Abstract
Temperature is the easiest water quality parameter to measure and a variety of robust, waterproof and relatively inexpensive temperature loggers are available that enable high-resolution data to be collected from remote locations. It has long been known that in regions where there is a seasonal variation in surface air temperature the water temperature at karst springs can be used to distinguish between those systems that are fed partly by sinking streams (wider annual temperature range) and those fed only by autogenic percolation water (narrower annual temperature range). However, there has been little analysis of short-term temperature changes within open and flooded conduit systems as well as at springs, which can provide significant additional information. The potential utility of water temperature logging is demonstrated in the Peak-Speedwell cave system, Derbyshire, England where high temporal resolution (2-min) water temperature data have provided information on internal geometry, residence times and velocities.
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Acknowledgments
This study would not have been possible without the support of Nigel Ball and Nick Coward who undertook most of the underground data logging. The Diver loggers were purchased using a grant from the British Cave Research Association and the Tinytag loggers were loaned by the University of Birmingham.
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Gunn, J. (2015). Analysis of Groundwater Pathways by High Temporal Resolution Water Temperature Logging in the Castleton Karst, Derbyshire, England. In: Andreo, B., Carrasco, F., Durán, J., Jiménez, P., LaMoreaux, J. (eds) Hydrogeological and Environmental Investigations in Karst Systems. Environmental Earth Sciences, vol 1. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17435-3_25
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17435-3_25
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