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Groundwater Hydrology in Karst Media: Resources and Sustainability in Engineering
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Groundwater Hydrology in Karst Media: Resources and Sustainability in Engineering

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1649

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Eugenio Sanz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: water balance; water quality; water resources management; hydrogeochemistry; environment; hydrological modeling; statistical analysis; data analysis; hydrologic and water resource modeling and simulation; integrated water resources management; groundwater engineering; water resources engineering
Prof. Dr. Juan Carlos Mosquera Feijoo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: structural engineering; seismic hazard; continuum mechanics; geomechanics and groundwater; AI and higher education innovation; HE for sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Ignacio Menéndez-Pidal

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: groundwater management and governance; applied geology; civil engineering; groundwater investigation; higher education; rock mechanics engineering geology mining; applied geomorpholgy; engineering heritage

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on the karst formations and core topics related to resource sustainability and exploitation. A thorough understanding of karst is crucial for the proper planning and management of water resources, as limestone aquifers hold some of the world's largest potable water reservoirs, exemplified by karst springs used for water supply. This understanding is also vital for adapting to climate change, emphasizing groundwater management. Methods for calculating and assessing natural recharge in karst aquifers emerge as valuable tools.

Initial studies on aquifers, particularly karst aquifers, focus on identifying and assessing their resources. Modelling the karst system over time is essential to establish an accurate hydraulic balance. In karst hydrogeology, when only spring hydrographs are available, mathematical models of reservoirs or precipitation-runoff can reconstruct historical flow series.

The second phase involves understanding the hydrodynamic behavior of karst systems under natural conditions. This includes mapping flows, quantifying transit times with tracer tests, estimating renewal times, and assessing reserves. Karst aquifers have unique complexities, requiring specific techniques beyond classical hydrogeological methods for their study and exploration.

Springs, natural discharge points for groundwater, have been preferred for drinking water since ancient times due to their reliability and quality. Some springs also hold significant ecological, tourist, and historical value. However, groundwater exploitation has reduced or eliminated many springs worldwide, prioritizing their protection while allowing local groundwater use.

Karst occurs in various geological contexts with different storage and flow conditions, necessitating a thorough understanding of local conditions. Integrating geomorphological and hydrological investigations in karst studies is essential. Ancient endokarst formations often influence groundwater flow, and understanding hydrogeomorphological evolution is crucial for understanding current karst system behavior. Hydrogeology and speleology are inseparably linked, with the study of speleogenesis and regional cave systems contributing to understanding karst aquifer evolution.

Groundwater quality and the vulnerability of karst aquifers to contamination are significant issues, potentially limiting their use. The relationship between groundwater, hydrogeology and protected areas, and minor hydraulic works in springs and fountains is also a topic of concern in this Special Issue.

Groundwater poses challenges in civil engineering, with construction often encountering hydrogeological incidents like leaks from dams in karst terrains and water ingress into tunnels. Gypsum and evaporitic rocks, due to their high solubility, can be affected by new karstification within the lifespan of an engineering project. Understanding geological and hydrogeological problems is crucial to avoid significant consequences, lying at the intersection of hydrogeology, applied geology, and geotechnics.

We encourage potential authors to submit original quality research articles and reviews on (but not limited to) the following topics:

  • Karst hydrogeology: analysis of karst drainage systems; karst and geomorpholoy; water tracings test; speleogenesis: the development of cave systems; and paleohydrogeology.
  • Water resources: karst water resources and sustainability; determination of available water resources; natural recharge in karst; and climate change and water resources.
  • Karst spring: sustainability and management of springs; spring discharge hydrograph; spring modelling; springwater geochemistry and treatment; delineation of spring protection zones; utilization and regulation of springs; and architectural heritage
  • Engineering and water problems in construction: dams and reservoirs; tunneling in karst; karst engineering in evaporites; and water and sinkhole.
  • Karst and environment: wetlands in karst; karst hydrology in national parks; water quality; pollution; groundwater vulnerability; and underground flow and transport of pollutants.

We look forward to receiving valuable contributions.

