Despite many existing approaches, modeling karst water resources remains challenging as conventional approaches usually heavily rely on distinct system knowledge. Artificial neural networks (ANNs), ...however, require only little prior knowledge to automatically establish an input–output relationship. For ANN modeling in karst, the temporal and spatial data availability is often an important constraint, as usually no or few climate stations are located within or near karst spring catchments. Hence, spatial coverage is often not satisfactory and can result in substantial uncertainties about the true conditions in the catchment, leading to lower model performance. To overcome these problems, we apply convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to simulate karst spring discharge and to directly learn from spatially distributed climate input data (combined 2D–1D CNNs). We investigate three karst spring catchments in the Alpine and Mediterranean region with different meteorological–hydrological characteristics and hydrodynamic system properties. We compare the proposed approach both to existing modeling studies in these regions and to our own 1D CNN models that are conventionally trained with climate station input data. Our results show that all the models are excellently suited to modeling karst spring discharge (NSE: 0.73–0.87, KGE: 0.63–0.86) and can compete with the simulation results of existing approaches in the respective areas. The 2D models show a better fit than the 1D models in two of three cases and automatically learn to focus on the relevant areas of the input domain. By performing a spatial input sensitivity analysis, we can further show their usefulness in localizing the position of karst catchments.
Poznavanje terminologije v različnih jezikih je potrebno za pravilno podajanje rezultatov znanstvenega dela, za mednarodno sodelovanje strokovnjakov in za prevajanje strokovnih tekstov. Namen članka ...je predstaviti tipično kitajsko kraško pokrajino in razložiti termine, ki jih uporabljajo. čeprav se kraško raziskovanje na Kitajskem razvija ločeno od krasoslovja na Zahodu, se v mednarodni kraški terminologiji postopoma uveljavljajo izrazi kitajskega izvora, kot so fengcong, fenglin, shilin in drugi. Vprašanje, kako z vnašanjem novih izrazov v ožjo strokovno javnost, kjer so že uveljavljeni stari termini, ostaja vedno odprto. Včasih je to potrebno, ker ima nov izraz tudi nekoliko obogaten pomen, oziroma združuje več informacij in izboljšuje razumevanje. O primernosti take odločitve naj presodijo nadaljnje razprave, ki morajo izhajati iz poznavanja problema in ne iz sentimentalnosti do izrazov, če so ti imeli do sedaj bolj splošen pomen. Good knowledge of terminology in different languages is indispensable to be able to present correctly the results of scientific work, for international cooperation of experts and for translating professional texts. Purpose of the present article is to represent the typical Chinese karst landscape and to explain the terms used in the country. Although karst researches in China are carried out separately from the karst-sciences of western countries, terms such as fengcong, fenglin, shilin are enforcing gradually into international karst terminology. Question how to introduce new terms into narrower professional public sphere with old terms already established, is still remaining open. Sometimes this is necessary since a new term is of somehow enriched meaning or is gathering more information and improving the understanding. Appropriateness of such decision should be estimated by further discussions, which should be based upon familiarity with the problem and not upon the sentimentality towards the terms, if these have born more general meaning up to this time.
