Water budget and vertical conductance for Lowry (Sand Hill) Lake in north-central Florida, USA

Water-budget components and the vertical conductance were determined for Lowry (Sand Hill) Lake in north-central Florida, USA. In this type of lake, which interacts with both the surface-water and groundwater systems, the inflow components are precipitation, surface-water inflow, groundwater inflow, and direct runoff (i.e. overland flow), and the outflow components are evaporation, groundwater outflow, and surface-water outflow. In a lake and groundwater system that is typical of many karst lakes in Florida, a large part of the groundwater outflow occurs by means of vertical leakage through an underlying confining unit to a deeper, highly transmissive aquifer called the upper Floridan aquifer. The water-budget component that represents vertical leakage to the upper Floridan aquifer was calculated as a residual using the water-budget equation. For the 13 month period from August 1994 to August 1995, relative to the surface area of the lake, rainfall at Lowry Lake was 1.55 m yr⁻¹, surficial aquifer inflow was 0.79 m yr⁻¹, surface-water inflow was 1.92 m yr⁻¹, and direct runoff was 0.01 m yr⁻¹. Lake evaporation was 1.11 m yr⁻¹, and surface-water outflow was 1.61 m yr⁻¹. The lake stage increased 0.07 m yr⁻¹, and the vertical leakage to the upper Floridan aquifer was 1.48 m yr⁻¹. Surficial aquifer outflow from the lake was negligible. At Lowry Lake, vertical leakage is a major component of the water budget, comprising about 35% of the outflow during the study period. The vertical conductance (K_V/b), a coefficient that represents the average of the vertical conductances of the hydrogeologic units between the bottom of a lake and the top of the upper Floridan aquifer, was determined to be 2.51 × 10⁻⁴ day⁻¹ for Lowry Lake.     

Detection of sinkholes using 2D electrical resistivity imaging

Sinkholes in dolomitic areas are notoriously difficult geophysical targets, and selecting an appropriate geophysical solution is not straightforward. Electrical resistivity imaging, or tomography (RESTOM) is well suited to mapping sinkholes because of the ability of the technique for detecting resistive features and discriminating subtle resistivity variations. RESTOM surveys were conducted at two sinkhole sites near Pretoria, South Africa. The survey areas are located in the dolomites of the Lyttelton Formation, which forms part of the Malamani Subgroup and Chuniespoort Group of the Transvaal Supergroup. The survey results suggest that RESTOM is an ideal geophysical tool to aid in the detection and monitoring of sinkholes and other subsurface cavities.     

The Interface Configuration of the Fresh‐/Dead Sea Water – Theory and Measurements

The high‐density Dead Sea water (1.235 g/cm³) forms a special interface configuration with the fresh groundwater resources of its surrounding aquifers. The fresh groundwater column beneath its surroundings is around one tenth of its length compared to oceanic water. This fact alone indicates the vulnerability of the fresh groundwater resources to the impacts of changes in the Dead Sea level and to saltwater migration. Ghyben‐Herzberg and Glover equations were used to calculate the volumes of water in coastal aquifers which were replaced by freshwater due to the interface seaward migration as a result of the drop in the level of the Dead Sea. For that purpose, the dynamic equation of Glover approach has been integrated to accommodate that type of interface readjustment. The calculated amounts of freshwater which substituted salt Dead Sea water due to the migration of interface are 3.21 · 10¹¹ m³, from a Dead Sea level of –392 m to τ411 m below sea level. The average porosity of coastal aquifers was calculated to range from 2.8 to 2.94%. Geoelectric sounding measurements showed that areas underlying the coastal aquifers formerly occupied by the Dead Sea water are gradually becoming flushed and occupied by freshwater. The latter is becoming salinized due to the residuals of Dead Sea water in the aquifer matrix, the present salinity of which is lower than that of the Dead Sea water. At the same time salt dissolution from the Lisan Marl formation is causing collapses along the shorelines in the form of sinkholes, tens of meters in diameter and depth.     

Roadway construction in karst areas: management of stormwater runoff and sinkhole risk assessment

In karst-rich regions, it is inevitable that roadways cross karst landscapes. Road building across such terranes faces environmental and engineering challenges because of impacts on water quality from stormwater runoff and concerns of sinkhole collapse under or near roadways. When highway runoff drains rapidly into subsurface conduit networks through open sinkholes and/or sinking streams, the impact of the runoff on the karst aquifer can be qualitatively evaluated by mixing cell models. Formulation of a comprehensive stormwater runoff management plan prior to roadway construction can minimize the associated adverse impacts. The commonly used best management practices help manage the stormwater runoff effectively in some sites. Site-specific management plans are preferable for other sites because of concerns of flooding and land stability. Proactive measures should be taken to identify areas of the greatest sinkhole collapse risk along the proposed route and the associated groundwater drainage patterns.     