Dr. Eugenio Sanz
Prof. Dr. Juan Carlos Mosquera Feijoo
Prof. Dr. Ignacio Menéndez-Pidal
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • karst hydrology
  • water resources
  • karst springs
  • sustainability
  • engineering
  • research

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 3600 KiB  
Article
Analyzing the Source of Sulfate in Karst Groundwater Based on a Bayesian Stable Isotope Mixing Model: A Case Study of Xujiagou Spring Area, Northern China
by Yun Lin, Yiyang Wang, Yazun Wu and Boyang Xu
Water 2025, 17(6), 794; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17060794 - 10 Mar 2025
Viewed by 402
Abstract
The source of sulfate in the groundwater of karst springs in the northern Taihang Mountains remains unclear due to the influence of multiple factors. To investigate this, 33 sampling points were selected in August 2022 across the exposed, covered, and buried areas of [...] Read more.
The source of sulfate in the groundwater of karst springs in the northern Taihang Mountains remains unclear due to the influence of multiple factors. To investigate this, 33 sampling points were selected in August 2022 across the exposed, covered, and buried areas of the spring basin, and water samples were collected. Hydrochemistry and sulfur–oxygen dual isotope methods were employed to examine the distribution characteristics of sulfate, δ18OSO4, and δ34SSO4. Based on the distinct characteristics of sulfur isotopes from different sources, the sources of sulfate in various environments were qualitatively analyzed. Additionally, the contribution rates of each source were quantitatively determined using a Bayesian stable isotope mixing model. The results showed that the sulfate content in karst groundwater ranged from 16.68 to 156.84 mg/L, with an average of 62.22 mg/L, and indicated an increasing trend from exposed to covered to buried areas. The δ34SSO4 values in karst groundwater ranged from 3.1‰ to 13.5‰, with an average of 6.49‰, while the δ18OSO4 values ranged from 2.9‰ to 10.3‰, with an average of 5.49‰. The δ34SSO4 values showed a general increasing trend across the exposed, covered, and buried areas, whereas the δ18OSO4 values remained relatively stable across these areas. The analysis revealed that the primary sulfate sources in the exposed area were atmospheric precipitation, soil sulfate, chemical fertilizer, and sewage, contributing 19.6%, 63.5%, 9.4%, and 7.5%, respectively. In the covered area, the main sources were atmospheric precipitation, sulfide oxidation, soil sulfate, and gypsum dissolution, with contributions of 16.5%, 58.7%, 15.9%, and 8.9%, respectively. In the buried area, the sulfate primary originated from atmospheric precipitation, sulfide oxidation, and gypsum dissolution, contributing 11.6%, 78.5%, and 9.9%, respectively. This study provides critical insights into the sulfate sources in different environments, enhancing the understanding of groundwater sulfate pollution in the study area. These findings provide a scientific foundation for managing groundwater pollutants and resources in the karst regions of northern China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Hydrology in Karst Media: Resources and Sustainability in Engineering)
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28 pages, 53103 KiB  
Article
Interdisciplinary Research for the Delimitation of Catchment Areas of Large Deep Karstic Aquifers: Origin of the Thermal Springs of Alhama de Aragón and Jaraba (Spain)
by Joaquín Sanz De Ojeda, Francisco Javier Elorza and Eugenio Sanz
Water 2024, 16(22), 3303; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16223303 - 17 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 963
Abstract
The integration of different sources of geological and hydrogeological information and the application of interdisciplinary methods have informed the origin of the thermal springs of Alhama de Aragón and Jaraba, as well as other associated semi thermal springs (1200 L/s of combined flow, [...] Read more.
The integration of different sources of geological and hydrogeological information and the application of interdisciplinary methods have informed the origin of the thermal springs of Alhama de Aragón and Jaraba, as well as other associated semi thermal springs (1200 L/s of combined flow, 711 L/s at over 30 °C), which is the main objective of this article. These springs come mainly from the autogenous recharge that occurs in the Cretaceous calcareous outcrops that border the Almazán Basin to the north, both in the Ebro Basin (Jalón Valley) and in the Duero Basin. The aquifer, shaped by upper Cretaceous limestones under the Palaeogene and Neogene rocks of the Almazán Basin, has extensive depths of more than 4000 m in the NE sector. This hydrostratigraphic unit has been affected by a generalized pre-Paleogene karstification that provides the main porosity to the aquifer. The underground flow moves in a NW–SE direction, crossing the Duero–Ebro divide, favoured by the topographic difference in elevation between the two basins. The regional flow is coherent with the progressive increase in temperature, infiltrating recharge water age (about 20–25 years in the semi-thermal springs, and more than 60 years in the Alhama and Jaraba springs), mineralization, and flow of the springs through which the system discharges. This issue is key to being able to design any sustainable conservation strategy in terms of quantity and quality of resources within the recharge area of the most important thermal springs in Spain. The Jaraba and Alhama de Aragón hot springs share the same or similar temperature, chemical composition, and geological contact of the spring. Their tritium isotopic composition and its evolution over time are practically the same. Their isotopic composition in D and 18O is also very similar. Both springs share the same recharge zone of similar altitude and constitute the end of flow tubes of similar length and flow rate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Hydrology in Karst Media: Resources and Sustainability in Engineering)
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