COLLECTION AND MONITORING OF PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL WATER QUALITY PARAMETERS IN THERMAL AND COLD WATER SPRINGS, HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, ARKANSAS

Within the boundaries of Hot Springs National Park, geothermally heated springs provide water for both commercial and public uses. The National Park Service has been charged with preserving the quantity and quality of the thermal waters in perpetuity. Over the course of nine weeks, two water quality teams utilized global positioning system (GPS) technologies to locate and plot all known actively discharging spring sources on illustrated and aerial maps. The teams simultaneously implemented the first long-term spring monitoring project by collecting and recording parameters such as pH, specific conductivity, dissolved oxygen and temperature in both hot and cold springs. Measurements of water parameters were collected by continuously pumping spring water to the land surface and into a sampling container. Discrete water samples were then analyzed using a multi-probe water quality sonde. These measurements are useful for quantifying the degree of mixing between shallow and deep flow path waters, determining the impact of seasonal variability in precipitation abundance and surface temperatures, and predicting the effects of climate change on this naturally dynamic system.