into the study of modern karstology, and Karst Dynamics Theory is established, thus improving the development of karst science. The results of these projects have laid a solid foundation for the establishment of IRCK and the approval of new IGCP project 598.
7. Brazil, Augusto Auler
Dear Chris and others,
Thank you very much for the invitation to join this new IGCP project. I will gladly accept the role of co-leader. I have just a few corrections to be made on the proposal, concerning my personal information: On p. 2, my present address should be:
Augusto Auler Instituto do Carste Rua Barcelona 240/302 Belo Horizonte - MG 30360-260 - Brazil
On p. 19, my email address should be: [email protected]
Other than that the proposal seems to be fine, broad in scope and well researched.
Please find attached my CV.
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If you need additional information please feel free to ask.
Regards,
Augusto
8. Slovenia, Martin Knez
Dear Cheng and Chris,
you made big work! I can say just thank you in the name of all karstologists...
one of important meetings are also annual Karstological Schools Classical Karst in Postojna. If you need some words I can send them right away. Best regards, Martin 9. USA, Thomas J. Casadevall
Thanks Chris for your proposal. It looks very good and I'm going to recommend that it receive a letter of support from the USNC (US National Committee) for IUGS. My colleague - Rich Calnan - will work on your letter of support tomorrow. Best regards, Tom Thomas J. Casadevall U.S. Geological Survey P.O. Box 25046 MS-964 Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 USA e-mail: [email protected] 10. Spain, Bartolome Andreo-Navarro
Dear co-leaders,
Please attached I'm sending you some improvements marked in green.
I can confirm you that President of Spanish IGCP chapter has sent a support letter to General Secretary of IGCP recommending and supporting our project.
Nico Goldscheider, as President of IAH Karst Commission also support the proposal as some of you know.
Best regards and Good luck,
Bartolomé
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11. China, Zhang Cheng
The main purposes of this project are to significantly enhance the research on karst hydrological processes, as well as to promote international cooperation and technology sharing on water environment protection, education and training. As the first UNESCO Category II institution in the Geoscienes, the newly founded International Research Center on Karst still needs to work closely with IGCP, in turn become a major international cooperation and research platform in keeping with the mission of IGCP “Geoscience in the Service of Society”.
International Research Center on Karst (IRCK) under the auspices of UNESCO in Guilin, China. Established in 2008 the mission of IRCK is to spread and promote the understanding of karst dynamics around the world, establish a base for karst research innovation, create a platform for international exchange of karst scientists and ideas, and provide consultation and training services for economic and socially sustainable development in the world’s karst areas.
The First International Training Course on Karst Hydrogeology and Karst Ecosystems, sponsored by China’s Ministry of Commerce and organized by IRCK jointly with the Institute of Karst Geology (IKG), was held in Guilin, China, from November 8 to December 5, 2009. Seventeen students and scientists from eight countries participated in this course, including Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Romania, and Peru. A four-day excursion to the Stone Forest (Shilin-World Natural Heritage Site, UNESCO) in Yunnan Province also was carried out during the course.
The main topics include the concepts, structure and function of karst dynamic systems, karst landscape and formation, karst groundwater tracing techniques, quality and quantity of karst groundwater; karst groundwater monitoring and resource evaluation; and application of isotopes in karst hydrology.
Some of participants strongly expressed their willingness to cooperate with IRCK and to be involved in subsequent karst related IGCP projects. The IRCK is thus shown not only to be a platform for training professionals from developing countries, but also an effective way to initiate and complement international (both bilateral and multilateral) cooperation.
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Part IV Previous Works of IGCP/SIDA 598
Participants Relevant to the Project
1. Karst carbon sink potential and climate change
Influence of diel biogeochemical cycles on carbonate equilibrium in a karst river
V. de Montety , J.B. Martin , M.J. Cohen , C. Foster and M.J. Kurz a, b a c c a
a Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-2120, USA b Géosciences Rennes, UMR 6118, Université Rennes1-CNRS, Rennes, 35042 France c School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0410, USA
Variations in temperature, photosynthesis, and respiration force diel variations in pH and dissolved CO2 concentrations of surface streams, possibly controlling carbonate equilibrium between river water and carbonate stream beds. Diel cycles of water chemistry and δ13C of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) were measured to assess how biogeochemical processes affect dissolution and precipitation of calcite and thus channel development in Ichetucknee River, a large spring-fed river (discharge > 6 m3/s) flowing over carbonate karst terrain in north central Florida (USA). Samples were collected at a 4-h sampling interval during two one-week periods and at a 1-h interval during a single 24-h period. Simultaneously, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO) and NO3
− concentrations were measured using in situ sensors at 15-min or 1-h intervals. Ca2+, DIC and NO3
− concentrations decreased during the day and increased at night causing diel changes of in-stream specific conductivity. These changes were inversely related to diel changes in pH, PCO2 and DO concentrations. This work shows that photosynthesis and respiration of subaquatic vegetation are the dominant processes influencing in-stream diel variation. During the day, a simultaneous increase of δ13CDIC and decrease in DIC indicates that photosynthesis was the primary control on DIC concentrations. Calcite saturation indices ranged from 0 to 0.5, with the highest value in daylight as a result of CO2 consumption causing carbonate precipitation. The water remained saturated with respect to calcite at night and δ13CDIC values decreased, indicating that CO2 production from ecosystem respiration was the dominant process affecting DIC concentrations but was insufficient to induce significant carbonate dissolution. At night outgassing maintained in-stream DIC concentrations lower than the supersaturated DIC springs source but a drop in δ13CDIC indicates that ecosystem respiration had a dominant influence over outgassing. Although CO2 outgassing occurs, it is shown to be a minor component of the DIC mass balance while carbonate precipitation represents 88% of
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DIC loss. These results indicate that in-stream biological processes influence carbonate mineral diagenesis in large clear-water rivers.
Keywords: Diel cycle; Biogeochemical processes; Calcite precipitation; Carbon isotopes; Karst stream; Subaquatic plants
Chemical Geology. 2011, 283(1-2): 31-43
A new direction in effective accounting for the atmospheric CO2 budget: Considering the combined action of carbonate dissolution, the global water cycle and photosynthetic uptake of DIC by aquatic organisms
Zaihua Liu a,b, Wolfgang Dreybrodt c, Haijing Wang a,d
a The State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46 Guanshui Road, Guiyang 550002, China
b Karst Dynamics Laboratory, Institute of Karst Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, 50 Qixing Road, Guilin 541004, China
c Institute of Experimental Physics, University of Bremen, Bibliothekstraße 1, Bremen 28359, Germany
d School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, 2 Tiansheng Road, Chongqing 400715, China
The magnitudes, variations, locations and mechanisms responsible for the global atmospheric CO2 sink are uncertain and under continuing debate. Previous studies have focused mainly on the sinks in the oceans, and soil and vegetation on the continents. Here, we show, based on theoretical calculations and field monitoring evidence, that there is an important but previously underestimated sink for atmospheric CO2 as DIC dissolved inorganic carbon that results from the combined action of carbonate dissolution, the global water cycle and the photosynthetic uptake of DIC by aquatic organisms in ocean and land. The sink constitutes up to 0.8242 Pg C/a, amounting to 29.4% of the terrestrial CO2 sink, or 10.4% of the total anthropogenic CO2 emission. 0.244 Pg C/a are transferred to the sea via continental rivers and 0.2278 Pg C/a by meteoric precipitation over the seas. 0.119 Pg C/a is released back to the atmosphere again, and 0.2334 Pg C/a is stored in the continental aquatic ecosystem. Therefore, the net sink is estimated as 0.7052 Pg C/a. This sink may increase with an intensification of the global water cycle as a consequence of global warming, rising anthropogenic emissions of CO2 and carbonate dust in atmosphere, and afforestation, which increases the soil pCO2 and thus the carbonate dissolution. Fertilization with the elements N, P, C, Fe, Zn, and Si increases the organic matter storage/burial by aquatic organisms and thus decreases the CO2 return to the atmosphere. Based on the ensemble mean projection of global warming for the year 2100 by IPCC, it is estimated that the atmospheric CO2 sink will increase by
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21%, or about 0.18 Pg C/a. However, the uncertainty in the estimation of this sink needs further exploration. Keywords: atmospheric CO2 sink, carbonate dissolution, global water cycle, aquatic photosynthesis, element fertilization, organic matter storage/burial
Earth-Science Reviews 99 (2010) 162–172
Carbonate rock dissolution rates in different landuses
and their carbon sink effect Zhang Cheng
Karst Dynamics Laboratory, MLR, Institute of Karst Geology, CAGS/International
Research Center on Karst Under the Auspices of UNESCO, Guilin 541004, China
Research on karst processes is important for the determination of their carbon sink potential, as is research into terrestrial ecosystems in karst areas. Solutional denudation rates of soils from three karst spring watersheds supporting different land uses were studied. Solution rates showed a distinct pattern based on land use, with a generally higher rate being recorded in forest use soil. The mean values for tablet dissolution from the cultivated land, shrublands, secondary forest, grassland and primary forest were 4.02, 7.0, 40.0, 20.0, 63.5 t/km2.a respectively. Changes in vegetation patterns could improve the size of karst carbon sinks; for example, in this study the carbon sink was 3 times higher in primary forest than in secondary forest soil and 9 times higher than under shrubland, equating to an increase from 5.71 – 7.02 t/km2.a to 24.86 – 26.17 t/km2.a from cultivated land or shrub to secondary forest and to primary forest, respectively. carbonate rock, dissolution rate, land-use change, carbon sink, southern China
In early research studies into karst processes, the estimation of carbonate rock dissolution rate was mainly performed using empirical equations. For example, Pulina M. (1971, 1974) calculated potential dissolution rates in karsts in Poland, Europe, the temperate and subtropical regions of Asia, and in other regions [1,2]. Thereafter, a worldwide correlation program for carbonate dissolution rates was undertaken by the International Union of Speleology under the framework of the limestone standard tablet method. The program involved taking 101 dissolution rate data sets from different soil depths at 25 correlation sites (USA, England, Italy, France, Australia amd former Yugoslavia)(with different climate conditions) around the world; these were collected and analyzed by Gams (1981) [3]. The data from other karst areas (such as southwest China) showed that the higher the precipitation in a given study area, the higher the dissolution rate [4]. Accordingly, before the 1990s, scientific research related to karst carbon sinks was mainly focused on simple karst processes and their influencing factors; much research involved analysis of just a single factor such as air temperature or precipitation.
