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Karst and waters in it : a literature study on karst in general and on problems and possibilities of water management in karst in particular

Raguž, Veronika (2008) In Lunds universitets Naturgeografiska institution - Seminarieuppsatser
Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
Abstract (Swedish)
Karst är landskap och karakteristika som är viktiga både ur hydrologisk och geologisk
synpunkt och som är utvecklade genom vattnets vittring av oftast karbonathaltiga stenar.
Denna uppsats kartlägger världens karstområden, beskriver egenskaper av karst och
karsthydrologi och strävar efter att definiera problem och möjligheter med
vattenhantering i karstlandskap.
Akvifärer i karst skiljer sig i många avseenden från andra akvifärer i att vattenflödet
oftast är snabbare, mer turbulent och förekommer oregelbundet. Akvifärer i karst är ofta
kännetecknade av bland annat brist på vattentillgångar och svårigheter att förutsäga dem.
Lämplig hantering och förståelse av karstakvifärer kan minimera problem som är
förknippade med karst och... (More)
Karst är landskap och karakteristika som är viktiga både ur hydrologisk och geologisk
synpunkt och som är utvecklade genom vattnets vittring av oftast karbonathaltiga stenar.
Denna uppsats kartlägger världens karstområden, beskriver egenskaper av karst och
karsthydrologi och strävar efter att definiera problem och möjligheter med
vattenhantering i karstlandskap.
Akvifärer i karst skiljer sig i många avseenden från andra akvifärer i att vattenflödet
oftast är snabbare, mer turbulent och förekommer oregelbundet. Akvifärer i karst är ofta
kännetecknade av bland annat brist på vattentillgångar och svårigheter att förutsäga dem.
Lämplig hantering och förståelse av karstakvifärer kan minimera problem som är
förknippade med karst och maximera användandet av de möjligheter som karstakvifärer
besitter. (Less)
Abstract
Karst are landscapes and features of hydrological and geological importance developed
through weathering of water in mostly carbonate rock terrains. This paper maps out karst
areas of the world, describes the properties of karst and karst hydrology and aims to
define problems and possibilities of water management in karst landscapes. Karst
aquifers differ in many aspects from other aquifers with water movements in regular
being faster, more turbulent and irregular in occurrence and are amongst other things
often characterised by a deficit in water supplies and by difficulties of predicting the
same. Proper management and actions through better understanding of karst aquifers can
minimize environmental problems specific for karst... (More)
Karst are landscapes and features of hydrological and geological importance developed
through weathering of water in mostly carbonate rock terrains. This paper maps out karst
areas of the world, describes the properties of karst and karst hydrology and aims to
define problems and possibilities of water management in karst landscapes. Karst
aquifers differ in many aspects from other aquifers with water movements in regular
being faster, more turbulent and irregular in occurrence and are amongst other things
often characterised by a deficit in water supplies and by difficulties of predicting the
same. Proper management and actions through better understanding of karst aquifers can
minimize environmental problems specific for karst and maximize the use of possibilities
that karst aquifers possess. (Less)
Abstract
Summary: Water is, and will in the near future be even more, a key issue for the global
development, and for issues concerning equal rigts for all mankind. Water is a necessity
and a scarce resource in great parts of the world and it therefore exists a great need for
development and management of the world’s waters. With fresh waters being
increasingly accentuated for their importance in global development and sustainability
the goal of development of knowledge, understanding and actual management of the
world’s waters needs to be reached as soon as possible.
Areas of karst worldwide are known for their scarcity of water and their high
vulnerability to environmental impacts. Karst are landscapes formed through the
assistance of... (More)
Summary: Water is, and will in the near future be even more, a key issue for the global
development, and for issues concerning equal rigts for all mankind. Water is a necessity
and a scarce resource in great parts of the world and it therefore exists a great need for
development and management of the world’s waters. With fresh waters being
increasingly accentuated for their importance in global development and sustainability
the goal of development of knowledge, understanding and actual management of the
world’s waters needs to be reached as soon as possible.
Areas of karst worldwide are known for their scarcity of water and their high
vulnerability to environmental impacts. Karst are landscapes formed through the
assistance of water in soluble rocks, such as i.e. limestones and dolomites. Karstic
landscapes are present in large parts of the world, but most importantly these areas are
often also densely populated. Approximately twenty-five per cent of the world’s total
population either live in or get their drinking water from aquifers in karstic landscapes
and this makes karst landscapes interesting and important areas to study and develop the
understanding for management of water resources.
Proper management of karst waters requires monitoring and information intake of the
state and functionality of the aquifer. This undertaking can only be achieved if karst, and
all properties of it are understood and combined with knowledge from the field of
hydrology.
Since the difference of karstic rocks in relation to other soil/rocks in/on which water
moves hasn’t been fully appreciated in the past, these areas have been unsufficiently
managed and problems have been evident. Often occuring problems in karst areas are;
waste-disposal leakage that contaminates available fresh-water; water scarcity and
irregular occurrence of water and difficulties with locating fresh-waters. Strategies of
water management often used in other terrains also work less efficiently in karst. One
such example are dams, which have been shown to have a substantial leakage problem in
karst.
Although there are many management problems concerning the permeability of karst
aquifers, some characteristics of karst aquifers also facilitates management and
monitoring. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Raguž, Veronika
supervisor
organization
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
karst aquifer, hydrology, karst hydrology, karst, geography, physical geography, ground water, water management
publication/series
Lunds universitets Naturgeografiska institution - Seminarieuppsatser
report number
149
language
English
id
1894891
date added to LUP
2011-04-14 10:31:44
date last changed
2011-12-14 11:54:34
@misc{1894891,
  abstract     = {{Summary: Water is, and will in the near future be even more, a key issue for the global
development, and for issues concerning equal rigts for all mankind. Water is a necessity
and a scarce resource in great parts of the world and it therefore exists a great need for
development and management of the world’s waters. With fresh waters being
increasingly accentuated for their importance in global development and sustainability
the goal of development of knowledge, understanding and actual management of the
world’s waters needs to be reached as soon as possible.
Areas of karst worldwide are known for their scarcity of water and their high
vulnerability to environmental impacts. Karst are landscapes formed through the
assistance of water in soluble rocks, such as i.e. limestones and dolomites. Karstic
landscapes are present in large parts of the world, but most importantly these areas are
often also densely populated. Approximately twenty-five per cent of the world’s total
population either live in or get their drinking water from aquifers in karstic landscapes
and this makes karst landscapes interesting and important areas to study and develop the
understanding for management of water resources.
Proper management of karst waters requires monitoring and information intake of the
state and functionality of the aquifer. This undertaking can only be achieved if karst, and
all properties of it are understood and combined with knowledge from the field of
hydrology.
Since the difference of karstic rocks in relation to other soil/rocks in/on which water
moves hasn’t been fully appreciated in the past, these areas have been unsufficiently
managed and problems have been evident. Often occuring problems in karst areas are;
waste-disposal leakage that contaminates available fresh-water; water scarcity and
irregular occurrence of water and difficulties with locating fresh-waters. Strategies of
water management often used in other terrains also work less efficiently in karst. One
such example are dams, which have been shown to have a substantial leakage problem in
karst.
Although there are many management problems concerning the permeability of karst
aquifers, some characteristics of karst aquifers also facilitates management and
monitoring.}},
  author       = {{Raguž, Veronika}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{Lunds universitets Naturgeografiska institution - Seminarieuppsatser}},
  title        = {{Karst and waters in it : a literature study on karst in general and on problems and possibilities of water management in karst in particular}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}