Prvega pravega znanstvenega raziskovanja krasa in jam na območju južne Kitajske se je lotil Xu Xiake (1587 - 1641). Kras je proučeval več kot trideset let ter obiskal preko 300 jam. Svoja popotovanja ...po skoraj polovici ozemlja tedanjega kitajskega cesarstva je opisal v knjigi ≈Xu Xiakejeva potovanja« (≈Xu Xiake youji«), ki je bila prvič objavljena leta 1642. Velja za najzgodnejše razprave o krasu in je napisana v obliki dnevnih zapiskov. Opisal je podzemne reke in jezera, vodne vire, narisal je tlorise nekaterih jam in zabeležil njihove vhode ter opisal različne oblike speleotemov, načine plezanja po jamah in metode raziskovanja jam. Prvi je opisal različne tipe tropskega krasa ter se osredotočil na značilnosti in vzroke nastanka stolpastih vzpetin. V literaturo je vpeljal izraz fēnglín (gozd vrhov). Zato Xu Xiake ni oče moderne speleologije, krasoslovja, geomorfologije in geografije le v kitajskem merilu, temveč tudi v svetovnem. The first real scientific exploration of karst and karst caves in south China was undertaken by Xu Xiake (1587 - 1641). Chinese karst was studied by Xu Xiake for more than thirty years. He described his journeys to almost half of the territory of the Ming dynasty in his book ˝Xu Xiake's travels˝ (˝Xu Xiake youji˝), that was first published in 1642. He dedicated a lot of time to the research of the underground world by describing subterranean rivers and lakes as water resources. He also made ground plans of some caves, marked their entrances and described different shapes of speleothems. He first described different ways of climbing in caves and methods for cave research. Altogether he visited over 300 caves. Xu Xiake first described different types of the tropical karst and focused on the characteristics and reasons of the tower hills origin. He introduced the term fenglin (peak forest), which is still used in the scientific literature. However, he is not only the father of the modern speleology, karstology, geomorphology and geography in the Chinese scale but in a worldwide sense.
Na Krasu je bil od nekdaj največji problem oskrba s kakovostno pitno vodo, ki je omejevala poselitev in gospodarski razvoj območja. Sodobna oskrba ne zagotavlja zadostne količine pitne vode za ...gospodinjstva in gospodarstvo le na Krasu, temveč jo v poletnem času oddaja celo na Obalo. Oskrba s pitno vodo temelji na črpanju kraške podtalnice iz vrtin pri Klaričih in na dveh izvirih pod Nanosom. Pri snovanju vodne oskrbe kaže v prihodnosti vključiti številne lokalne vodne vire v povezavi s tradicionalno obliko vodne oskrbe. Pri tem ni izključena morebitna uporaba kapnice za potrebe namakanja vrtov, pranje avtomobilov, za komunalne dejavnosti (pranje ulic) in v kmetijstvu ter ponovna uporaba odpadnih voda za tehnološko vodo v industriji. In the past the biggest economic problem on the Kras plateau used to be drinking water supply, which has also been one of the reasons for sparsely populated Kras plateau.Today the Water Supply Company provides drinking water to households and industry on the Kras plateau and the quantity is suffi cient to supply the coastal region in the summer months as well. Water supply is founded on effective karst groundwater pumping near Klariči. Some water is captured from karst springs under Nanos Mountain as well. In water supply planning in future, numerous other local water resources linked to traditional ways of water supply need to be considered. Eventual rainwater usage for garden irrigation or car washing, for communal activity (street washing) or for the needs of farming and purifi ed wastewater usage for industry (as technological water) is not excluded.
Hydrological models are widely used to characterize, understand and manage hydrosystems. Lumped parameter models are of particular interest in karst environments given the complexity and ...heterogeneity of these systems. There is a multitude of lumped parameter modelling approaches, which can make it difficult for a manager or researcher to choose. We therefore conducted a comparison of two lumped parameter modelling approaches: artificial neural networks (ANNs) and reservoir models. We investigate five karst systems in the Mediterranean and Alpine regions with different characteristics in terms of climatic conditions, hydrogeological properties and data availability. We compare the results of ANN and reservoir modelling approaches using several performance criteria over different hydrological periods. The results show that both ANNs and reservoir models can accurately simulate karst spring discharge but also that they have different advantages and drawbacks: (i) ANN models are very flexible regarding the format and amount of input data, (ii) reservoir models can provide good results even with a few years of relevant discharge in the calibration period and (iii) ANN models seem robust for reproducing high-flow conditions, while reservoir models are superior in reproducing low-flow conditions. However, both modelling approaches struggle to reproduce extreme events (droughts, floods), which is a known problem in hydrological modelling. For research purposes, ANN models have been shown to be useful for identifying recharge areas and delineating catchments, based on insights into the input data. Reservoir models are adapted to understand the hydrological functioning of a system by studying model structure and parameters.