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Since the 1990s, research became more integrated with an emphasis on the associated impacts of climate, hydrology and geology on karst processes. It also was also introduced into the field of global change research during the implementation of IGCP 379 “Karst processes and the carbon cycle (1995-1999)”, and was aimed at the estimation of the carbon sink intensity at regional (such as China [5]) and global scales. A global correlation of the carbon cycle in epikarst dynamics systems was also performed, and it was estimated that the carbon sink from global karst processes was (1.1 – 6.08) × 108 t C/a [6-9], or about 5.5 % – 30.4 % of the “missing carbon sink”. Moreover, the carbon sink for atmospheric CO2 from epikarst processes in different karst regions of the world has also been investigated [10]. The amounts of carbon used for carbonate rock dissolution during weathering processes in a glacial basin and permafrost terrace were 53.09 × 105 g C/km2. and 20.4-23.5×105 g C/km2.a respectively, while the estimated carbon removed in a typical small karst catchment was high ranging between 94.43 - 109×105 gC/km2.a in a polar glacier region [10].
Currently karst processes have been implicated in combating climate change, considering the impact of human activities such as landuse change; especially, the impact of vegetation variation on karst carbon sinks. Results from some typical studies showed that vegetation recovery and areal increases in allogenic water in a catchment can remarkably improve karst processes [11,12], as well as the associated biological processes and the amount of soil carbonate anhydrate [13].
Therefore with increases in inter-disciplinary research and the improvement of estimation methods and accuracy, the percentage of karst carbon sinks in the “missing sink” could be much higher than currently assumed. However, debate remains regarding the long-term and short-term processes involved in karstification. There are several key scientific problems in the study of karst carbon sink potential; including how to distinguish partial sinks that are related to human activities such as reforestation and acid rainfall [14] and the stability of bicarbonate in underground water [15] when it rises to the surface.
Temporal (seasonal) and spatial (landuse) variations in karst processes can alter the sensitivity of karst dynamics system to environmental change and the heterogeneity of the karst and karst water [16,17].
In this study, three catchments in Guangxi and Chongqing, China are selected specifically for comparing their subsoil dissolution rates and the variation in carbon removal under different land-use patterns, i.e. tilled land, shrubland, secondary forest, and primary forest. The objective of this study is to investigate the carbon sink potential of the karst with the changing vegetation patterns. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. “Study area” discusses briefly the locations as well as the physical environments of the study sites. Following it in “Study methods”, the study methods are explained, including standard tablet method, hydrochemical-runoff method and others. Findings in the case study are presented in “Results and discussion”, particularly the differences in carbon sinks of karst processes during the development of vegetation from shrub to secondary forest, and then to primary forest. Finally, “Conclusions” gives some conclusions as well as directions of future research. The study here will provide a better understanding of
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the impact of different land-use patterns on karst processes. It will also help improve the uncertainty in estimates of karst carbon sinks from carbonate rock and chemical denudation; thus, potentially improving carbon cycle models used for terrestrial ecosystems in karst regions.
1. Study area
1.1 Nongla, Mashan County, Guangxi Nongla (108.17°E and 23.72°N) is a typical karst Fengcong (depression) area
located in a mountainous region, and is situated at Guling Town, Mashan County, Guangxi, China (Figure 1). The air temperature ranges from 8 to 30°C with the annual average being 20 °C. Annual precipitation is 1750 mm. The main lithology present is thick marl-silica dolomite from the Donggangling Formation of the middle Devonian with a gentle dip angle [18]. The soil thickness is about 1 – 2m, generally being 0.5m. The soil CO2 contents at 0.2 m and 0.5 m depth were 4500 -17000 ppm, 8000-35000 ppm respectively.
Secondary forest is the main vegetation cover in the study area, accounting for 51 % of the total area, with orchards, shrublands and tilled agricultural land being 32 %, 9 %, 8 % respectively (Table 1).
Table 1 Landuse in Nongla, in 2003
landuse forest orchard tilled land shrub total Area (km2) 0.68 0.42 0.10 0.12 1.32
Percentage (%) 51 32 8 9 100
Figure 1 Geographic location of Nongla, Mashan County, Guangxi
1.2 Jinfo Mountain, Chongqing Jinfo Mountain (Mt. Jinfo) (107.09°E and 29.16°N) National Nature Reserve is
located in the south of Nanchuan County, Chongqing Municipality, China and occupies about 441 km2 (Figure 2).
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Figure 2 Geographic location of Jinfo Mountain, Chongqing
The plateau surface is underlain by Permian limestone (P1) in the upper part being 2000 m asl. The karst forms in a large scale (dolines and caves) on the surface or underground are well developed; Silurian shale and sandstone lie in the middle part of Mt. Jinfo from 1000 m to 1500 m asl. The lower part of Mt. Jinfo is composed of limestone and dolomite from the Cambrian and Ordovician and, plenty of small- and micro-forms of karst have been formed in this area. Overall, Mt. Jinfo sits in a subtropical humid monsoon climate zone with a rainy season from April to October. The vertical change of climate and vegetation is very notable from the mountain foot to the top. The lower part of the mountain has a subtropical humid monsoon climate, typical in Southwest China, with annual average air temperature of 16.6 ºC and annual mean rainfall of 1,287 mm. However on the upper part of the mountain, the climate is more temperate with an annual average air temperature of 8.2 ºC, and annual mean rainfall of 1,436 mm [19].
In this study, two epikarst springs at different elevations were selected as study sites: Bitan Spring (BS, 700 m a.s.l.); and Shuifang Spring (SS, 2,000 m a.s.l.). The former (BS) represents the lower part of mountain with a karst ecological environment typical of the subtropical climate zone while the latter (SS) represents a temperate karst ecological environment on a plateau surface and mountain top. The lower part at BS is composed mainly of the limestone and dolomite from the Cambrian and Ordovician and the soil depth ranges between 0.20~0.60 m in this area. Secondary shrubland is the main vegetation type present covering 70 % of the land area. Karst systems in Mt. Jinfo to low-mountain gorge karst type in terms of geomorphology. The plateau surface at the mountain top is underlain by Permian
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limestone and the soil depth ranges between 0.30–1.20m. Primary forest and grass land are the main land use patterns in the area.
Soil forming factors for karst processes in the study catchments are listed in Table 2, including two key controlling factors: soil CO2 concentration and organic carbon content. Two data collection approaches were adopted at these two study sites: (1) on-site test and (2) direct soil sampling. Soil CO2 concentration was measured using on-site AP-20 Aspirating Pump (Kitagawa, Japan), the contents of water hydrochemical parameters were measured using on-site pH/Cond 340i/SET (WTW, Germany), while the contents of the soil organic carbon and pH values were later analyzed in laboratory setting by researchers of Environmental and Geochemical Laboratory, Institute of Karst Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological sciences. The data showed that with the changing vegetation (from tilled land to shrub to secondary forest, and to primary forest), the soil pH value decreases and the content soil organic carbon content and soil CO2 concentration increase gradually. The soil CO2 concentration in Nongla, Mashan is higher than that for Jinfo Mountain which is probably related to a higher air temperature during the summer and a greater soil respiration rate. (Table 3).
Table 2 Driving forces for soil development in karst formations in the study catchments
Study area and land uses pH
Average. Soil CO2
(ppm)
Average. Soil
Org. C (%) Note
Secondary forest 7.28-7.40 16100 3.43 Orchard land 7.2-7.49 / 3.39 Shrub land 7.98-8.40 9100 2.00
Nongla, Mashan
Tilled land 8.33-8.44 / 3.19 Secondary forest 6.68-7.67 4700 5.54 Bitan Spring,
Mt. Jinfo Shrub land 8.04 2000 1.91
Primaryforest 6.3-6.94 7000 11.28 Shuifang Spring,
Mt. Jinfo Grass land / 6000 2.72
Soil CO2 concentration was measured in the rainy season, ”/” means no data
Table 3 The main hydrochemical parameters of epikarst springs in the study catchments
Study area
Epikarst Spring
Land use Average Temp. (℃)
Average.pH
[Ca2+](mg/L)
[HCO3-]
(mg/L) EC
(µs/cm)
Landiantang Spring
SecondaryForest
19.7 7.54 73-90 317.2-451.4 599-603
Dongwang Spring
Shrub land 19.4 7.70 52-83 311.1 435-460Nongla, Mashan
Nongtuan Spring
Tilled land 19.8 7.91 39-42 164.7-268.4 293-360
Mt. Bitan Secondary 14.7 7.97 34-54 180.3-205.0 226-351
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Spring forest Jinfo Shuifang
Spring Primary forest
9.9 7.67 20-50 97.2-121.0 189-223
2. Study methods The measurement and calculation of solutional denudation rates of limestone
mainly included using the hydrochemical-runoff method [20], the Corbel formula calculation [21], the weight loss measurement of standard limestone tablets [3], the Diffuse Boundary Layer (DBL) chemical-dynamics method [22], a micro-erosion meter [23,24], Karrentische (measurement of bare-rock surface irregularities), and cosmogenic chlorine-36 measurements [25,26]. The last two were mainly used for long-term average estimation of dissolution rates (>10 ka). When data are limited, the hydrochemical-runoff method should be based on at least one hydrological year monitoring of discharge and Ca2+ content of the water. The Corbel formula was used for obtaining a first-order estimate of dissolutional denudation using runoff and the average CaCO3 content of the water; the DBL approach was used to predict hydraulic control of precipitation rates, and it is also useful for a better understanding of micro-denudation mechanisms. Standard tablet methods were used to determine carbonate rock dissolution rates and their carbon sink effect over a catchment scale.
