WET Hydrology & Hydrogeology

Karst is of great importance to humanity and ecological systems because karst terrain makes up about 10 percent of the Earth’s surface, and provides fresh drinking water to an estimated 10 percent of the world’s population and by some estimates supplies up to 25 percent of groundwater withdrawn for agricultural and industrial water use. An aquifer is a geologic formation, a group of formations, or a part of a formation that contains enough saturated permeable material to yield significant quantities of useable water to wells and springs. Thus, the focus of a karst aquifer book is on water supply in formations composed of rocks that can dissolve (aquifers composed predominantly of carbonate and evaporite rocks). The study of carbonate and evaporite sedimentary rocks is a complex field in geology involving physical, chemical, and biological processes along with an understanding of sedimentation in fluvial and marine environments. Thus, the study of karst aquifers is interdisciplinary because investigating them involves geologic mapping, geophysics, geochemistry, fluid mechanics, geomorphology, hydrology, numerical modeling, and microbiology. Most hydrogeologists develop their skills related to karst aquifers on the job or through study for an advanced degree and continue learning throughout their careers. The purpose of this introductory book is to expose readers to the complexity of flow in karst aquifers and the many methods from various disciplines that have been applied to study and characterize karst aquifers for water supply.

Karst comprises complex systems of soluble rocks and water forming a surface and underground environment with rich but vulnerable aquifer systems that produce the world’s largest proportion of pristine water. The interactions of soluble rocks and water create landscapes and subsurface forms that are not found in any other rock or aquifer. These features range from springs that discharge groundwater that forms large rivers to arid or high-altitude terrains without surface water—but with abundant groundwater reserves at great depth that are difficult to access.