Subsurface grout barriers for ground stabilization in dolomite areas near Carletonville, South Africa

 Artificial lowering of the groundwater level in dolomitic aquifers of the Far West Rand gold mining area has led to the formation of hundreds of sinkholes and subsidences. Where ground movements develop in or around important structures, it has become standard practice to drill boreholes for exploration and to inject mine tailings (slimes), cement and water to fill cavernous zones and arrest further ground movements. Although this method of grouting has mostly been effective, some boreholes accepted such large quantities of grout that the operation became prohibitively expensive. This paper describes an experiment to construct subsurface barriers by pouring wet (high slump) concrete via closely-spaced lines of boreholes into cavernous zones beneath a depression on a provincial road. The barriers required a small quantity of concrete and the zone between barriers was quickly filled by grout. The lack of further ground movements confirmed the success of the project. Received: 22 May 2000 · Accepted: 18 July 2000     

The mechanism of soil failures along cracks subjected to water infiltration

A field irrigation test was conducted at a crack-developed loess slope in Heifangtai, China, to study the slope instability that was caused by water infiltration. In the field test, the formation of sinkholes was considered a major type of soil failure. To investigate the mechanism of soil failures along cracks caused by water infiltration, a mechanical-hydraulic coupled analysis was conducted using a finite difference program. A moving boundary algorithm was proposed and adopted in the numerical model. Different draining rates of water in the crack were studied. The failure mechanism was identified as: the wetting-induced loss in shear strength of the soil, and the rapid loss of lateral support provided by the water during the dropping stage of water level. Under such conditions, a sinkhole is likely to form in the field.     

大型天然黄土洞穴系统现场冲刷试验

摘 要:通过现场冲刷试验,结合勘探、调查及室内含泥率测定等手段对大型天然黄土洞穴系统的三维空间展布特征、水文特性及侵蚀特征进行了研究。结果表明:黄土洞穴系统侵蚀过程具有明显的期次性;洞穴过水流量过程曲线可分为增加阶段、相对稳定阶段和减小阶段三个特征流量段,其中在第一阶段普遍存在滞流效应,第二阶段具有小幅波动的特性,并发现洞穴内的总渗流损失量随设计注水流量的增大而有所增加;根据含泥率随时间变化曲线,分析了不同流量过程段含泥率的变化特点,通过不同工况的累积侵蚀量对比发现洞穴的侵蚀速率与流量显著正相关。从机理上对产生上述过程、现象及结果的原因进行了合理解释,为黄土潜蚀机理及潜蚀速率的研究提供了可靠的现场试验数据。     

Hazard and risk assessment for sinkhole formation on dolomite land in South Africa

 A method is proposed to assess the risk for sinkhole formation in dolomitic areas where changes in land use are envisaged. Data from geotechnical site investigations are used for the zoning and characterization of sites in terms of the hazard (maximum size of sinkhole that can form), while the inherent risk for this hazard to occur is assessed by assuming that the site may be developed or treated incorrectly (abused). By considering both the hazard and the inherent risk, it is possible to select appropriate types of development and precautionary measures to reduce the final (development) risk to an acceptable level. Received: 15 September 1996 · Accepted: 12 May 1998     

Development and validation of sinkhole susceptibility models in mantled karst settings. A case study from the Ebro valley evaporite karst (NE Spain)

A preliminary sinkhole susceptibility analysis has been carried out in a stretch 50 km² in area of the Ebro valley alluvial evaporite karst (NE Spain). A spatial database consisting of a sinkhole layer and 27 thematic layers related to causal factors was constructed and implemented in a GIS. Three types of sinkholes were differentiated on the basis of their markedly different morphometry and geomorphic distribution: large subsidence depressions (24), large collapse sinkholes (23), and small cover-collapse sinkholes (447). The susceptibility models were produced analysing the statistical relationships between the mapped sinkholes and a set of conditioning factors using the Favourability Functions approach. The statistical analyses indicate that the best models are obtained with 6 conditioning factors out of the 27 available ones and that different factors and processes are involved in the generation of each type of sinkhole. The validation of two models by means of a random-split strategy shows that reasonably good predictions on the spatial distribution of future dolines may be produced with this approach; around 75% of the sinkholes of the validation sample occur on the 10% of the pixels with the highest susceptibility and about 45% of the area can be considered as safe.