the rock organ organ cave, greenbrier co.,...

GEO 321 Lecture 14

Dr. J. S. Kite

Groundwater, Karst, and

Caves

The Rock OrganOrgan Cave,

Greenbrier Co., WV

Soil & Ground Water DistributionEastern USA

•• Soil Moisture BeltSoil Moisture Belt

•• Unsaturated Unsaturated (Aeration) Zone(Aeration) Zone

•• Water TableWater Table– Capillary Fringe

•• Saturated ZoneSaturated Zone

Ground-Water Flow through Porous Medium

Water Wells

= Head

Darcy's LawApplied to movement of water through

a permeable substance

V = K h/l

K = hydraulic conductivity in gal/day-ft2

h/l = hydraulic gradient

Darcy's Law

V = K h/l

K = hydraulic conductivity in gal/day-ft2

since Q = A V

then Q = A K h/l

Darcy “Constants”

Material clean clean sand vfsd silt unweatheredgravel sandy gvl loams clays

Aquifer GOOD POOR IMPERVIOUS

Darcy K 106 103 20 1 .002

Darcy's Law Example

Given: pond with surface area of 1000 ft2

and hydraulic gradient of 100 ft of rise in 100 ft of horizontal distance.

Calculate the amount of water that would leak out of the pond if the bottom is

(A) gravel with K = 106 or (B) clay with K = 10-3.

Q = A K h/l

Darcy's Law ExamplePond

1000 ft2

gravel K = 106

clay K = 10-3

Q = A K h/l

100 ft

100

ft

Stream

Add Ohio Outwash Terrace Flow Net map, Show effects of well

field for 2001

Ground-Water Flow

Ground-Water Discharging into Stream

Aquifer System

Aquifer SystemPerched Aquifers

OilWell

Influent Stream Recharging Aquifer

Kite Stream, Antarctic Polar Desert

Artesian Aquifer

HotHot GroundGround--Water: 2 MethodsWater: 2 Methods

• Bring Heat Source near the Surface: Super-Heating and Boiling!– Iceland, Yellowstone, etc.

• Take Water Deep below the Surface, Followed by Rapid Rise & Discharge– Thermal Springs in the Virginias

Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone NP

Pool in Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone

Siliceous Sinter Deposit @ Fishing Cone Hot Spring, Yellowstone NP

Minerva Travertine Terrace, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone NP

TYPICAL GEOTHERMAL GRADIENT

• 16.5oC/km 48oF/mi • Average Worldwide

Slow Deep Infiltration Slow Deep Infiltration + Rapid Rise & Discharge+ Rapid Rise & Discharge

HotHot Springs, VirginiaSprings, Virginia

• Average Air Temp. = ~52oF • Average Water Temp = ~106oF• How Far Down to Raise Water ~54oF • ~54oF / (48oF/mi) = 1.1 mile deep• Water Must Rise to Surface Rapidly,

or It Will CoolCool on Way to Surface

Geology of White SulphurSprings, WV

Fault

SulphurSulphur--Rich Black Shale

Rich Black ShaleLimestoneLimestone

RechargeRecharge


Fault



GeothermalGeothermalHeatingHeating


Fault




Fault




Fault




Fault



Nasty-Smelling,Hard, Warm Spring


Fault



$$$$

Carbonate Dissolution CaCO3 + H2O + CO2 = CaCO3 + H2CO3 = Ca2+ + 2 HCO3

-

(Dissolved Ions)

Conditions Favoring Karst:

1. Lithology

>60 % calcite, best if > 90 % calcite

Best If Massive, Xline, Hard, Pure Limestone

Shale in Thin Bedded Limestone = Ground-water Flow Barrier

Rock Needs Strength to Support Karst Features


1. Lithology

2. Available relief:permits vertical drainage component

3. Well-developed bedding or fractures


1. Lithology

2. Available relief

3. Well-developed bedding or fractures

4. >100m unit thickness

5. Humid, warm climatehigh CO2 content (vegetation decomposition) rapid reactions (kinetics)

Typical Limestone Outcrops in Karst Landscape

http://capp.water.usgs.gov/gwa/

ch_l/gif/L082.GIF

Variable Depth to

Bedrock & Well

Prospects

Sinkhole (Doline) near Mammoth Cave NP, KY

Trout Pond: Sinkhole Exposed in Hardy Co., WV during August 2002

Pre-Draining vs. Post-Draining

Photo: Lee Avery, WVGESUSFS Photo

Water Levels Dropped Several ft/day ~ 3 to 5 August 2002

Blue Ridge

FoothillsKarst

Elevator!

