Classification of Karst Springs For Flash Flood-Prone Areas in Western Turkey

Abstract. Flash floods are the result of very intensive rainfall events and karst plays an important role in flash floods. A study, using a hydrogeochemical approach, assessing data from several springs of different carbonate rocks in Western Turkey was made to classify karst aquifers' response to heavy rain events. Physicochemical measurements in wet and dry seasons and discharge rates were compared in order to explain aquifer characteristics. The groundwaters have pH values ranging from 6.3 to 8.9, temperatures (T) vary from 7 to 35 °C, and electrical conductivity (EC) values go from 140 to 998 μS cm/S. The groups that have high EC, high T, and low dissolved oxygen (DO) values represent the deep circulating waters. Low EC, low T and high DO values represent the shallow circulating waters. Low variations of the measurements in both the wet and dry seasons reveal that fracture permeability is predominantly controlled by diffused groundwater flow with low or high storage and conduit permeability with high storage. High variations of the measurements show conduit permeability with low storage but high transfer capability is predominantly controlled by turbulent groundwater flow which effective in flash floods.