Typical land uses (forest, shrub, grassland, orchard, and tilled land) in two spring catchments were selected to bury the tablets at various soil depths (0.05 m, 0.20 m, 0.5 m); soil CO2 concentration and soil moisture at different soil depth (0.05 m, 0.20 m, 0.5 m) were also measured on site using AP-20 Aspirating Pump (Kitagawa, Japan) and SM200 soil moisture meter (Delta-T, England).
In Nongla Fengcong (depression) area, four representative sites were selected in different land use covers (woodland, shrub, orchard, tilled land ), and a total of 48 pure limestone tablets were placed. Buried time is from 1 April 2004 to 6 April 2005. 46 tablets data were obtained (2 lost). In Bitan spring and Shuifang spring catchments of Jinfo mountain, four representative sites were selected in different land use covers (woodland, shrub, grass land, tilled land ), and a total of 34 pure limestone tablets were placed. Buried time is from 24 January 2007 to 27 March 2008. 34 tablets data were obtained.
To compare the results from the different sites, all the tablets used were all from Guilin and the same lithology, pure limestone from the Rongxian Formation from the Devonian, with standard dimensions. The tablets were rounded in shape with a diameter of 40 mm, and a thickness of about 3mm.
Standard limestone dissolutional tablets were placed on rock surfaces and at different soil depth (0.05 m, 0.2 m, 0.5 m). Three tablets were placed at each depth in each land-use cover. Tablet annual dissolution rates (DRs) were measured after one hydrological year using following formula [27]:
DR=(W1-W2)×1000×T/365/S where：DR—dissolution rate (mg/a.cm2)
W1—tablet initial weight(g)
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W2—tablet weight after burial(g) T—burial time(d) S—surface area of tablet (approximately 28.9 cm2)
3. Results and discussion
The results showed that DRs are quite different in the different sites and at different soil depths. Maximum absolute DR was 145 mg/a, at a depth of 0.5 m in orchard. Most of the DR were greater than 20 mg/a in the woodland and the orchard, higher than that of shrubland and tilled sites. Average annual DRs at various soil depths and the unit-area DRs from the different land uses are listed in Table 4.
Table 4 Soil dissolution rates at differing depths in Nongla Under-soil DRs (mg) Land uses
0.05m 0.2m 0.5m Av. Unit-area DRs
(t/km2.a) Tilled land, Nongtuan 9.5 11.0 14.9 11.8 4.02
Shrub, Dongwang 1.4 0.5 2.6 1.5 0.51 Woodland, Landiantang 88.1 68.7 18.7 58.5 19.97 Orchard, langdiantang 82.0 87.7 120.1 96.6 32.97
In general, the DR in descending order for the sites are orchard, woodland, tilled land and shrubland (Table 4). In shrubland, DR was one order of magnitude less than those calculated from other land uses, and could mean that vegetation degradation is unfavorable for karst dissolutional processes. Lower rates also represent less developed and shallow epikarst zones at this site, which was demonstrated by the occurrence of a seasonal epikarst spring in the vicinity of a tablet burial site. The DR also potentially indicate the development of karst aquifers. The soil DR in the woodland were 40 times greater than that of the shrub, and 5 times greater in the tilled land. The results showed that land use can have a remarkable impact on karst development processes, in which soil organic matter (OM) and soil CO2 concentration are two major controlling factors [28].
DR seem directly dependent on soil OM under secondary forest and orchard conditions with the OM content of the surface layer of the soil always being high in the woodland because of the thick litter layer and intensive microbial activity. OM content was generally high in the orchard being caused by the use of organic fertilizers and resulted in increased OM content throughout the soil profile, and increased DR.
Under the tilled agricultural land and shrubland, the soil OM content was lower, and decreased with depth, resulting in slower belowground DR, and seems to slightly increase with depth, corresponding to the variation of soil CO2 concentration. These results showed that soil CO2 concentration is a key controlling factor during the karst development process [29]. Moreover, increased porosity resulting from the disturbance of the surface soil in the tilled land tends to favour increasing soil CO2 emissions, which is unfavorable for karst dissolutional processes; in the shrubland area, sparse vegetation, steep slopes, much greater solar radiation absorption, and
30
intensive transpiration, which are unfavorable for moisture preservation, are also important factors that can impact on DR.
In Bitan and Shuifang Spring catchments the maximum absolute DR was 218.15 mg/a, at a depth of 0.2 m in the woodland of Shuifang Spring and lowest at 3.9 mg/a, at a depth of 0.5 m in the Bitan Spring grassland. Most of the DR was higher than 40 mg/a in the woodland, greater than that of shrub and tilled land (less than 30 mg/a). Generally, in the rainy season weight loss from the tablets in the various landuses decreased from the woodland, to the grassland in Shuifang Spring; and from the woodland and tilled land to the bush-grass in the Bitan Spring. The average annual DRs at the various soil depths and unit-area DRs in the different land uses are listed in Table 5.
Table 5 Below ground dissolution rates in different land uses at the Jinfo Mountain site Belowground DRs (mg) Land uses
0.05m 0.2m 0.5m Average.Unit-area DRs
(t/km2.a) Rock desert land Rock surface 32.6 10.38 Woodland, Bitan 106.9 41.6 39.8 62.8 20.0
Shrub, Bitan 50.6 11.6 3.9 22.0 7.0 Woodland, Shuifang 187.8 218.2 191.8 199.3 63.5 Woodland, Shuifang Rock surface 67.1 21.4 Grass land, Shuifang 94.3 105.1 177.1 125.5 40.0
Table 5 shows the annual weight loss of the tablets located in Shuifang Spring, placed both in the soil and on the surface under different land uses, was generally higher than from in Bitan Spring, especially in primary forest of Shuifang Spring, DR was 3 times that of secondary forest in Bitan Spring. Annual average below ground DRs from the Shuifang Spring were all higher than 120 mg (equivalent to 38.0g/m2·a), moreover DR in the soil were generally greater than that on the surface at a given site. The value of DR from the secondary forest in the Bitan Spring was 3 times that from the nearby shrub measurement site, quite close to that from secondary forest in Nongla. This result indicates again that the vegetation degradation is unfavorable not only for soil quality, but also for karst processes.
Generally DRs both in the soil and on the surface at the upper part of the mountain are greater than that on the lower part of the mountain, and DRs in the forest are higher than in the grass land. However, the DR of the grass land in Shuifang Spring was higher than that of the forest in Bitan Spring, which may be caused by the lower CO2 concentration (Table 2) and the higher CaCO3 content, ranging between 0.81–3.26 % in the soil of Bitan spring, while the soil CaCO3 content in the Shuifang Spring ranged from 0.01 - 0.07 %. The alkaline barrier was unfavorable for the dissolution of limestone tablets. The distinct DR also showed the heterogeneity of the karst systems. Moreover, the soil CO2 concentration and soil moisture characteristics were the two major controlling factors which influenced the weight loss from the
31
tablets placed in the soil [30]. Soil CO2 concentration can show distinct temporal and spatial variation. In the
rainy season the mean CO2 concentration at the Shuifang Spring was as high as 7000 ppm (July, 2006), whereas it was 4700 ppm at the Bitan Spring and 3900 ppm in the vicinity of the tilled land (Table 2). In the dry season the usual CO2 concentration is about 1000 ppm, the average values for soil CO2 concentrations in the Shuifang and Bitan Springs were 1200 ppm and 970 ppm respectively.
Soil water content from the different landuse soil profiles near the Bitan Spring were less than that in the Shuifang Spring, the greatest value was in the Bitan site was smaller than 30 %, being larger than 40 % in the Shuifang Spring. The water content of the soil profile had a relatively stable distribution near Shuifang Spring owing to greater precipitation recharge and a lower air temperature which favors a greater moisture retention. The soil water of the surface in the tilled land was very low during the dry season, which showed that vegetation degradation or human activities can remarkably influence the soil water content and water holding capacity.
The area of the Shuifang Spring catchment is about 0.54 km2. Based on the monitoring data for the monthly discharge and Ca2+ contents of the spring in 2004, the estimated CaCO3 removal from this catchment by chemical dissolutional denudeation was 18.26 t or 33.81 t/km2.a. This rate (of dissolutional denudeation) was calculated from water hardness and runoff data and was less than that derived from the tablet weight loss method in the soil of woodland or grass land, but was close to the average DR of the catchment (41.6 tkm2.a). Therefore, the DR calculated from the single land use pattern cannot be used for regional scale estimation.
The CO2 removal (from atmosphere during weathering processes)data calculated from the unit-area CaCO3 dissolutional denudation method is shown in Table 6. The data showed that the CO2 sink capacity of karst processes is quite different in various land uses owing to the heterogeneity of the karsts with a maximum of 27.94 t/km2.a (7.62 t C) in the primary forest in the Shuifang Spring of Jinfo Mountain, and was the lowest at 0.224 t/km2.a (0.061 tC) in shrub in Dongwang, Nongla, Guangxi.