Andrej Kranjc was one of the leading geographers of his generation at the national and international level. His research covers a wide range of topics related to karst geomorphology, speleology, and ...hydrology, as well as the history of karstology and karst terminology. This article presents his fruitful and active research activities, his contribution to geography, and his role and importance to karstology. His research and publications were honoured by his appointment as a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Through his scientific, professional, and educational work, Kranjc has had a lasting impact on Slovenian geography and has contributed significantly to the establishment of karstology in the professional community and among the general public. In addition, his work led to many important initiatives, such as the International Karstological School and the Doctoral study programme Karstology. It is also thanks to him that Slovenia is recognised as a karst country and is among the world leaders in karstology.
The aquifers of alpine karst and high karst plateaus are abundant water resources. They are difficult to characterise due to their complex, partly glaciokarstic, evolution in active tectonic ...environments, and an unsaturated zone up to two kilometres thick. We present and discuss the results of a tracing test in the alpine karst of the Julian Alps (Slovenia), more precisely in the Migovec System, the longest cave system in Slovenia (length = 43 km, depth = 972 m). The cave extends below a mountain ridge that separates the Soča and Sava Valleys, thus forming a topographic divide between the Adriatic and Black Sea basins, which gives the test greater regional significance. In early September 2019, three kilograms of uranine were injected into a perched lake in a remote part of the system, approximately 900 metres below the plateau and 100 metres above the low water table. All known springs in the valleys on either side of the mountain were monitored by manual or instrumental sampling and a field fluorometer. Due to the unexpectedly dry season, no tracer was detected at any site for two months until a heavy rainfall event in early November. Subsequently, about 60-65 % of the tracer mass appeared within 60 hours in the Tolminka River. No tracer was detected at other sites, either becauseit was not present or because it was highly diluted. The study suggests that the lake containing the tracer is bypassed by the vadose flow and that the tracer was only mobilised during large events when the lake became part of the epihreatic flow. The linear peak flow velocity from the injection site to the Tolminka Spring was only about 1.7 m/h. However, assuming that the tracer was only mobilised by the large rain event, the velocity would be 70 m/h. The study highlights the challenges and pitfalls of water tracing in alpine karst systems and suggests ways to avoid them.
Andrej Kranjc je bil eden vodilnih geografov svoje generacije na nacionalni in mednarodni ravni. Njegove raziskave zajemajo širok spekter tem, povezanih s kraško geomorfologijo, speleologijo in ...hidrologijo ter zgodovino krasoslovja in kraško terminologijo. V članku predstavljamo njegove plodne in aktivne raziskovalne dejavnosti, njegov prispevek h geografiji ter njegovo vlogo in pomen za krasoslovje. Za njegove raziskave in objave je bil počaščen z imenovanjem za člana Slovenske akademije znanosti in umetnosti. Kranjc je s svojim znanstvenim, strokovnim in pedagoškim delom trajno zaznamoval slovensko geografijo ter pomembno prispeval k uveljavitvi krasoslovja v strokovni in širši javnosti. Njegovo delo je pripeljalo do številnih pomembnih pobud, kot sta Mednarodna krasoslovna šola in Doktorski študijski program Krasoslovje. Tudi po njegovi zaslugi je Slovenija prepoznana kot kraška država in je med vodilnimi v svetu na področju krasoslovja.
Karst aquifers provide drinking water for 10% of the world's population, support agriculture, groundwater-dependent activities, and ecosystems. These aquifers are characterised by complex ...groundwater-flow systems, hence, they are extremely vulnerable and protecting them requires an in-depth understanding of the systems. Poor data accessibility has limited advances in karst research and realistic representation of karst processes in large-scale hydrological studies. In this study, we present World Karst Spring hydrograph (WoKaS) database, a community-wide effort to improve data accessibility. WoKaS is the first global karst springs discharge database with over 400 spring observations collected from articles, hydrological databases and researchers. The dataset's coverage compares to the global distribution of carbonate rocks with some bias towards the latitudes of more developed countries. WoKaS database will ensure easy access to a large-sample of good quality datasets suitable for a wide range of applications: comparative studies, trend analysis and model evaluation. This database will largely contribute to research advancement in karst hydrology, supports karst groundwater management, and promotes international and interdisciplinary collaborations.
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