Prepared In Cooperation with the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arkansas U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Fayetteville, Arkansas, April 26-29, 2011 Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5031 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Prepared in Cooperation with the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arkansas U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Fayetteville, Arkansas, April 26–29, 2011 Edited By Eve L. Kuniansky Scientific Investigations Report 2011–5031 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey i U.S. Department of the Interior KEN SALAZAR, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Marcia K. McNutt, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia 2011 For product and ordering information: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Suggested citation: Kuniansky,E.L., 2011, U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Fayetteville, Arkansas, April 26-29, 2011, U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5031, 212p. Online copies of the proceedings area available at: http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/karst/ Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report. ii Contents Introductions and Acknowledgments vi Agenda U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group and University of Arkansas Hydro Days Workshops 3 Speloegenesis 7 Paleokarst of the USA: A Brief Review by Arthur N. Palmer and Margaret V. Palmer 7 Karst in coastal Zones 17 Influence of Tides and Salinity on the Discharge at the Coastal Spring Creek Springs Group and the Connection to Discharge at the Inland Wakulla Springs, Wakulla County, Florida by J. Hal Davis and Richard J. Verdi 17 Revised Hydrogeologic Framework for the Floridan Aquifer System in the Northern Coastal Areas of Georgia and Parts of South Carolina by Harold E. Gill and Lester J. Williams 18 Horizontal Bedding-Plane Conduit Systems in the Floridan Aquifer System and Their Relation to Saltwater Intrusion in Northeastern Florida and Southeastern Georgia by Lester J. Williams and Rick M. Spechler 20 Geochemistry and Contaminant Transport in Karst Systems 21 Water-Quality Changes and Dual Response in a Karst Aquifer to the May 2010 Flood in Middle, Tennessee by Michael W. Bradley and Thomas D. Byl 21 Interaction between Shallow and Deep Groundwater Components at Fay Spring in the Northern Shenandoah Valley Karst by Daniel H. Doctor, Nathan C. Farrar, and Janet S. Herman 25 Aqueous Geochemical Evidence of Volcanogenic Karstification: Sistema Zacatón, Mexico by Marcus O. Gary, Daniel H. Doctor, and John M. Sharp, Jr. 35 The Influence of Land Use and Occurrence of Sinkholes on Nitrogen Transport in the Ozark Plateaus in Arkansas and Missouri by Timothy M. Kresse, Phillip D. Hays, Mark R. Hudson, James E. Kaufman 36 Seasonal Carbon Dynamics in a Northwestern Arkansas Cave: Linking Climate and Cave Conditions by Erik D. Pollock, Katherine J. Knierim, and Phillip D. Hays 37 Characterization of Urban Impact on Water Quality of Karst Springs in Eureka Springs, Arkansas by Renee Vardy 44 The Relation Between Dissolved Oxygen and other Physicochemical Properties in Barton Springs, Central Texas by Barbara J. Mahler and Renan Bourgeais 54 Geochemistry, Water Sources, and Pathways in the Zone of Contribution of a Public-Supply Well in San Antonio, Texas by Lynne Fahlquist, MaryLynn Musgrove, Gregory P. Stanton, and Natalie A. Houston 55 Temporal Stability of Cave Sediments by Eric W. Peterson, and Kevin Hughes 57 iii Evaluating the Stormwater Filters at Mammoth Cave, Kentucky by Ashley West, Rickard Toomey, Michael W. Bradley and Thomas D. Byl 66 Using Labeled Isotopes to Trace Groundwater Flow Paths in a Northwestern Arkansas Cave by Katherine J. Knierim, Erik D. Pollock, and Phillip D. Hays 67 Interpreting a Spring Chemograph to Characterize Groundwater Recharge in an Urban, Karst Terrain by Victor Roland, Carlton Cobb, Lonnie Sharpe, Patrice Armstrong, Dafeng Hui, and Thomas D. Byl 74 Investigation of Nitrate Processing in the Interflow Zone of Mantled Karst, Northwestern Arkansas by Jozef Laincz 75 Karst Mapping, Dye Tracing, and Geographic Information Systems 84 Using a Combination of Geographic Information System Techniques and Field Methods to Analyze Karst Terrain in Selected Red River Sub-Watersheds, Tennessee and Kentucky by David E. Ladd 84 Parellelism in Karst Development Suggested by Quantitative Dye Tracing Results from Springfield, Missouri by Douglas R. Gouzie and Katherine Tomlin 85 Geologic Controls on Karst Landscapes in the Buffalo National River Area of Northern Arkansas: Insights Gained from Comparison of Geologic Mapping, Topography, Dye Tracers and Karst Inventories by Mark R. Hudson, Kenzie J. Turner, Chuck Bitting, James E. Kaufmann, Timothy M. Kresse and David N. Mott 86 Determining the Relation between Water Loss from Beaver Creek and Kamas