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Title: Long distance seawater intrusion through a karst conduit network in the Woodville Karst Plain, Florida

Abstract

Five periods of increased electrical conductivity have been found in the karst conduits supplying one of the largest first magnitude springs in Florida with water. Numerous well-developed conduit networks are distributed in the Woodville Karst Plain (WKP), Florida and connected to the Gulf of Mexico. A composite analysis of precipitation and electrical conductivity data provides strong evidence that the increases in conductivity are directly tied to seawater intrusion moving inland and traveling 11 miles against the prevailing regional hydraulic gradient from Spring Creek Spring Complex (SCSC), a group of submarine springs at the Gulf Coast. A geochemical analysis of samples from the spring vent rules out anthropogenic contamination and upwelling regional recharge from the deep aquifer as sources of the rising conductivity. The interpretation is supported by the conceptual model established by prior researchers working to characterize the study area. This paper documents the first and longest case of seawater intrusion in the WKP, and also indicates significant possibility of seawater contamination through subsurface conduit networks in a coastal karst aquifer.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [2]
  1. Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, FL (United States). Dept. of Earth, Ocean and Atmosphere Science; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division
  2. Florida Geological Survey, Tallahassee, FL (United States)
  3. Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, FL (United States). Dept. of Earth, Ocean and Atmosphere Science; Jinan Univ., Guangzhou, Guangdong (China). Dept. of Ecology
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
OSTI Identifier:
1580048
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Scientific Reports
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 6; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES

Citation Formats

Xu, Zexuan, Bassett, Seth Willis, Hu, Bill, and Dyer, Scott Barrett. Long distance seawater intrusion through a karst conduit network in the Woodville Karst Plain, Florida. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1038/srep32235.
Xu, Zexuan, Bassett, Seth Willis, Hu, Bill, & Dyer, Scott Barrett. Long distance seawater intrusion through a karst conduit network in the Woodville Karst Plain, Florida. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep32235
Xu, Zexuan, Bassett, Seth Willis, Hu, Bill, and Dyer, Scott Barrett. Thu . "Long distance seawater intrusion through a karst conduit network in the Woodville Karst Plain, Florida". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep32235. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1580048.
@article{osti_1580048,
title = {Long distance seawater intrusion through a karst conduit network in the Woodville Karst Plain, Florida},
author = {Xu, Zexuan and Bassett, Seth Willis and Hu, Bill and Dyer, Scott Barrett},
abstractNote = {Five periods of increased electrical conductivity have been found in the karst conduits supplying one of the largest first magnitude springs in Florida with water. Numerous well-developed conduit networks are distributed in the Woodville Karst Plain (WKP), Florida and connected to the Gulf of Mexico. A composite analysis of precipitation and electrical conductivity data provides strong evidence that the increases in conductivity are directly tied to seawater intrusion moving inland and traveling 11 miles against the prevailing regional hydraulic gradient from Spring Creek Spring Complex (SCSC), a group of submarine springs at the Gulf Coast. A geochemical analysis of samples from the spring vent rules out anthropogenic contamination and upwelling regional recharge from the deep aquifer as sources of the rising conductivity. The interpretation is supported by the conceptual model established by prior researchers working to characterize the study area. This paper documents the first and longest case of seawater intrusion in the WKP, and also indicates significant possibility of seawater contamination through subsurface conduit networks in a coastal karst aquifer.},
doi = {10.1038/srep32235},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
number = 1,
volume = 6,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Aug 25 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Thu Aug 25 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}

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Works referencing / citing this record:

Review: Characterization, evolution, and environmental issues of karst water systems in Northern China
journal, May 2018


Numerical modeling and sensitivity analysis of seawater intrusion in a dual-permeability coastal karst aquifer with conduit networks
journal, March 2017

  • Xu, Zexuan; Hu, Bill X.; Ye, Ming
  • Hydrology and Earth System Sources Discussions
  • DOI: 10.5194/hess-2017-85

Terrain uplift due to natural hydrologic overpressure in karstic conduits
journal, March 2019

  • Braitenberg, Carla; Pivetta, Tommaso; Barbolla, Dora Francesca
  • Scientific Reports, Vol. 9, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-38814-1

Groundwater Throughflow and Seawater Intrusion in High Quality Coastal Aquifers
text, January 2020


Groundwater Throughflow and Seawater Intrusion in High Quality Coastal Aquifers
journal, June 2020


Numerical modeling and sensitivity analysis of seawater intrusion in a dual-permeability coastal karst aquifer with conduit networks
journal, January 2018