Proučevano območje Žibrške planote z okolico je z morfografskega vidika eno od najbolj pestrih fluviokraških območij v Sloveniji. Namen naše raziskave je interpretacija fluviokraških oblik in ...procesov ter načina delovanja fluviokraških geomorfoloških okolij. V raziskavi smo interpretirali delovanje fluviokraškega površja Žibrške planote in dolin, ki planoto razčlenjujejo. Pojasnili smo tudi delovanje dolin v okolici Žibrške planote, kjer so se površinski vodotoki pretočili v kraški vodonosnik, ter interpretirali geomorfološki razvoj Hotenjskega in Logaškega kraškega polja.
Analizom višegodišnjih interdisciplinarnih terenskih istraživanja, te bilježenjem učinaka infrastrukturnih zahvata u prirodni okoliš Drežnice, članak doprinosi složenijem razumijevanju historijskih, ...društvenih i ekonomskih procesa suodnosa ljudi i prirodnog okoliša, kao ključnih odrednica moderniteta. Pitanje tko, kakvom tehnologijom i s kojim obećanjima upravlja krškim krajolikom, te u kojim se okolnostima i u čijem interesu javlja potreba njegove zaštite, sagledava se u duljem povijesnom trajanju s fokusom na promjene upravljanja Drežničkim poljem. Oslanjajući se na objavljene i arhivske izvore, članak postavlja širi ekohistorijski okvir za analizu suvremenog antropogenog utjecaja na Drežničko polje, na primjeru aktualnog projekta njegove retencije. Učinci hidroinžinjerskih zahvata na lokalnu zajednicu sagledavaju se kroz analitičku prizmu procesualne antropologije infrastrukture, a temelje na intervjuima s članovima lokalne zajednice i ekoloških udruga te na analizi birokratskog diskursa studija na okoliš.
This article presents an analysis of the effects of infrastructural interventions in the natural environment of Drežnica, based on many years of field research and an interdisciplinary approach to methodology. In this way, it contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the historical, social, and economic elements of the relationship between humans and the natural environment, as key notions of modernity. Several questions are addressed: who manages the karst landscape, using which technology, promising which results, under which circumstances, and whose interest it is to protect the landscape. These questions are considered from a longer historical perspective, with a focus on changes in the management model of Drežničko polje. Relying on published and archival sources, the article sets a broader eco-historical framework for the analysis of the contemporary anthropogenic impact on Drežničko polje, using the example of the current project of its retention. The effects of hydro-engineering operations on the local community are viewed through the analytical prism of processual anthropology of infrastructure, based on the analysis of the bureaucratic discourse of environmental policy studies and interviews with members of the local community and environmental organizations.
Various multivariate statistical techniques (MST) can provide valuable insights into water quality variability. Despite numerous studies in which these methods have been used, their potential has not ...been fully exploited. This paper presents an improved approach to better understand the hydrodynamics of karst systems. The integrated application of hierarchical cluster and principal component analysis in combination with factor analysis allowed the construction of an advanced multivariate chemograph. The analytical procedure was applied in a binary karst aquifer known for its complex hydrodynamics and mixing of water with similar hydrochemical composition. In addition, the study area provides access to an integral groundwater flow system (ponor‐cave‐spring) and offers extensive prior hydrogeological knowledge. The approach allowed reduction and discrimination of the main parameters affecting water quality characteristics. Their identification enabled recognition of three predominant recharge components: (a) stored water impact with Cl and electrical conductivity, (b) sinking stream impact with turbidity and bacteria composition and (c) karst aquifer impact with Ca/Mg ratio as principal parameters. The results supported innovative characterization of the dominant processes and isolation of temporal hydrodynamic phases of individual monitoring points within the aquifer system. On this basis, a spatio‐temporal conceptual model was developed and the hydrodynamic behavior of the main springs was revealed. The applied methodology demonstrated to be useful in ascertaining functioning of a complex karst system under flood event conditions.
