Call for Participation:
Water, solute, and sediment fluxes through carbonate & karst aquifers

GSA Annual Meeting 2005 Topical Session 33 (Oral & Poster)
October 16 - 19, 2005

Jon Martin & Ira D. Sasowsky

Description:

A special Topical Session will be convened at the 2005 GSA Annual Meeting. Presentations will include field & theoretical studies of water, solute, and sediment movement through sinkholes, drip water, speleothems, matrix, fractures and conduits. Present- and paleo-hydrology are appropriate. A holistic understanding of complex systems is sought through varied approaches.

General Information on the GSA meeting can be found at: http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/2005/

Submit an abstract before July 12, 2005 by going to http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/2005/sessions/topical.asp, scrolling down to session 33, and clicking "submit an abstract to this session"

Rationale

It has been long recognized that the high solubility and brittle nature of carbonate rocks controls fluxes of water, dissolved components, and solids through a complex system of intergranular matrix porosity, fractures in the rocks, and large cavernous openings. The understanding of transport processes through these multiple porosity systems has evolved from one focusing on the matrix flow field with little regard for the conduits, to one where conduits were regarded as the primary control of the flow field. It has been recognized recently, however, that flow and transport in these system must be viewed holistically, with each part of the aquifer contributing to the flow and transport. These multi-porosity systems are scientifically important for a variety of reasons including: A) Paleoclimate studies - both chemical (speleothem) and clastic deposits in caves record useful information about past climate, but there are many transport processes and linkages to the record which are poorly understood; B) Transport of anthropogenic impacts - Carbonate aquifers are an important resource, but are susceptible to contamination from sources such as agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and wastewater disposal, including dissolved, LNAPL, and DNAPL contaminants, as well as sediments. An understanding of, and approaches to solving, these problems are rapidly developing but need to be considered for the entire flow field. C) Paleohydrologic research - the structure and characteristics of karst conduits, as well as the deposits within them, allow reconstruction of groundwater flow systems as far back as several million years. These reconstructions, in turn, allow interpretation of landscape development in concert with the evolution of the groundwater flow system. For each of these problems, it is important to understand the flow fields and transport through the aquifers.

There are many researchers approaching these various problems, all of which fall under our common theme of "Fluxes through carbonate aquifers". By bringing these researchers together, we hope they will benefit from considering their particular problem in a discussion of a holistic view of flow in multi-porosity aquifers.

We hope that you will be able to participate.

Page content and original layout by Ira D. Sasowsky , April 17, 2005
Updated April 20, 2005