Hydrology and Hydrogeology of Mammoth Cave

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Publication Date

6-15-2017

Publication Title

Mammoth Cave

Abstract

Mammoth Cave and its associated drainage is the downstream portion of a much larger aquifer system which includes recharge from sinking streams at the southeastern edge of the Sinkhole Plain, internal runoff and diffuse infiltration from the Sinkhole Plain, and runoff from valley drains and the caprock of the Mammoth Cave Plateau. The aquifer drains through a sequence of large springs along Green River. Extensive tracing of flow paths with fluorescent dyes shows that each spring has a distinct drainage basin with some spillover depending on recharge. Basin area can be estimated from measured base flows of the karst springs. Green River flows in a narrow valley that produces high flood levels that backflow into the springs carrying muddy flood waters deep into the conduit system. There is a complex flux of clastic sediments, some from upstream and some back-flooded from the river, that moves through the conduit system in response to storm flow. Chemical analysis of spring water, cave stream water, and cave drip water allows the calculation of dissolved carbonate (hardness), chemical saturation state, and concentration of dissolved CO2. Spring and shaft waters are undersaturated; drip waters are supersaturated. CO2 concentrations exhibit a pronounced maximum during the growing season. Although the Mammoth Cave System contains more mapped passages than any cave in the world, the sad truth is that only a small fraction of the active drainage system is accessible to direct observation and survey.

Document Type

Book Chapter

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53718-4_8

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