Plain Language Summary
Karst aquifer systems contain important water resources. The quality of karst springs can deteriorate significantly after rain events, but it is difficult to distinguish how water flows and mixes in the subsurface, especially in large and complex systems. Statistical methods are powerful tools for studying these issues, but most common approaches are inadequate in some cases to reveal the origin of the water and its fate. In this paper, we present an approach in which we combined different statistical methods to explain the dynamics of water flow based on the physicochemical and microbiological properties of water. The application of these methods led to the discrimination of parameters most useful for a reliable interpretation of statistical results, such as turbidity, bacteria, Cl, EC, and Ca/Mg, and to the construction of an advanced diagram that we called a multivariate chemograph. This diagram allowed us to see where the water was coming from at any given time to our monitoring points, which allowed us to construct a detailed explanation of water flow dynamics in space and time. Our contribution is important to better predict the fate of contaminants in karst underground and to develop an early warning system for better water supply management.
Key Points
A new approach to study and explain hydrodynamics of karst aquifers was developed
It offers an innovative solution to distinguish influential monitoring parameters
Multivariate chemographs allowed spatio‐temporal detection of recharge phases
The study area is the upper Manavgat River basin. It is located in the western part of the central Taurides. Two significant geomorphic features of this basin are the Kembos and Eynif structural ...poljes. This study focuses on the tectonic impacts on the development of poljes and the morphotectonic evolutionary history of the study region. The data were obtained through a detailed mapping of the faults, rocks, and geomorphic features.
The evolutionary history of the basin begins with the NW-SE–trending karstic paleovalleys, which first formed on the erosional surfaces that are part of the early and middle Miocene contractional tectonic regime. The tributaries, which developed under the influence of the NW-SE–trending Pliocene strike-slip faults, joined the main trunk of the Manavgat River. Starting at the beginning of the Quaternary, the tensional tectonic regime became prominent, and then a series of graben-horst structures appeared. The Eynif and Kembos poljes formed within two of these structures. The underground capture of surface water occurred in the grabens. The waters of both poljes drain through swallow holes into the Manavgat River and then in to the Mediterranean Sea. The regional uplift rates (the downcutting rates) are as follows: 0.36mm/y in the late Miocene (Tortonian-Messinian), 0.06mm/y in the Pliocene, and 0.18mm/y in the Quaternary periods, which are based on the geopmorphic data obtained from high erosional surfaces and the Manavgat River valley. The average downcutting/uplift rate is 0.18mm/y in this region.
•Kembos and Eynif structural poljes formed in Quaternary grabens under the control of the tensional neotectonic regime.•Waters of the poljes are drained to Manavgat River by underground conduits.•Middle Miocene erosional surfaces and Miocene paleovalleys are located on mountains.•NW-SE trending tributaries of the Manavgat River developed during Pliocene.•Manavgat River incised its valley up to 1229m after Upper Tortonian.
The Ljubljansko polje aquifer, which is the main supply of drinking water for the local population in Ljubljana, Slovenia is highly vulnerable to anthropogenic pollution. In this study, the ...geochemistry of major constituents including nitrate concentrations and the dual isotopes of nitrate were used to ascertain the spatial distribution of processes and nitrate sources in the groundwater from seven wells at three different water supplies: Kleče, Hrastje and Jarški prod. The groundwater is of the Ca2+-Mg2+-HCO3− type approaching equilibrium with respect to dolomite and are moderately supersaturated with calcite. The groundwater nitrate concentrations ranged from 5.32 to 50.1 mg L−1 and are well above the threshold value for anthropogenic activity (3 mg L−1). The δ15NNO3 values ranged from 1.4 to 9.7‰, while δ18ONO3 values were from 6.3 to 34.6‰. Based on isotope mixing model three sources of nitrate were identified: atmospheric deposition, fertilizers and soil nitrogen. At Kleče 8, Kleče 12 and Jarški prod 3 the low δ15NNO3 and high δ18ONO3 values result from pristine nitrate sources, while in Hrastje 3 and Kleče 11 equal amounts of nitrate derived from soils with mixed fertilization and sewage. The data also indicate that the main sources of high nitrate concentrations in groundwater are from fertilizers and sewage-manure (comprising up to 64%). Such levels occurred in the Hrastje and Kleče 11 wells where precipitation is the main source of groundwater. Nitrate derived from atmospheric deposition accounted for approximately 10% of the nitrate in the groundwater. The message from this study is that to reduce the nitrogen load and improve water quality will involve containment and the careful management of sources from urban and agriculture inputs such as sewage-manure and fertilizers.
