PRELIMINARY HYDROLOGIC MAPPING OF GROUNDWATER FLOWLINES IN LOST COVE NEAR SEWANEE, TENNESSEE

The complex karst geology of Lost Cove, a 39 km2 watershed in the southeast quadrant of the 7.5’ Sewanee, TN Quadrangle, has been mapped using global positioning systems (GPS), Arcview Geographic Information System (GIS), and aerial photography. The most prominent sinks and springs in the Mississippian Monteagle Limestone on the floor of Lost Cove along Lost Creek have been monitored over the past year to study the effects of a fluctuating water table. During periods of heavy rain, a rising water table activates ephemeral springs and streams found throughout the floor of Lost Cove. Most of the water ultimately reaches the Big Sink, where it drops 40 m over the next 1.2 km in the Buggytop Cave system and emerges as Crow Creek. Detailed subsurface maps of the Cove are preliminary, and have not yet demonstrated that all surface water enters the Buggytop system. Dye tracing in major sinks and springs of a major tributary, Champion Cove, is underway but has already demonstrated there is no direct connection between Prince Spring and the major upstream sink to the northeast. Older dye traces on the eastern end of Champion Cove at Temple Sink suggest no direct connection to the Lost Cove, Big Sink, or Buggytop systems. Other groundwater flowlines throughout lower Lost Cove continue to be traced and mapped. Future work will include a comparison between calculated and observed recharge and discharge throughout Lost Cove.