COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ON CAVES AND KARST AT THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON

Over the past 10 years the University of Akron has developed a research program on caves as a successful collaboration between faculty, graduate students and undergraduates. Our region of emphasis has been southern West Virginia, where a substantial karst terrane is developed on Mississippian rocks. Field efforts have been focused on hydrogeology, aqueous geochemistry, speleogenesis, and geomorphology. Work has been accomplished through class projects, undergraduate independent study, master's program theses, and faculty research. Landowners have played an important role by providing access, support, and information.

The area is home to over 2000 caves, including seven of the longest in North America. Most groundwater recharge is via sinkholes, and there are few surface streams. Digital line graphs (hypsography) for fifteen, 7.5-minute quadrangles were analyzed, showing about 3,500 sinkholes in the region. An overall sinkhole density of 0.05 square meters of sinkhole per every one square meter of land surface was determined. A chemical study in several of the caves shows carbonate type waters of 2 subtypes. Conduit water, which enters through sinkholes, can have high nitrate values and rapidly varying flow. Deeper water, apparently recharged through diffuse sources, has negligible nitrate, and slowly varying flow. Uncased farm wells have, in at least 2 instances, caused communication between 2 or more aquifers, as well as decline of the water table. The region drains to the Greenbrier River. Paleomagnetic dating of sediments in one cave show that river incision has not exceeded 0.04 m/ka. Most of the sediments are chert, derived as residuum from the limestone weathering. A comparison of sediments in different caves indicates that, in some cases, the sediments reflect regional signals of deposition. The relative dearth of magnetically reversed sediments points to relative youth of the caves. New work includes the use of laser measurement devices to accurately determine conduit cross-sections and volumes. Additionally, we have begun high-resolution (20 minute interval) monitoring of water flow and chemistry at one location underground.