Karst Systems and Hydrogeology

Karst landscapes form where soluble bedrock—most often limestone or dolomite—is slowly dissolved by groundwater, producing a distinctive terrain of sinkholes, caves, and underground drainage networks that behave very differently from conventional aquifers. Because karst aquifers supply drinking water to roughly a quarter of the global population while simultaneously posing risks from sudden ground collapse and rapid contaminant transport, understanding how water moves through these systems carries both scientific and practical urgency. Researchers are actively working to improve numerical models that can capture the highly irregular geometry of karst conduits, and to understand how land degradation processes like rocky desertification—where thin soils are stripped away to expose bare carbonate rock—alter the hydrology and ecology of karst regions. Open questions remain around predicting where and when sinkholes will form, how climate shifts will affect recharge in karst catchments, and how geochemical signals in cave waters can be used to reconstruct past environmental conditions.

Works

44,924

Total citations

231,863

Keywords

KarstGroundwaterHydrogeologyGeohazardsModelingCave