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•Groundwaters in Ljubljansko polje aquifer are Ca2+-Mg2+-HCO3− waters.•The main sources of nitrate are atmospheric deposition, fertilizers and soil nitrogen.•Sewage-manure nitrate is important at locations where precipitation is the main source of groundwater.
The article of Blatnik et al. (2019) “Groundwater dynamics between Planinsko Polje and springs of the Ljubljanica River, Slovenia” published in Acta Carsologica, 48/2 focused on describing the ...hydrogeological behaviour of the aquifer between Planinsko Polje and the springs of the Ljubljanica River. The authors analysed the effect of different high water events that occurred between January 2015 and May 2018. Interpretations were based on hydrographs obtained by continuous measurements of water level, temperature and specific electric conductivity in selected ponors, springs and water active caves located in the area between Planinsko Polje and the springs of the Ljubljanica River. Through these interpretations, different conceptual hydrological models about the dynamics and directions of the flow in the aquifer have been proposed and tested. A flow connection was proposed between the Hrušica Plateau, estavelles located at the NW border of Planinsko Polje, and caves Gradišnica (W2) and Gašpinova Jama (W3) close to town Logatec. In this supplement, we provide new data recorded during an unusual hydrological event in August 2018. These further support and stress the importance of the connection between the Hrušica Plateau and Logatec region (W2 and W3).
Gomance is a piedmont karst polje in the northern Dinaric Alps presenting geomorphological and sedimentological evidence of past glaciation. During the Pleistocene the polje was situated at the edge ...of the Snežnik and Gorski Kotar ice fields from where two outlet glaciers reached Gomance. The morphogenesis of the polje was reconstructed by means of geomorphological mapping, sedimentological studies, and ground penetrating radar (GPR) measurements, supported by hand-drillings. With GPR an almost entirely buried moraine system was also imaged and mapped, crucial in reconstructing the polje history. The depression was karstified and well drained without any surface streams before the Last Glaciation. When the glacier front reached the depression, the entire floor became covered by glacial and outwash deposits. Surface runoff dominated over karst drainage in a large part of the polje, particularly where distal outwash deposits with low effective porosity functioned as an aquitard. These deposits diverted surface drainage toward the lowest edge of the polje, which functioned as a ponor front along the entire length. The outwash system of the Gomance polje was active during the Last Glaciation as suggested by radiocarbon-dated outwash deposits.
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•Polje history reconstructed through geomorphology, sedimentology and GPR•Karst polje evolution related to glaciation•Glacigenic infill of the polje functioning as an aquitard•Evidence of Pleistocene glaciation in the northern Dinaric Alps
During the Maya early Anthropocene (2000 BCE – 1000 CE) in Mesoamerica, socio-environmental interactions contributed to the rise and decline of the ancient Maya civilisation. At the scale of the ...exploitation territories of the Maya cities, the temporal variations of hydrological and sedimentary dynamics in response to anthropogenic and climate drivers are still poorly known. This constrains diachronic analyses of socio-ecosystems and, more particularly, of water and soil resources in the hinterlands. This manuscript analyses and presents a regional comparison of the dynamics of one of the most transformed hydrosystems and morpho-sedimentary systems by the societies of the Southern Maya Lowlands (SMLs), during the second half of the Holocene. It focuses on the lake basin of the polje named El Infierno bajo and its watershed, which was the main water storage area for the Maya city of Naachtun – a large regional capital between 150 and 950 CE –, and which contains many remains of hydraulic and agrarian structures. This integrated palaeolimnological, geoarchaeological and hydrological approach, based on the analyses of morpho-sedimentary archives, LiDAR altimetry data and hydrological data, resulted in the construction of hydro-sedimentary baselines (pre- syn- and post-ancient Maya anthropogenic impacts). Currently, the intermittent lake (civale) of this bajo responds to strong seasonal and interannual hydrological variabilities, under climate control. During the past 5500 years, hydro-sedimentary fluctuations were marked by the