Karst morphology and groundwater vulnerability of high alpine karst plateaus

Plan, Lukas; Decker, Kurt; Faber, Robert; Wagreich, Michael; Grasemann, Bernhard

doi:10.1007/s00254-008-1605-5

Cited by 38 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Karst features and springs in the area have been investigated and monitored intensely over the last years (see unpublished report by Decker in Table 1; Decker and Reiter 2001;Kuschnig 2009;Plan 2002Plan , 2005Plan and Decker 2006;Plan et al 2009Plan et al , 2010. Surface karstification features and caves are preferentially following fault zones of a certain deformation stage (see unpublished report by Decker in Table 1; Plan and Decker 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrogeological properties of fault zones in a karstified carbonate aquifer (Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria)

2016

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This study presents a comparative, field-based hydrogeological characterization of exhumed, inactive fault zones in low-porosity Triassic dolostones and limestones of the Hochschwab massif, a carbonate unit of high economic importance supplying 60 % of the drinking water of Austria's capital, Vienna. Cataclastic rocks and sheared, strongly cemented breccias form low-permeability (<1 mD) domains along faults. Fractured rocks with fracture densities varying by a factor of 10 and fracture porosities varying by a factor of 3, and dilation breccias with average porosities >3 % and permeabilities >1,000 mD form high-permeability domains. With respect to fault-zone architecture and rock content, which is demonstrated to be different for dolostone and limestone, four types of faults are presented. Faults with single-stranded minor fault cores, faults with single-stranded permeable fault cores, and faults with multiple-stranded fault cores are seen as conduits. Faults with single-stranded impermeable fault cores are seen as conduit-barrier systems. Karstic carbonate dissolution occurs along fault cores in limestones and, to a lesser degree, dolostones and creates superposed highpermeability conduits. On a regional scale, faults of a particular deformation event have to be viewed as forming a network of flow conduits directing recharge more or less rapidly towards the water table and the springs. Sections of impermeable fault cores only very locally have the potential to create barriers.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrogeological properties of fault zones in a karstified carbonate aquifer (Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria)

2016

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“…The plateau can be considered one of the main recharge areas of the study site due to the flat and bare exposure of karst rocks, as in other highalpine catchments (Plan et al, 2009). This distribution of the springs shows that groundwater flows preferentially from the plateau in a latitudinal direction as testified by the location of many springs emerging in correspondence with NWSE-trending faults reported in Italian Geological Survey geological maps (SGN, 1970) and Zampieri (1987) (e.g., springs 1 and 3 in Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lineament domain analysis to infer groundwater flow paths: Clues from the Pale di San Martino fractured aquifer, Eastern Italian Alps

2017

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An automatic lineament extraction was carried out on a processed digi tal elevation model of a highaltitude Alpine fractured reservoir, the Pale di San Martino area (Dolomites) located in the southern sector of the Eastern Italian Alps. The strike of the main lineament domain indicates the direction of the principal crustal stress. This direction was compared with earthquake focal mechanisms to confirm the orientation of the regional crustal stress. The two data sets provide similar results and show a NNWSSE maximum horizontal crustal stress orientation, compatible with the direction of the last Alpine compression reported by previous studies in the investigated region. The orientation of the maximum horizontal compressive stress was then used to explore the ability of specific fracture and fault sets to enhance ground water flow. Subvertical strikeslip faults and joints oriented NWSE to north south provide the greater contribution to the groundwater flow. The location of the main springs and evidence from a dye tracer test conducted in the area confirm this main drainage direction. This study demonstrates that automatic lineament analysis is an efficient and inexpensive method to identify the tra jectories of groundwater flow in fractured aquifers.

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“…Also in Europe for example in Spain (Andreo et al 2008), in Swizzerland (Doerflinger et al 1999) and in Germany (Kralik 2001) many regions are supplied from carbonate catchments. In Austria about 4.1 Million inhabitants (50% of the population) get their drinking water from areas with carbonate rocks (Plan et al 2009). According to the regional geology of Austria these areas are in the surrounding and within the Northern Calcareous Alps, Dolomites and Karnic Alps.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Aquifer Characteristics of the Dolomite Formation a New Approach for Providing Drinking Water in the Northern Calcareous Alps Region in Germany and Austria

Hilberg

Schneider

2011

Water Resour Manage

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In the Northern Calcareous Alps karst springs and wells in porous groundwater bodies are the common sources of drinking water. While karst springs deliver water with short residence times and extreme variabilities in discharge, porous groundwater bodies include high risks of pollution according to intensive agricultural and industrial activities in the catchment areas. As alternative in this densly populated region in Germany and Austria the widespread but rarely used dolomitic unit Hauptdolomit (HD) was investigated. The purpose was to find indications to identify springs and wells dominated by an HD-aquifer and to find significant differences in age distribution and flow rates between HD-aquifers and karstified groundwater bodies. The assumption was that springs in HD-aquifers do not deliver very young waters and so show significantly lower vulnerability to pollution and less variability in discharge because HD features the necessary retention capacity and very slow diffuse flow on micro fissure systems and also exhibits larger fractures for water sampling and conduit flow. The main results of the study were: (1) the structural setting on the surface is not significant for the internal hydro-geological properties, (2) the hydrochemical signature gives a good evidence to identify an HD-catchment area, (3) the hydrograph curves show significantly less variability which is the most important advantage over karst springs, (4) mean residence times of 2 years to two decades are conducted by an age distribution which ranges very young as well as more than

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Karst morphology and groundwater vulnerability of high alpine karst plateaus

Cited by 38 publications

References 12 publications

Hydrogeological properties of fault zones in a karstified carbonate aquifer (Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria)

Hydrogeological properties of fault zones in a karstified carbonate aquifer (Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria)

Lineament domain analysis to infer groundwater flow paths: Clues from the Pale di San Martino fractured aquifer, Eastern Italian Alps

The Aquifer Characteristics of the Dolomite Formation a New Approach for Providing Drinking Water in the Northern Calcareous Alps Region in Germany and Austria

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