In general, the carbon sink capacity of karst processes in descending order was primary forest, grassland, secondary forest, shrub and tilled land. Values from the secondary forest both in Landiantang and Bitan are relatively similar being about 8.8 t/km2.a (2.4 t C), three times of that in the degradated shrub and five times that in the tilled land nearby. Furthermore, the carbon sink in primary forest was three times that in secondary forest, i.e. in typical Fengcong areas of southwest China karst carbon sinks tend to increase in size as a result of carbonate weathering processes and are about 5.71-7.02 t/km2.a and 24.86-26.17 t/km2.a from tilled land/shrub to secondary forest and primary forest respectively. The data also showed that belowground DRs have a distinct variation in different land uses, so land use patterns should be taken into account for regional scale carbon sink estimation, in addition to climate (air
32
temperature and precipitation), hydrology (runoff and allogenic systems) and geology.
Table 6 The size of the carbon sink relative to karst processes in different land uses
Location Land use, site Unit-area
DR (t/km2.a)Unit-area CO2
removal(t/km2.a) Carbon sink(tC/km2.a)
Tilled land, Longtuan 4.02 1.769 0.482 Shrub, Dongwang 0.51 0.224 0.061
Woodland Landiantang 19.97 8.787 2.396
Nongla, Mashan, Guangxi
Orchard, Langdiantang 32.97 14.507 3.956 Rock desert 10.38 4.567 1.246
Woodland, Bitan Spring 20.0 8.80 2.40 Shrub, Bitan Spring 7.0 3.08 0.84
Woodland, Shuifang Spring 63.5 27.94 7.62
Mt. Jinfo Nanchuan, Chongqing
Grassland, Shuifang Spring 40.0 17.60 4.80
The CO2 removed during the weathering process could be both from atmospheric and soil respiration. Carbon dioxide from soil respiration may be involved actively in carbonate weathering processes in karst regions, and is thus essential to consider in karst processes in relation to the carbon cycle.
Forest is the largest carbon pool in terrestrial ecosystems. Dixon R K et al. (1994) reported that the global forest area is about 4.1×109 hm2 [31], which can sequestrate 1,196 ×109 t CO2 annually [32]. The total carbon sequestration capacity in China is 4.5×109 t CO2 for forest, 1.2×109 for grass land, 0.5×109 for sparse forest and shrub, 0.1×109 for crop, 0.2×109 for desert [33].
Karst processes are an important part of the global carbon cycle, in recent years geological processes (including karst processes) have been neglected, one reason for this is that the geological processes in carbon cycle models were regarded as a medium- to long-term processes, whereas biological processes are short-term ones. Thus the carbon flux parameters for the geological processes are 2 to 3 orders of magnitude less than those for various biological processes in the model [34], for example, carbon fluxes for marine biological processes and terrestrial ecosystem are about 45 billion T/a and 60 billion T/a respectively. Whereas they (carbon fluxes) are 0.2 billion T/a for weathering processes, 0.16 billion T/a for carbonated precipitation, and 0.06 billion T/a for volcanic processes. Neglect of geological processes may be one of the key factors resulting in an imbalance between the source and sinks of atmospheric CO2.
Soil CO2 and HCO3- concentrations of underground water are two factors related
closely to karst processes in an epikarst dynamics system. Many years of monitoring data showed that these two parameters have distinct seasonal multi-year variations and a positive relationship [35], i.e. soil CO2 concentration increases can improve carbonate chemical dissolution, thus increasing the HCO3
- concentration. Changes are also affected by air temperature and rainfall events [36]. Our results indicate that karst processes are very sensitive to environmental change, and vary simultaneously with various climatic change (rainfall, air temperature), biological processes (soil CO2 rise
33
result from decomposition of organic matter) which means no remarkable time lag [6]. The results of this study demonstrate this point and karst processes are also sensitive to vegetation change.
Karst carbon sinks were commonly considered as being a reversible process, nevertheless, work by Adamczyk K and others (2009) showed that aquatic CO2 is much more stable than our understanding of karst carbon sink processes [37]. This finding provides basic support for determining the stability of HCO3
- in surface water, which is circulated from underground karst water, and for estimating net carbon sinks.
4. Conclusion
The intensity of karst processes is mainly controlled not only by climate, hydrology and geology, but also land uses. Comparison between karst systems with different elevations in the southwest karst area showed that DR are generally dependent on precipitation, rather than on temperature, and regeneration of vegetation can improve belowground DR remarkably, thus the increase in CO2 carbon sink potential of karst processes.
The results of this work show that carbon sinks modified by karst processes can increase between 2 to 8 times during the development of vegetation from shrub to secondary forest, and then to primary forest. Unit-area carbon sequestration capacity of karst processes may be less than that of forest ecosystems, but exposed karst is distributed widely in southwest China with an outcrop area of 907,000 km2 [38]. With an increase in the rehabilitation of rock desertification and with ecosystem restoration, a very large karst carbon sink potential will result. It is essential to obtain more data to verify the increase in the size of the carbon sink from karst processes with vegetation restoration, thus our results could be applied to large regional scale carbon sink estimations.
Data from monitoring and experimental sites showed that karst processes, as a low-temperature geochemical open system, are very sensitive to environmental change and are a special geological process that is involved in the short-term carbon cycle. Carbon sinks of terrestrial ecosystems increase with vegetation development or reforestation, here it was shown that similar processes caused by karst dissolutional denudation can occur underground as well.
I wish to express my gratitude to Jiang Yongjun, Yang Pingheng, Wang Dongyin and Li Linli for their help
with the field sampling and in the laboratory. This work was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Grant No. 40772164), the Special Fund for Public Benefit Scientific Research of Ministry of
Land and Resources of China (Grant No. 201111022), and the China Geological Survey Project (Grant No.
1212010911062 and water-2010030701).I also want to thank the reviewers and editors for their help with the
manuscript.
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Chinese Sci Bull, 2011, 56: 1−7
2. Karst aquifer systems and water resource processes
Effects of land use on hydrochemistry and contamination of karst groundwater from Nandong underground river system, China
Jiang Yongjun1, Yan Jun2
1. School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, No.2 Tiansheng Ave., Beibei District, Chongqing 400715, China. e-mail: [email protected]
2. Department of Geography and Geology, Western Kentucky University, USA, Bowling Green, KY 42101, USA
The Nandong Underground River System (NURS) is located in Southeast Yunnan Province, China. Groundwater in NURS plays a critical role in socio-economical development of the region. However, with the rapid increase of population in recent years, groundwater quality has degraded greatly. In this study, the analysis of 36 groundwater samples collected from springs in both rain and dry seasons shows significant spatial disparities and slight seasonal variations of major element concentrations in the groundwater. In addition, results from factor analysis indicate that NO3
−, Cl−, SO42−, Na+, K+, and EC in the groundwater are mainly from the
36
sources related to human activities while Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3−, and pH are primarily
controlled by water–rock interactions in karst system with Ca2+ and HCO3− somewhat
from anthropogenic inputs. With the increased anthropogenic contaminations, the groundwater chemistry changes widely from Ca-HCO3 or Ca (Mg)-HCO3 type to Ca-Cl (+NO3) or Ca (Mg)-Cl (+NO3), and Ca-Cl (+NO3+SO4) or Ca (Mg)-Cl (+NO3+SO4) type. Concentrations of NO3
−, Cl−, SO42−, Na+, and K+ generally show
an indistinct grouping with respect to land use types, with very high concentrations observed in the groundwater from residential and agricultural areas. This suggests that those ions are mainly derived from sewage effluents and fertilizers. No specific land use control on the Mg2+ ion distribution is observed, suggesting Mg2+ is originated from natural dissolution of carbonate rocks. The distribution of Ca2+ and HCO3
− does not show any distinct land use control either, except for the samples from residential zones, suggesting the Ca2+ and HCO3
- mainly come from both natural dissolution of carbonate rocks and sewage effluents. Keywords: Groundwater quality, Land use, Natural processes, Karst, Nandong, China
Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 2010, 210(1-4), 123-141.