alternation of seven main hydrological periods (HP), characterised by high and low lake levels (alternately perennial, intermittent and dry lake) and six main erosion and sediment transfer periods (ESTP), marked by strong and low alluvial and colluvial detrital inputs in the lowlands. Anthropogenic and climate forcings have independently or jointly controlled the hydrologic and sedimentary budgets of the lake basin. Lithofacies, depositional processes, accumulation rates and drivers of the anthropogenic detrital inputs – the so-called “Maya clays” –, are analysed and quantified from ∼1500 BCE to ∼1150 CE. It thus reveals one of the longest periods of occupation and exploitation of natural resources of the SMLs, for over 2500 years during the Preclassic, Classic and Post-classic Maya periods. The hydro-sedimentary dynamics in the bajos of the SMLs Elevated Interior Region (EIR), such as El Infierno, enabled the long-term exploitation of water and soil resources for agrarian purposes, thanks to the construction of hydraulic and agrarian palimpsest landscapes shaped by the socio-ecosystems.
•Wetlands palaeolimnology, geoarchaeology and hydrology based on sedimentary, LiDAR and hydrological data.•Current strong seasonal and interannual hydrological variabilities of the bajos, under climate control.•7 hydrological periods and 6 erosion and sediment transfer periods during the past 5500 years.•Anthropogenic and climate forcings controlled the hydrologic and sedimentary budgets of the lake.•A long-term exploitation of water and soil resources in Maya Lowlands EIR (1500 BCE to 1150 CE).
Eastern Herzegovina is highly karstified area, with porosity of karstified rock mass between 0.8 and 2%. It is an area with high precipitation (average annual values in wet year are around 2450 mm), ...but its distribution is uneven, with 70% of annual precipitation occurring during the wet season (late fall to early spring). The outflow coefficients are very high, between 0.7 and 0.8. The ratio between flow in the low water period (
Q
95%
) and in the period of high water flow (
Q
1%
) is 1:4000(5000). Due to such hydrological conditions, with limited dewatering capacity of karst channels and ponors, floods of karst poljes occur frequently. This article presents, in very general terms, the properties of the natural water regime of the Gatačko Polje, highest polje in Eastern Herzegovina, including some hydrological and hydrogeological specificity. Special attention is referred to floods and possible ways to mitigate such events, as there are coal mine and coal power plant “Gacko” situated in the polje. Several possible measures are presented in the paper, such as passive protection measures, active flood protection by proper reservoirs management, as well as spatial planning measures. Also, the possibility of transferring part of the water from the Gatačko Polje watershed to the multipurpose hydrosystem Trebišnjica for usage in hydropower production, irrigation, water supply and other secondary benefits is considered.
The establishment of protected areas is one of the most effective tools for the preservation of species and natural habitats. Protected areas are crucial for the preservation of ecologically and ...economically valuable ecosystems and contribute to a better quality of life and well-being of local communities. Planning and proper management of protected areas can help protect the resources needed for the food and water supply of the population and can minimize the impact of climate change. Preservation of biological diversity is a contribution, but also a long-term basis for the sustainable social and economic development of local communities in protected areas. Guided by examples from around the world, Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to protect its naturally and historically valuable areas and in doing so tries to 'reconcile' the economic development of society with the biological values of the area. From this need comes the initiative for the protection of Livanjsko polje, both from the local population and from national and international experts in the field of nature protection. The paper proposes guidelines for the sustainable management of the future protected area Livanjsko polje in accordance with the postulates of sustainable development with the concrete situation and examples available through the published literature. The contribution of the paper is also the wider application of knowledge about the principles of modern protected area management in accordance with the imperative of sustainable development and the assessment of resource use.
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