Western Kentucky University TopSCHOLAR® Masters Theses & Specialist Projects Graduate School Fall 2019 Influence of Spring Flow Reversals on Cave Dissolution in a Telogenetic Karst Aquifer, Mammoth Cave, KY Chelsey Kipper Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses Part of the Geochemistry Commons, Geology Commons, Hydrology Commons, and the Speleology Commons This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by TopSCHOLAR®. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses & Specialist Projects by an authorized administrator of TopSCHOLAR®. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFLUENCE OF SPRING FLOW REVERSALS ON CAVE DISSOLUTION IN A TELOGENETIC KARST AQUIFER, MAMMOTH CAVE, KENTUCKY A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Geography and Geology Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, Kentucky In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science By Chelsey Kipper December 2019 INFLUENCE OF SPRING FLOW REVERSALS ON CAVE DISSOLUTION IN A TELOGENETIC KARST AQUIFER, MAMMOTH CAVE, KENTUCKY Dedication To women in science Together, we are powerful. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Simply put, earning a Master’s degree is hard. It requires long hours in front of the computer and in the field. There are times when you feel like you know exactly what you are doing followed, instantly, by moments when you have no idea what is going on. Endless hours are filled by reading, re-reading, then reading again that same paragraph, trying to understand, and ending up with more questions than answers. The anxiety, the bellyaches, the imposter syndrome, the fear of public speaking makes the process sometimes unbearable. Reflecting on the past two years, I would not change anything. I’ve met some of the best friends I will ever have, had some of the best experiences that I can recall, and feel like I’ve become a better scientist and a better person. And for that, I am thankful for all those who have helped me along the way. First, thank you to those organizations that funded this research: the Graduate School, the Cave Research Foundation, and the Cave Conservancy Foundation. Without your help, none of this would have been possible. Thank you to all the Geology Faculty at WKU for many years of teaching. Each of you have helped to prepare me for my career as a geologist. Thank you to the GIS faculty for teaching me such a valuable skill. Thank you to Gray P’Pool for always being so nice and, most importantly, making sure I was paid. Thank you to the folks at the HydroAnalytical Lab and UK’s Stable Isotope Lab for doing an awesome job processing my samples. Thank you to Chelsea Ballard for letting me join you at the beginning of this project. Thank you to the National Park Service for permitting me access to Mammoth Cave. Thank you to Dr. Rick Toomey for your help with park logistics, your ideas, and your wonderful feedback. iv To Dr. Jason Polk, thank you for all the opportunities you provided. Being part of CHNGES has definitely helped me to think outside the box and solve problems. You were always around to discuss issues with field equipment, or how to process and analyze data. Through the past few years, I’ve become acquainted with many of the, let’s call them variables, that can occur during field work and I’m sorry for all the collateral damage. To Dr. Pat Kambesis, thank you for being my advisor. Without you, I would not have had this amazing opportunity. You are very easy going and fun to be around, and you made this experience more fun than it should be, and all those presentations, a little less dreadful. To my friends, Gerardo, Cayla, CC, Jadam, Jess, Fernando, Tiff, V, Emma and Anna. Gerardo, Cayla, and CC, thanks for being there for me during the first year. It was tough, but we made it through it. Jadam, thank you for always being super helpful and fun to be around. Jess, thank you for being so fun and courageous. I enjoyed our times together and your willingness to explain to me in depth how vertical works. Fernando, thank you for being such an awesome field partner and friend. I’ll miss our joking around and listening to standup in the truck with you. Tiff and V, thank you for your support and keeping me motivated. You never fail to make me laugh. Emma, you’ve been so supportive through this process and helped me understand many things about myself. Thank you for your constant encouragement. Anna, my brother, you’re the best friend that I didn’t even know I needed. You’ve been such a big (positive) influence on me. v You’ve helped me to be comfortable with who I am, and you taught me how to have fun again. As long as I have a truck, you’ll always have a place to sit. Lastly, to Brian. You were here with me through this whole process. From those blistering hot days, to the days where we couldn’t feel our fingers, through the sweat, and the mud, the long, dark hikes, the conversations about whatever was on our minds, and lots and lots of bickering. There’s no one else that I would rather have gone through this adventure with. You are my rock — and coming from a geologist, that’s the highest praise. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................ 4 2.1 OVERVIEW OF KARST ............................................................................................. 4 2.1.1 Eogenetic vs. Telogenetic Karst ..................................................................... 5 2.1.2 Groundwater Flow in Telogenetic Karst ....................................................... 7 2.2 MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK ..................................................................... 11 2.2.1 Geology of Mammoth Cave ......................................................................... 13 2.2.2 Karst Hydrogeology of Mammoth Cave ...................................................... 17 2.3 CARBONATE GEOCHEMISTRY ............................................................................... 19 2.3.1 Carbonate Dissolution ................................................................................. 19 2.3.2 Aqueous Geochemical Monitoring .............................................................. 23 2.3.3 Carbon Isotopes ........................................................................................... 25 2.4 SPRING FLOW REVERSALS ................................................................................... 32 2.4.1 Flow Reversals in Florida ........................................................................... 32 2.4.2 Flow Reversals at Mammoth Cave’s Echo River and River Styx Springs ... 36 3. HIGH-RESOLUTION MONITORING OF SPRING FLOW REVERSALS AT MAMMOTH CAVE ....................................................................................................... 43 3.0 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 43 3.1 STUDY AREA ........................................................................................................ 48 3.2 METHODS ............................................................................................................. 52 3.2.1 Site Selection and Setup ............................................................................... 52 3.2.2 Data Collection ............................................................................................ 54 3.2.3 Data Processing ........................................................................................... 55 3.3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ................................................................................... 55 3.3.1 Geochemical Response ................................................................................ 56 3.3.1.1 Temperature ........................................................................................ 61 3.3.1.2 SpC ...................................................................................................... 68 3.3.1.3 pH ........................................................................................................ 72 3.3.2 Water Level Response .................................................................................. 74 3.3.2.1 Basic Seasonal Precipitation and Discharge Description ................... 74 3.3.2.2 Water Level Influence on Reversals ................................................... 76 3.3.3 Natural and Artificial Processes Affecting Flow Reversals ........................ 82 3.4 CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................................... 90 3.5 LITERATURE CITED .............................................................................................. 92 4. DISSOLUTION DYNAMICS IN MAMMOTH CAVE’S RIVER STYX AND ECHO RIVER KARST BASINS ................................................................................... 96 4.1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 96 4.2 STUDY AREA ........................................................................................................ 98 4.3 METHODS ........................................................................................................... 102 4.3.1 Site Selection and Setup ............................................................................. 102 vii 4.3.2 Data Collection .........................................................................................