Monitoring groundwater in the discharge area of a complex karst aquifer to assess the role of the saturated and unsaturated zones M. Mudarra1, B. Andreo1 and J. Mudry2
1. Department of Geology, Centre of Hydrogeology, University of Malaga (CEHIUMA), Ma´laga, Spain. e-mail: [email protected]
2. Laboratoire Chrono-environnement CNRS:UMR6249, Universite´ de Franche- Comte´, Besanc¸on, France. e-mail: [email protected]
The hydrochemical response at springs in the drainage area of the Sierra del Rey—Los Tajos carbonate aquifer (province of Málaga, southern Spain) was monitored in order to determine the hydrogeological functioning of this aquifer. Analysis of the most important chemical parameters, using methodologies such as the temporal evolution of chemical components, principal component analysis and discriminant factorial analysis revealed that the high level of hydrochemical heterogeneity to be found in this discharge zone, in addition to particular spatial and temporal factors, is responsible for the mineralisation of the spring water. Sampling in karst systems where discharge occurs by several springs should take into account the hydrochemical variability of them; otherwise conclusions about the hydrological functioning of aquifers deduced from mixture of spring waters can be inaccurate. Keywords: Carbonate (karst) aquifer, Hydrochemical heterogeneity, Discharge area, Unsaturated zone, Saturated zone, Southern Spain Environmental Earth Sciences. 2011. DOI: 10.1007/s12665-011-1032-x
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Formations of groundwater hydrogeochemistry in a karst system during storm events as revealed by PCA Yang Pingheng1, Yuan Daoxian1,2, Yuan Wenhao1, Kuang Yinglun1, Jia Peng1 & He Qiufang1
1 Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir, Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China;
2 The Karst Dynamics Laboratory, Ministry of Land and Resources, Institute of Karst Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Guilin. 541004, China
High-frequency samples have been collected at Jiangjia Spring, the outlet of Qingmuguan underground river system (QURS) in Chongqing in late April, 2008. The variations of hydrogeochemical compositions are found responding rapidly to storm events. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the 20 variables is employed to interpret the relationships with specific processes that control the groundwater hydrogeochemical formations. Through PCA, 84.961% of the total amount information is extracted to indicate the formations of groundwater hydrogeochemical features in QURS during storm events. The first component separates the soil erosion (i.e., increases in turbidity and concentrations of Al3+, TFe, TMn, Ba2+ and NO2
−), and dilution effect (i.e., decreases in specific conductance and concentrations of HCO3
−, Ca2+ and Sr2+), accounting for 41.495% of the variability in the data. The second component indicates residual fertilizers and duck’s waste from farmlands (i.e., increases in specific conductance and concentrations of Na+, NO3
−, PO43−, K+ and Cl−),
contributing to 37.449%. The dissolution of dolomite and dolomitic limestone makes up 6.017%. During the first rainfall event, the groundwater quality is mainly affected by residual fertilizers and duck’s waste from farmlands, whereas in the second rainfall event, it is mainly affected by increased turbidity and ionic concentrations caused by soil erosion. Ker words: principal component analysis (PCA), rainfall, karst groundwater, hydrogeochemistry, soil erosion, water quality, Jiangjia Spring (JJS)
Chinese Sci Bull, 2010, 55: 1412−1422
Methodology for groundwater recharge assessment in carbonate aquifers: application to pilot sites in southern Spain Andreo, B.; Vías, J.M.; Durán, J.J. et al. Centre of Hydrogeology of the University of Malaga (CEHIUMA) and Department of Geology, Malaga, Spain. Email: [email protected] Aquifer recharge can be determined by conventional methods such as hydrodynamic or hydrologic balance calculations, or numerical, hydrochemical or isotopic models.
38
Such methods are usually developed with respect to detrital aquifers and are then used on carbonate aquifers without taking into consideration their hydrogeological particularities. Moreover, such methods are not always easy to apply, sometimes requiring data that are not available. Neither do they enable determination of the spatial distribution of the recharge. For eight regions in southern Spain, the APLIS method has been used to estimate the mean annual recharge in carbonate aquifers, expressed as a percentage of precipitation, based on the variables altitude, slope, lithology, infiltration landform, and soil type. The aquifers are representative of a broad range of climatic and geologic conditions. Maps of the above variables have been drawn for each aquifer, using a geographic information system; thus they can be superimposed to obtain the mean value and spatial distribution of the recharge. The recharge values for the eight aquifers are similar to those previously calculated by conventional methods and confirmed by discharge values, which corroborates the validity of the method. Keywords: APLIS method, Carbonate rocks, Groundwater recharge/water budget, Geographical information systems, Spain
Hydrogeology Journal, 2008, 16(5): 911-925
Hydrochemical variations of epikarst springs in vertical climate zones: a case study in Jinfo Mountain National Nature Reserve of China Cheng Zhang1, Jun Yan2, Jianguo Pei1, Yongjun Jiang3
1. Karst Dynamics Laboratory, MLR, Institute of Karst Geology, CAGS, Guilin 541004, People’s Republic of China. e-mail: [email protected]
2. Department of Geography and Geology, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green 42101, USA. e-mail: [email protected]
3. School of Geographic Sciences, Southwest China University, 1 Tiansheng Rd., Chongqing 400715, People’s Republic of China
High temporal resolution (15 min) measurements of stage, pH, electric conductivity, temperature, and other hydrochemical parameters of groundwater at two sites in the Jinfo Mountain Nature Reserve of China were collected using automatic data loggers. Bitan Spring (BS 700 m a.s.l.) sits in subtropical climate zone, while Shuifang Spring (SS 2,060 m a.s.l.) is located in plateau temperate climate. The data show that hydrochemistry of epikarst springs at different altitudes is very sensitive to the changes of their physical environment, especially two factors: air temperature and soil CO2 concentration. Springs at lower altitude are associated with higher air temperature and soil CO2 concentration, thus more likely leading to more active karst processes than those at higher elevation. Water temperature and pH of BS showed a noticeable diurnal circle with high values in daytime and low values at night. The data also indicate that at least there are two effects that could impact the variations of groundwater hydrochemistry during flood pulse: dilution effect and CO2 effect. Keywords: Hydrochemical variations, Epikarst springs, Vertical climates, Jinfo
39
Mountain
Environmental Earth Sciences. 2011. 63(2): 375-381
3. Karst watersheds sustainable protection
Microbial atrazine breakdown in a karst groundwater system and its effect on ecosystem energetics
Iker, B.C.1, P. Kambesis2, S.A. Oehrle1, C. Groves2 and H.A. Barton1
1. Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099, USA.
2. Hoffman Environmental Research Institute, Department of Geography and Geology, Western Kentucky University, 1906 College Heights Blvd., Bowling Green, Kentucky 42101 USA
In the absence of sunlight energy, microbial community survival in subterranean aquifers depends on integrated mechanisms of energy and nutrient scavenging. Because karst aquifers are particularly sensitive to agricultural land use impacts due to rapid and direct hydrologic connections for pollutants to enter the groundwater, we examined the fate of an exogenous pesticide (atrazine) into such an aquifer and its impact on microbial ecosystem function. Atrazine and its degradation product deethylatrazine (DEA) were detected in a fast-flowing karst aquifer underlying atrazine-impacted agricultural land. By establishing microbial cultures with sediments from a cave conduit within this aquifer, we observed two distinct pathways of microbial atrazine degradation: (i) in cave sediments previously affected by atrazine, apparent surface-derived catabolic genes allowed the microbial communities to rapidly degrade atrazine via hydroxyatrazine, to cyanuric acid, and (ii) in low-impact sediments not previously exposed to this pesticide, atrazine was also degraded by microbial activity at a much slower rate, with DEA as the primary degradation product. In sediments from both locations, atrazine affected nitrogen cycling by altering the abundance of nitrogen dissimulatory species able to use nitrogenous compounds for energy. The sum of these effects was that the presence of atrazine altered the natural microbial processes in these cave sediments, leading to an accumulation of nitrate. Such changes in microbial ecosystem dynamics can alter the ability of DEA to serve as a proxy for atrazine contamination and can negatively affect ecosystem health and water quality in karst aquifers.
Journal of Environmental Quality. 2010. 39(2):509-518
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Comparative application of two methods (COP and PaPRIKa) for groundwater vulnerability mapping in Mediterranean karst aquifers (France and Spain) A. I. Marín1, N. Dörfliger2 and B. Andreo1
1. Centre of Hydrogeology, Department of Geology, University of Ma´laga (CEHIUMA), 29071 Ma´laga, Spain. e-mail: [email protected]
2. Water Division, BRGM, BP 36009, 3 avenue Claude-Guillemin, 45060 Orle´ans Cedex 02, France. e-mail: [email protected]
A comparative test of two vulnerability mapping methods (COP and PaPRIKa) specifically dedicated to for karst aquifers was carried out on two Mediterranean carbonate aquifers. The vulnerability maps obtained for each aquifer present important differences. To identify and determine the origin of these differences, the results were statistically analyzed using sensitivity analysis, coefficients of determination and scatter graphs. In addition, the global vulnerability (Gv) parameter was used to measure the general vulnerability of the aquifer and to compare the results obtained. This statistical analysis led us to conclude that the main cause of differences between these two methods used to assess aquifer vulnerability lie in the relative importance of the parameters employed in calculating the vulnerability index. For the PaPRIKa method, the variable related to infiltration (slope and karst features) has the most influence, with less weight being assigned to the protective capacity of layers overlying the aquifer. For the COP method, the most influent variable is defined by the layers overlying the aquifer, together with infiltration characteristics, determined by the relative importance of different forms of infiltration in each aquifer. The vulnerability mappings performed using the COP method present greater coherence with the known hydrogeological behavior of the study areas, especially the Spanish aquifers. Nevertheless, further hydrogeological investigations are needed, such as ones to validate the obtained vulnerability maps. Keywords: Vulnerability, Contamination, Carbonate aquifer, COP method, PaPRIKa method, Spain, France
Environmental Earth Sciences, DOI: 10.1007/s12665-011-1056-2
Evaluating disturbance on mediterranean karst areas:
the example of Sardinia (Italy) Jo De Waele Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geologico-Ambientali, Istituto Italiano di Speleologia, Via Zamboni 67, 40126 Bologna, Italy e-mail: [email protected]
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Evaluating the human disturbance on karst areas is a difficult task because of the complexity of these peculiar and unique environments. The human impact on karstic geo-ecosystems is increasingly important and there is an increasing need for multidisciplinary tools to assess the environmental changes in karst areas. Many disciplines, such as biology, geomorphology, hydrology and socialeconomical sciences are to be considered to sufficiently evaluate the impact on these intrinsically vulnerable areas. This article gives an overview of the evolution of environmental impact on karst areas of the island Sardinia (Italy). For this particular case, the most important impacts in the past 50 years are derived from the following activities, in decreasing importance: (1) mining and quarrying; (2) deforestation, agriculture and grazing; (3) building (widespread urbanisation, isolated homes, etc.) and related infrastructures (roads, sewer systems, aqueducts, waste dumps, etc.); (4) tourism; (5) military activities. To evaluate the present environmental state of these areas the Disturbance Index for Karst environments [Van Beynen and Townsend (Environ Manage 36:101–116)] is applied in a slightly modified version. Instead of considering the indicators of environmental disturbances used in the original method, this slightly modified index evaluates the disturbances causing the deterioration of the environmental attributes. In the Sardinian case study, 27 disturbances have been evaluated, giving rise to the definition of a Disturbance Index ranging between 0 (Pristine) and 1 (highly disturbed). This Disturbance Index simplifies the original KDI method, appears to adequately measure disturbance on Mediterranean karst areas and could be applied with success to other similar regions. Keywords: Disturbance Index, Karst, Mediterranean, Sardinia, Italy
Environ Geol (2009) 58:239–255
Environmental Geological Problems in China Karst Area Zhang Cheng Institute of Karst Geology, email: [email protected]
This investigation of underground rivers showed that water resources and environmental problems caused by the new round of national key project activities and mine exploration are creating severe challenges with a large area of influence area, especially mine drainage pollution. Simultaneously, identification of alternative water sources and underground water protection has become increasingly more difficult owing to the simultaneous, increasing widespread presence of severely polluted surface water. The problems of karst water protection in China in the face of rapid environmental change are so basic that it is strongly suggested that the current state of, and changes to, the karst water environment in China should be carefully considered in the next National Five-Year Plan′s geologic survey.