Fish Hatchery Springs, Samak, Utah by Lawrence E. Spangler 87 Using Geographic Information System to Identify Cave Levels and Discern the Speleogenesis of the Carter Caves Karst Area, Kentucky by Eric Peterson, Toby Dogwiler, and Lara Harlan 94 Surface Denudation of the Gypsum Plain, West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico by Melinda G. Shaw, Kevin W. Stafford, and B.P. Tate 104 Karst Program Updates 113 National Cave and Karst Research Institute: Growing Capabilities and Federal Partnerships by George Veni 113 The National Karst Map: an Update on its Progress by David J. Weary, and Daniel H. Doctor 118 Ozarks Plateau Karst 119 Karst Hydrogeology of the Southern Ozarks by Van Brahana 119 Overview of The Nature Conservancy Ozark Karst Program by Michael E. Slay, Ethan Inlander, and Cory Gallipeau 120 Microbial Effects on Ozark Karst-Water Chemistry—Medicinal Implications by John E. Svendsen 121 iv Karst Aquifer Systems 122 An Integrated Approach to Recharge Area Delineation of Four Caves in Northern Arkansas and Northeastern Oklahoma by Jonathan A. Gillip, Rheannon M. Hart, and Joel M. Galloway 122 Groundwater Piracy in Semi-Arid Karst Terrains by Ronald T. Green, F. Paul Bertetti, and Mariano Hernandez 123 Ten Relevant Karst Hydrogeologic Insights Gained from 15 Years of In Situ Field Studies at the Savoy Experimental Watershed by Van Brahana 132 Traps Designed to Document the Occurrence of Groundwater Stygofauna at the Savoy Experimental Watershed, Washington County, Arkansas by Justin R. Mitchell 142 Assessment of Sinkhole Formation in a Well Field in the Dougherty Plain, near Albany, Georgia by Debbie Warner Gordon 149 Detecting Karst Conduits through their Effects on Nearby Monitoring Wells by Fred Paillet, and Terryl Daniels 151 Spring Hydrology of Colorado Bend State Park, Central Texas by Kevin W. Stafford, Melinda G. Shaw, and Jessica L. DeLeon 152 Analysis of Long-Term Trends in Flow from a Large Spring Complex in Northern Florida by Jack W. Grubbs 160 Karst Modeling 168 Modifications to the Conduit Flow Process Mode2 for MODFLOW-2005 by Thomas Reimann, Steffen Birk, and Christoph Rehrl 168 Comparison of Three Model Approaches for Spring Simulation, Woodville Karst Plain, Florida by Eve L. Kuniansky, Josue J. Gallegos, and J. Hal Davis 169 Synthesis of Multiple Scale Modeling in the Faulted and Folded Karst of the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia and West Virginia by Kurt J. McCoy, Mark D. Kozar, Richard M. Yager, George E. Harlow, and David L. Nelms 171 A Hydrograph Recession Technique for Karst Springs with Quickflow Components That Do Not Exhibit Simple, Zero- Order Decay by Darrell W. Pennington and J. Van Brahana 172 Numerical Evaluations of Alternative Spring Discharge Conditions for Barton Springs, Texas, USA by William R. Hutchison and Melissa E. Hill 182 Field Trip Guide 191 Geology and Karst Landscapes of the Buffalo National River Area, Northern Arkansas by Mark R. Hudson, Kenzie J. Turner, and Chuck Bitting 191 v This page is intentionally blank vi INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Karst aquifer systems are present throughout parts of the United States and some of its territories and are developed in carbonate rocks (primarily limestone and dolomite) that span the entire geologic time frame. The depositional environments, diagenetic processes, and post-depositional tectonic events that form carbonate rock aquifers are varied and complex, involving both biological and physical processes that can influence the development of permeability. These factors, combined with the diverse climatic regimes under which karst development in these rocks has taken place result in the unique dual or triple porosity nature of karst aquifers. These complex hydrologic systems often present challenges to scientists attempting to study groundwater flow and contaminant transport. The dissolution of carbonate rocks and the subsequent development of distinct and beautiful landscapes, caverns, and springs have resulted in some karst areas of the United States being designated as National or State parks and commercial caverns. Karst aquifers and landscapes that form in tropical areas, such as the north coast of Puerto Rico, differ greatly from karst areas in more arid climates, such as west-central Texas or western South Dakota. Many of these public and private lands also contain unique flora and fauna associated with the hydrologic systems in these karst areas. As a result, multiple Federal, State, and local agencies have an interest in the study of karst terrains. Many of the major springs and aquifers in the United States are developed in carbonate rocks and karst areas, such as the Floridan aquifer, the Ozark Plateaus in Missouri and Arkansas, and the Edwards aquifer in west-central Texas. These aquifers and the springs that discharge from them, serve as major water-supply sources and as unique biological habitats.