Depth to Bedrock may be >200 m

http://capp.water.usgs.gov/gwa/

ch_l/gif/L081.GIF

Florida Aquifer

Miller, James A., 1990, GROUND WATER ATLAS of the UNITED STATES: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina,USGS HA 730-G

capp.water.usgs.gov/gwa/ ch_g/G-text6.html

Doline = Sinkhole near

Echo River Spring, FL

http://www.aristov.com/photo/natu/mamc/sinkhole.htm

Florida Sinkholes

http://www.gcn.ou.edu/~jahern/dynamic/groundwater/groundw

ater.html

Raders Valley, Greenbrier Co., WVa

Rders Valley Greenbrier Co, WV Detail

Clastic

Rx

Where are Carbonate Rx? Where are Clastic Rx?

Winterpark, Florida Sinkhole Swallows Porsche Dealership

Miller, 1990,USGS HA 730-G

Tower Karst & Karren - China

http://www.gcn.ou.edu/~jahern/dynamic/groundwater/groundwater.html

Tower Karst - China

Cave Passages

• Record History of Cave Development

Styx River Resurgence Mammoth Cave NP, KY

River Resurgence in Wyoming

http://capp.water.usgs.gov/gwa/ch_l/gif/L083.GIF

Break Down, Mammoth Cave

Mammoth Cave Elliptical Tube

http://www.gcn.ou.edu/~jahern/dynamic/groundwater/groundwater.html

Buckeye Cave, Greenbrier Co., WV, Greg Springer WebsiteElliptical Tube Partly Filled with Alluvial Sediments

Photo © 2001 by Ed McCarthy

& Carl Samples.

Vadose Tube: Looking Down, Mammoth Cave

Vadose Tube: Looking Up, Mammoth Cave

Mammoth Cave Web Sites• http://www.iddr.ie.psu.edu/~wdm8/trips/mammoth/mammoth1.html• http://www.earthwatch.org/p/Pcrothers.GIF

Cass Cave,photo by Tom Hay

VadoseCanyon

Leads into PhreaticTube

Carbonate Dissolution CaCO3 + H2O + CO2 = CaCO3 + H2CO3 = Ca2+ + 2 HCO3

-

(Dissolved Ions)

Carbonate Precipitation Ca2+ + 2 HCO3

- = CaCO3 + H2O + CO2

Travertine, Tufa, Marl

Falling Spring Marl-Travertine Deposit, Rt. 220, Near Covington,

Virginia

Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Photo

www.mme.state.va.us/Dmr/GALLERY/historic/

Images/BWMORP/bwcov.jpg

Falling Spring Marl-Travertine Deposit, Rt. 220, Near Covington,

Virginia

S. Kite Photo

http://www.goodearth.com/virtcave/stalmite/stalmite.

html

Stalactites and Stalagmites

Travertine Precipitation

Ca2+ + 2 HCO3- =

CaCO3 + H2O + CO2

Degassingof CO2

Stalactites

• Ornamentation

Popcorn

• Ornamentation

Popcorn

Aragonite Xls• Ornamentation

Stalagmites

Columns

Columns

Rim Stone

Rim Stone, Stalactites, Stalagmites, Columns

• Ornamentation

Speleothem Web Sites:• http://www.goodearth.com/virtcave.html• http://www.goodearth.com/virtcave/sodastw/sodastw.html• http://www.goodearth.com/virtcave/spar/spar.html• http://www.goodearth.com/virtcave/rimstone/rimstone.html• http://www.goodearth.com/virtcave/aragonit/aragonit.html• http://www.goodearth.com/virtcave/staltite/staltite.html• http://www.goodearth.com/virtcave/shield/shield.html• http://www.goodearth.com/virtcave/popcorn/popcorn.html• http://www.goodearth.com/virtcave/clouds/clouds.html• http://www.goodearth.com/virtcave/stalmite/stalmite.html• http://www.goodearth.com/virtcave/column/column.html• http://www.goodearth.com/virtcave/shelfst/shelf.html

Rock Shelter in Baja

Claifornia

Meadowcroft Rock Shelter,

Avella, PA

http://members.delphi.com/MCCONAUGHY/web/Meadowcroft/meadcr07.htm

April 1975 photo by Mark McConaughy

Meadowcroft Rock Shelter TodayWQED Pittsburgh History Series

http://www.wqed.org/erc/pghist/units/WPAhist/wpa1.html

Meadowcroft Rock Shelter Roof-Fall BreakdownWQED Pittsburgh History Series

http://www.wqed.org/erc/pghist/units/WPAhist/wpa1.html

Meadowcroft Rock ShelterStratigraphy

Sediment Sources:Rock Fall BlocksGrain Fall “Rain”Slopewash from AboveColluvium from MarginsAnthropogenic Deposits

For More on Meadowcroft and other Important Archeological Sites:

http://emuseum.mnsu.edu/archaeology/sites/northamerica/meadowcroft.html

the rock organ organ cave, greenbrier co.,...

Documents