From November 2009 to April 2010, for example, an extreme long drought event hit the southwest China karst area and cause a severe drinking water difficulty of more
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than eighteen million local people. In northern China karst area ground water circulation has been remarkably influenced owing to urban expansion and extensive coal mining during past 30 years. Discharge of up to 80% of the largest springs has been attenuated in different degrees, and 30% have become significantly drier. Accordingly, to better understanding of karst hydrology and water resources process, it is not enough to reveal karst aquifer responses to storm and seasonal events, it is also necessary to study vulnerability differences of karst aquifers in different geological and climatic conditions, aquifer regulating capacity and their relation to vegetation, climate change, human activities, and resilience of karst systems to environmental change.
Application of a Karst Disturbance Index in Hillsborough County, Florida Philip van Beynen, Nilda Feliciano, Leslie North, Kaya Townsend Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue NES 107, Tampa, Florida 33620, USA E-mail: [email protected] Hillsborough County, Florida, is a karst region that is heavily urbanized, yet no study has been undertaken measuring the degree of human disturbance. Van Beynen and Townsend (2005) created a hierarchical and standardize disturbance index specifically designed for karst environments. To address the problem of determining human disturbance in the county, the above index was successfully applied and it was found that Hillsborough was highly disturbed (disturbance score of 0.69 of 1.0) because of its predominant urban and rural land use. Furthermore, the application of the index allowed for its refinement and the highlighting of environmental aspects in need of remediation such as soil compaction, deforestation, disturbance of archaeological sites, and the expanding urban footprint. Several minor issues arose during the application: the need for broader indicator descriptions that encompass a variety of scenarios, the need for a revised water quality indicator, inadequate data on sinkholes, and a lack of data for species richness and species population density. The utility of the index to resource managers arises from emphasizing certain areas of the environment that require immediate attention and determining temporal changes in environmental quality. Future application of the index requires potential retooling of the biota indicators, tightening of scoring descriptions for certain indicators, and further examination of the scale at which the index can be applied. Keywords: Florida, Karst, Index, Human impact, Environmental indicators
Environ Manage (2007) 39:261–277
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Interregional comparison of karst disturbance: West-central Florida
and southeast Italy Leslie A. North a, Philip E. van Beynen a, Mario Parise b
a University of South Florida, Department of Geography, Tampa, FL 33620, USA b Italian National Research Council, Bari, Italy The karst disturbance index (KDI) consists of 31 environmental indicators contained within the five broad categories: geomorphology, hydrology, atmosphere, biota, and cultural. The purpose of this research is to apply the KDI to two distinct karst areas, west Florida, USA, and Apulia, Italy. Through its application, the utility of the index can be validated and other important comparisons can be made, such as differences in the karst legislations implemented in each region and the effect of time exposure to human occupation to each karst terrain. Humans have intensively impacted the karst of southeast Italy for thousands of years compared to only decades in west-central Florida. However, west-central Florida’s higher population density allows the region to reach disturbance levels comparable to those reached over a longer period in Apulia. Similarly, Italian karst is more diverse than the karst found in west-central Florida, creating an opportunity to test all the KDI indicators. Overall, major disturbances for southeast Italy karst include quarrying, stone clearing, and the dumping of refuse into caves, while west-central Florida suffers most from the infilling of sinkholes, soil compaction, changes in the water table, and vegetation removal. The application of the KDI allows a benchmark of disturbance to be established and later revisited to determine the changing state of human impact for a region. The highlighting of certain indicators that recorded high levels of disturbance also allows regional planners to allocate resources ina more refined manner. Keywords: Florida, Italy, Karst, Index-environmental, Urbanization, Human impact
Journal of Environmental Management 90 (2009) 1770–1781
Proposed methodology to delineate bodies of groundwater according to the European water framework directive. Application in a pilot Mediterranean river basin (Ma′ laga, Spain) Damia′n Sa′nchez*, Francisco Carrasco, Bartolome′ Andreo Centre of Hydrogeology, Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Ma′laga, Campus de Teatinos s.n., 29071 Ma′laga, Spain The term ‘‘body of groundwater’’ represents a new administrative tool established by the water framework directive (WFD) in order to manage European groundwaters. Its practical application raises some difficulties due to unclear definitions and the large heterogeneity of European aquifers. In this work, a methodology is proposed to carry
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out the delineation of bodies of groundwater according to the requirements of the WFD. This methodology faces up to some of the major difficulties that can arise during the delineation, such as the identification of bodies of groundwater in multilayered aquifers, boundaries between superposed groundwater bodies, and delimitation in low permeability materials or in dismembered aquifers. In order to show its practical application, the proposed methodology is applied in a pilot Mediterranean river basin located in southern Spain. Results show that previous knowledge of the hydrogeological conditions is necessary to enable a correct delineation of groundwater bodies. Finally, alternative procedures are proposed for low permeability and small aquifers in order to reduce the number of groundwater bodies identified and simplify their overall management. Keywords: Water framework directive, Body of groundwater, Mediterranean river basin, Spain
Journal of Environmental Management 90 (2009) 1523–1533
4. Interpretation of environmental change records over various
timescales
South China Sea hydrological changes and Pacific Walker Circulation variations over the last millennium
Hong Yan1, Liguang Sun1, Delia W. Oppo2, Yuhong Wang3, Zhonghui Liu4, Zhouqing Xie1, Xiaodong Liu1 & Wenhan Cheng1
1 Institute of Polar Environment, Department of Earth and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
2 Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA.
3 National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA. 4 Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to L.S. (email: [email protected]).
The relative importance of north–south migrations of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) versus El Niño-southern oscillation and its associated Pacific Walker Circulation (PWC) variability for past hydrological change in the western tropical Pacific is unclear. Here we show that north–south ITCZ migration was not the only mechanism of tropical Pacific hydrologic variability during the last millennium, and that PWC variability profoundly influenced tropical Pacific hydrology. We present hydrological reconstructions from Cattle Pond, Dongdao Island of the South China Sea, where multi-decadal rainfall and downcore grain size variations are correlated to
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the Index during the instrumental era. Our downcore grain size reconstructions indicate that this site received less precipitation during relatively warm periods, AD 1000–1400 and AD 1850–2000, compared with the cool period (AD 1400–1850). Including our new reconstructions in a synthesis of tropical Pacific records results in a spatial pattern of hydrologic variability that implicates the PWC.
Nature Communications, Published 26 Apr 2011.DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1297
Real-Time Observation of Carbonic Acid Formation in Aqueous Solution Katrin Adamczyk1, Mirabelle Prémont-Schwarz1, Dina Pines2, Ehud Pines2*, and Erik T. J. Nibbering1* 1. Max Born Institut für Nichtlineare Optik und Kurzzeitspektroskopie, Max Born
Strasse 2A, D-12489 Berlin, Germany. 2. Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Post Office Box
653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel. *To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: [email protected] (E.P.);
[email protected] (E.T.J.N.) Despite the widespread importance of aqueous bicarbonate chemistry, its conjugate acid, carbonic acid, has remained uncharacterized in solution. Here we report the generation of deuterated carbonic acid in deuterium oxide solution by ultrafast protonation of bicarbonate and its persistence for nanoseconds. We follow the reaction dynamics upon photoexcitation of a photoacid by monitoring infrared-active marker modes with femtosecond time resolution. By fitting a kinetic model to the experimental data, we directly obtain the on-contact proton-transfer rate to bicarbonate, previously inaccessible with the use of indirect methods. A Marcus free-energy correlation supports an associated pKa (Ka is the acid dissociation constant) of 3.45 ± 0.15, which is substantially lower than the value of 6.35 that is commonly assumed on the basis of the overall carbon dioxide–to–bicarbonate equilibrium. This result should spur further exploration of acid-base reactivity in carbon dioxide–rich aqueous environments such as those anticipated under sequestration schemes.
