264 Understanding Karst Hydrology and Karst Aquifers Using Innovative Tracers and Other Technologies (Posters)

We welcome submissions applying innovative tracers and other technologies to investigate karst hydrology and karst aquifers, including but not limited to complex interactions between surface water and groundwater, recharge processes, flow pathways, sediment transport, sustainability, and susceptibility to contaminants.

Wednesday, 22 October 2025
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, Hall 1

Using detailed multiparameter sampling of springs aligned with recharge hydrographs to improve sampling strategies and interpretations in karst flow systems.

Paper number: 264-5
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 8:00 AM

Authors

Abstract

The Edwards Aquifer is an important groundwater resource to many communities in central Texas, making it critical to understand how precipitation events affect aquifer recharge and water quality. Previous studies in the Northern Segment of the Balcones Fault Zone Edwards Aquifer have established springshed boundaries and geochemical signatures for the Salado Springs system under various baseflow conditions, however precipitation-response dynamics and rapid water quality responses have not been systematically investigated. Monitoring spring discharge and water characteristics before, during, and after precipitation events at the Downtown Salado Spring Complex (DSSC) in Bell County, Texas, potentially provides new insight into the timing significance of sampling in this karst system. The DSSC has a USGS gauge immediately downstream from the springs that provides continuous flow data related to spring flow and nearby wells in the springshed offer additional monitoring opportunities to aid in spatial interpretations. Previous dye-tracer tests and other studies provide an understanding of the flow system to help interpret the dynamic sampling results. This study also adds groundwater age, turbidity, dissolved organic carbon, dissolved inorganic carbon, and eDNA of the threatened Salado Salamander (Eurycea chisholmensis) to the more traditional field parameters of pH, temperature, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen as well as ionic chemistry, plus oxygen and hydrogen isotopes. This study aims to formulate methodologies to better understand the response of karst aquifer systems to precipitation events, investigating how rainfall-driven recharge pulses can provide insights into surface water-groundwater connectivity and recharge pathways crucial for groundwater and management in karst regions.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-414083

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