Science, 2009: 326(5960 ): 1690-1694
Cyclic sedimentation in Brazilian caves: Mechanisms and palaeoenvironmental significance Augusto S. Aulera, Peter L. Smartb, Xianfeng Wangc, Luís B. Pilóa, R. Lawrence Edwardsc and Hai Chengc
a Instituto do Carste, Rua Kepler, 385/04, Belo Horizonte, MG. 30360-240, Brazil
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b School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1SS, England, United Kingdom
c Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Caves associated with doline slopes in the tectonically stable area of eastern Brazil display remarkable sequences of clastic sediment intercalated with calcite layers. Sediment erosion has also occurred allowing access to formerly sediment-filled passages. The palaeoenvironmental meaning and chronology of these three processes (i.e. clastic sediment input, clastic sediment erosion, and speleothem precipitation) were studied in both semi-arid Campo Formoso and sub-humid Lagoa Santa areas through 230Th dating and stratigraphical analyses. The dry climate of the Campo Formoso area prevents speleothem deposition at present, but soil erosion results in valley aggradation and cave infilling. Growth periods of speleothems and travertines in this area have allowed the recognition of recurrent past phases of increased humidity correlated with wet conditions recorded in southeastern Brazil speleothem calcite. At the Lagoa Santa area there is limited speleothem precipitation and sediment input at present. However, sediment entrainment is actively exhuming speleothems and exposing cave passages. Sediment erosion inside caves in the area is interpreted as being due to intermediate climatic conditions, not wet enough to favour speleothem deposition and not too dry to allow doline slope erosion and sediment transport into caves. Due to the low rates of denudation and isostatic rebound inherent to tectonically stable areas, cave passages will remain within the range of sediment infill and erosion for a much longer time than in tectonically active areas spanning, in average, at least three full glacial–interglacial cycles. As uplift proceeds, cave passages will be decoupled from the doline bottom and no longer will be affected by erosion or infilling episodes. Sediment filled passages in many caves in the Lagoa Santa region are relict features that display ancient clastic and chemical precipitation. The three processes described above have occurred throughout the life history of the caves, resulting in complex sediment assemblages that can, however, show significant intra- and inter-site variations.
Keywords: Cave sedimentation; Sediment erosion; Speleothem deposition; Karst landscape evolution
Geomorphology. 106(1-2): 142-153
High Mountain Karren in Northwestern Yunnan, China
Martin Knez1, Hong Liu2 & Tadej Slabe1
1. Karst Research Institute, ZRC SAZU, Titov trg 2, SI-6230 Postojna, Slovenia, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
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2 Yunnan Institute of Geography, Yunnan University, Xuefu Road 20, CN-650223 Kunming,Yunnan, P.R. China, e-mail: [email protected]
The high mountain karren rock relief reveals the manner of the formation of the mountain karst surface in the northwestern part of Yunnan at altitudes between 4,000 and 4,600 m. Two dominant factors, snow and rain, decisively influence the formation of the majority of rock forms; in places, particularly on the Shika Snow Mountain, two additional factors are subsoil corrosion and water trickling from overgrown surfaces. Biocorrosion is important for the fine dissection of the rock. Sub-snow rock forms dominate in places where the rock has been covered by snow for a longer period. These are primarily the gently sloping sunless parts of the karren, the lower parts or lower walls of karren, and fissures. Gently sloping sunless parts of the karren are often dissected in various ways so there are sub-snow forms on their lower parts and rock forms carved by rainwater on the higher parts, peaks, and ridges. Rain rock forms dominate on sunny surfaces and parts of the rock that are steep, located higher above the floor, and covered by only a thin layer of snow. The relief and individual rock forms are also influenced by the fissuring and the recrystallization of rock characteristic of the Shika Snow Mountain. The rock masses on the Yulong Snow Mountain are larger and its rock forms have more regular shapes. On the Shika Snow Mountain, rock recrystallization has an important influence on the rock forms, causing fine diversities and often jagged edges of rock forms. By this feature of rock forms and the frequent and originally subsoil rock formation on the Shika Snow Mountain we can distinguish the two described areas of mountain karren. In both mountain areas, the basic characteristics are the same and unique. The rock relief of the mountain karren described in this paper is predominantly dictated by the wider climate and microclimate conditions, the form of precipitation, the alternation of snow and rain, the distribution of precipitation, and the solar exposure of the karren. Keywords: high mountain karren rock relief, Yulong Snow Mountain, Shika Snow Mountain, Yunnan, China.
Acta carsologica, 2010, 39(1): 103-114
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Part V Publications reached at IGCP/SIDA 598 Secretariat before June, 2011
1. Proceedings of the International Conference: Asian Trans-Disciplinary Karst
Conference 2011. E. Haryono, T. N. Adji, Suratman(Eds.). Polydoor & Faculty of
Geography GMU, 2010, 439 pages
2. Advances in Research in Karst Media, the first book of the environmental Earth
Sciences series. B. Andreo, F. Carrasco, J.J. Duran, J.W. LaMoreaux (Eds.).
Springer, July, 2010, 526 pages
3. Annual Report for the Year of 2010, International Research Center on Karst
Under the Auspices of UNESCO (IRCK). December, 2010, 47 pages
4. Annual Report for the Year of 2009, International Research Center on Karst
Under the Auspices of UNESCO (IRCK). December, 2009, 50 pages
5. IAHS Newsletter 97, Published by IAHS Press, Centre for Ecology and Hydrogy.
August, 2010, 20 pages
6. IAHS Newsletter 95, Published by IAHS Press, Centre for Ecology and Hydrogy.
December, 2009, 15 pages
7. Proceedings of 15th International Congress of Speleology(Volume 1-3), Published
by the International Union of Speleology. William B. White(Editor), Greyhound
Press, July, 2009, 2130 pages
8. Karst of Eastern Herzegovina and Dubrovnik Littoral, Petar T. Milanovic.
Beograd: Zuhra, 2006, 362 pages
9. Carbonates and Evaporites, Vol. 25, No. 1, Springer, March 2010. 90 pages
10. Protection and Sustainable Use of the Dinaric Karst Transboundary Aquifer
System (DIKTAS), UNDP Project Document/UNESCO IHP, November, 2010, 96
pages
11. Man and the Biosphere, the Chinese national Committee for Man and Biosphere,
No.5, 2009, 80 pages
12. Acta Carsologica, Vol. 39, No.3, 2010, Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU,
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Postojna, Slovenia, 196 pages
13. Acta Carsologica, Vol. 39, No.2, 2010, Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU,
Postojna, Slovenia, 232 pages
14. Caves and Karst of the USA, Published by the National Speleology Society, Inc.,
Arthur N. Palmer, Margaret V. Palmer(Eds.), 2009, 446 pages
15. Change Magazine: Climate Adaptation in Europe, No.5, Published by Gerda ten
Den, 2009, 66 pages
16. Karst Hydrogeology and Geomorphology. Ford, D. and P. Williams, 2007,
Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 562 pages
17. Methods in Karst Hydrogeology. Goldscheider, N. and D. Drew (eds.), 2007,
Taylor & Francis Group, London, 264 pages
18. IGCP 30 years in China, China National Committee for IGCP. November, Beijing,
2003, 217 pages
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Part VI Upcoming events
1. Bowling Green, Kentucky USA, June 4-10, 2011
The UNESCO/IUGS IGCP/SIDA Project 598, the Hoffman Environmental Research Institute, the National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI), and the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) will host the 2011 International Conference on Karst Hydrogeology and Ecosystems at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. With a location in the midst of one of the world's great karst landscapes, Western Kentucky University has a rich history of karst scientific research and has been pleased to host a series of international karst conferences over the last several decades including the 8th International Congress of Speleology in 1981 and joint conferences of international karst commissions in 1998, 2003, and 2007.
The conference will convene the annual 2011 business meetings of:
1) IGCP/SIDA Project 598: "Environmental Change and Sustainability in Karst Systems: Relations to Climate Change and Anthropogenic Activities"
2) The International Association of Hydrogeologists Karst Commission. 3) International Union of Speleology (UIS) Speleogenesis Commission.
Conference format: The 2011 conference will be held on the campus of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky June 8, 9, 10, 2011.The conference, preceded by an optional field excursion to karst sites in Tennessee, will begin with technical presentations on Wednesday, June 8 followed by a welcome party in the evening at Lost River Cave. Thursday June 9 will be a series of field trips at Mammoth Cave National Park and surrounding area and an evening cookout at the Hamilton Valley Field Station located next to Mammoth Cave National Park. The technical sessions will resume on June 10 back at WKU campus culminating in a poster session and closing banquet at the Kentucky Museum.
The meeting website is at <http://hoffman.wku.edu/2011karstconference/ >
2. Birmingham, UK, June 26-29, 2011
6th International Conference: Climate Change - The Karst Record. 26 - 29 June 2011, University of Birmingham, UK with optional pre and post-conference field trips.
The conference theme will be focused on the use of speleothems and other deposits from caves to interpret the climates and environments of the past,
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including work on modern processes that can guide interpretation of the palaeo-archives.
The conference will be centered around three days of oral and poster presentations to be held on the Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham. There will be optional field trips either side of the main meeting and field trips and workshops in the middle afternoon of the meeting.
The website for the meeting is at http://www.kr6conference.org/
3. Brisbane, Australia, 2-10, 2012
A symposium (36.4) in the theme 36 was listed in the second circular of the 34th International Geological Congress (IGC), in Brisbane, Australia, 2-10 August. Website: http://www.34igc.org
Theme 36. Regional, Thematic and Specialist Symposia Coordinator: Ian LAMBERT [email protected] (Australia) and Paul KAY (Australia) These Symposia are organised by groups associated with the IUGS and other international and national associations. Oral presentations may be by invitation of the convenors.
36.4 Environmental change and sustainability in karst systems: relations to climate change and anthropogenic activities (2011-2016) [IGCP Project 598] Cheng ZHANG [email protected] (China), Chris GROVES (USA) and Augusto AULER (Brazil)
Karst systems are an important source of water for many local populations. Karst landscapes record past environmental change at a range of time scales and are highly vulnerable to current future impacts of environmental change. Sustainable use of karst water requires an understanding of how hydrological and water resources processes respond to different climatic and hydrogeological conditions, especially to extreme droughts and floods, as well as circulating and regulating functions of karst watersheds and epikarstic zones. This symposium will bring together researchers involved in IGCP/SIDA Project 598 and others to focus on the impacts of environmental change on karst systems and the sustainability of karst systems.
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Part VII Email addresses of IGCP/SIDA 598
Participants
Afrasibian, Ahmad Iran [email protected]
Anderson, Jay Australia [email protected]
Andreo-Navarro, Bartolome Spain [email protected]
Auler, Augusto Brazil [email protected]
Bakalowicz, Michel Lebanon [email protected]
Bartholeyns, Jean-Pierre Belgium [email protected]
Batelaan, Okke Belgium [email protected]
Benavente Herrera, José Spain [email protected]
Benischke, Ralf Austria [email protected]
Bicalho, Cristina C. Brazil [email protected]
Bilinski, Halka Croatia [email protected]
Bonacci, Ognjen Croatia [email protected]
Bosak, Pavel Czech Republic [email protected]
Bovrvene, Steve Australia [email protected]
Bustamante Garca, Javier Mexico [email protected]
Carrasco Cantos, Francisco Spain [email protected]
Cao, Jianhua China [email protected]
Cavazza, William Italy [email protected]
Choi, Yong-gun South Korea [email protected]
Chung, Vo Tri Vietnam [email protected]
Cigna, Arrigo Italy [email protected]
Clarke, Arthur Australia [email protected]
Claeys, Philippe Belgium [email protected]
Cromer, Claire Australia cromer1@ bigpond.com
Day, Mick United States [email protected]
Demaria, Damilo Italy [email protected]
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De Geest, Peter Belgium [email protected]
Dejonghe, Léon Belgium [email protected]
Despain, Joel United States [email protected]
Drew, David Ireland [email protected]
Dreybrodt, Wolfgang Germany [email protected]
Durán Valsero, Juan José Spain [email protected]
Eavis, Andy United Kingdom [email protected]
Evans, David Peru [email protected]
Ewers, Ralph United States [email protected]
Fairchild, Ian J. UK [email protected]
Ford, Derek C. Canada [email protected]
Forti, Paolo Italy [email protected]
Franciskovic-Bilinski, S. Croatia [email protected]
Furey, Neil Vietnam [email protected]
Gartreu, Grant Australia [email protected]
Goldscheider, Nico Germany [email protected]
Govers, Gerard Belgium [email protected]
Granert, William G. Philippines [email protected]
Griffin, A. Australia [email protected]
Grimes, K. G. Australia [email protected]
Groves, Chris United States [email protected]
Gunn, John United Kingdom [email protected]
Guo, Fang China [email protected]
Hamilton-Smith, Elery Australia [email protected]
Haryono, Eko Idonisia [email protected]
He, Shiyi China [email protected]
Hobbs, Joseph United States [email protected]
Houshold Tasmania [email protected]
Nada Horvatincic Croatia [email protected]
James, Julia Australia [email protected]
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Jemcov, Igor Serbia and Montenegro [email protected]
Jiang, Guanghui China [email protected]
Jiang, Yongjun China [email protected]
Jiang, Zhongcheng China [email protected]
Jiménez Gavilán, Pablo Spain [email protected]
Jiménez Sánchez, Montserrat Spain [email protected]
Kambesis, Pat United States [email protected]
Kapelj, Janislav Croatia [email protected]
Kapelj, Sanja Croatia [email protected]
Keeling, David United States [email protected]
Kenosoku, Urata Japan cyr00601.nifty.ne.jp
Keppens, Eddy Belgium [email protected]
Klimchouk, Alexander Ukraine [email protected]
Knez, Martin Slovenia [email protected]
Krajcar Bronic, Ines Croatia [email protected]
Kranjc, Andrej Slovenia [email protected]
Kreitzer, Debbie United States [email protected]
Kresic, Neven USA [email protected]
Kukurić, Neno The Netherlands [email protected]
Kumar, Suyash India [email protected]
Labegalini, Jose Brazil [email protected]
LaMoreaux, James W. USA [email protected]
Lewis, Ian Australia ian.lewis@[email protected]
Liñán Baena, Cristina Spain [email protected]
Liu, Zaihua China [email protected]
Lu, Yaoru China [email protected]
Luielb, Elery Australia [email protected]
Madronero, Jr., Gil C. Philippines [email protected]
Mahhadi, Naser Iran [email protected]
Masschelein, Jan Belgium [email protected]
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Maximovich, Elena G. Russia [email protected]
McCulloch, Iain Australia [email protected]
Meehan, Stephen Australia [email protected]
Meiman, Joe United States [email protected]
Meus, Philippe Belgium [email protected]
Milanovic, Petar Serbia and Montenegro [email protected]
Milanovic, Sasa Serbia and Montenegro [email protected]
Milenic, Dejan Serbia and Montenegro [email protected]
Mott, Kevin Australia [email protected]
Moulds, Tim Australia [email protected]
Mouret, Claude France [email protected]
Moyid, Karimpour R. Iran [email protected]
Mudry, Jacques France [email protected]
Nader, Fadi Lebanon [email protected]
Nassar, Tamer Egypt [email protected]
Nguyen, Thac Cuong Vietnam [email protected]
Nguyet, Vu Thi Minh Vietnam [email protected]
Obelic, Bogomil Croatia [email protected]
Osborne, Armstrong Australia [email protected]
Otonicar, Bojan Slovenia [email protected]
Palmer, Arthur N. USA [email protected]
Pavlov, Sergei Kh. Russia [email protected]
Perles Roselló, María Jesús Spain [email protected]
Pipan, Tanja Slovenia [email protected]
Raujbar, E. Iran [email protected]
Ravbar, Nataša Slovenia [email protected]
Shaw, Chester Australia [email protected]
Siripornpibul, Chaiporn Thailand [email protected]
Spate, Andy Australia [email protected]
Sket, Boris Slovenia [email protected]
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Stevanovic, Zoran Serbia and Montenegro [email protected]
Stone, Fred United States [email protected]
Susulastuti, D.N. Indonesia [email protected]
Tam, Vu Thonh Vietnam [email protected]
Thurgate, Mia Australia [email protected]
Tyc, Andrzej Poland [email protected]
Urbani, Franco Venezuela [email protected]
Urich, Peter B. New Zealand [email protected]
Vadillo Pérez, Iñaki Spain [email protected]
Vale, Abel Puerto Rico [email protected]
Van, Tran Tan Vietnam [email protected]
Veni, George United States [email protected]
Verheyden, Sophie Belgium [email protected]
Viles, Heather United Kingdom [email protected]
Wang, Jinliang China [email protected]
Webb. John Australia [email protected]
White, Nicholas Australia [email protected]
White, Susan Australia [email protected]
William B. White USA [email protected]
Woo, Kyung Sik South Korea [email protected]
Yim, Wiss China [email protected]
Yuan, Daoxian China [email protected]
Zhang, Cheng China [email protected]
Zini, Luca Italy [email protected]
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Part VIII Registration Form of IGCP/SIDA 598
Name: Title:
Institution: Nationality:
Address:
Tel.:
Fax: Email:
I would like to participate in the project: Yes No
My basic interest is on the following objectives of the project: • 1. better estimation of the carbon sink potential from carbonate rock dissolution on the continents with improvement of approaches • 2. the responses of hydrogeological behaviour of karst aquifers and water resource processes under the influence of different climatic events • 3. the improvement of methods for ground water vulnerability assessments and development karst disturbance indices in different karst systems • 4. quantification of records of environmental change within water, sediments, speleothems, and cultural records that provide information over various timescales
I have(or can use nearby) the following facilities for IGCP 598 research:
Portable pH meter Yes No Aquamerck kit Yes No Autometic data log(CDTP 300 etc.) Portable CO2 detector Yes No Infrared gas analyzer Yes No ICP-MS Yes No GIS for karst ecosystem Yes No Facilities for DNA, RNA analyses Yes No DIC/TOC analyzer Yes No Mass-specterometer for stable isotope analyses Yes No Facilities for dating karst sediments Yes No If “yes”, please specify
other facilities considered useful for IGCP 598:
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I have a project related to IGCP/SIDA 598 funded from other source Yes No If “yes”, please write down the title of your project and as accurately as possible quantify and report amounts of non-IGCP funding that was brought to projects reported under the auspices of the IGCP programme:
I will contribute a karst system correlation site in my country: 1. Name and location of the site: Name: Location: 2. Type of the site:
Tropical Subtropical Boreal Gondwana Mediterranean Arid Semiarid Other
Participants in our country will organize a national working group of IGCP 598: Yes No
I will participate in the following meeting of IGCP 598 in 2011-2012: Bowling Green, USA, June, 2011 Yes No Birmingham, UK, June, 2011 Yes No Kalavrita, Greece, Oct., 2011 Yes No Guilin, China, Dec., 2011 Yes No
Brisbane, Australia, Aug., 2012 Yes No Niagara Falls, Canada, Sep. 2012 Yes No
Other suggestions for the project:
Please kindly return this form to:
Dr. ZHANG Cheng Institute of Karst Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences(CAGS) 50 Qixing Road, Guilin, Guangxi, China, 541004 Tel: 0086 773 5837343 Fax: 0086 773 5845576 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.karst.edu.cnhttp://www.irck.edu.cn
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