AN UPDATE OF KEY FINDINGS FROM HYDROGEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN THE ARBUCKLE MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA

Following fifteen years of hydrogeological investigations in the Arbuckle Mountains of southern Oklahoma, several major characteristics have been identified that help provide a better understanding of the recharge, storage, and transport of groundwater within these severely deformed karst aquifers. Using a variety of geophysical, geospatial, hydrological, and speleological techniques, many of the groundwater systems have been delineated to a relatively useful degree of accuracy with predictable patterns and responses to precipitation. This update presents a review of the key findings from this study which help to characterize the evolution of the karst groundwater system, a delineation of the local groundwater systems, the groundwater anisotropy, as well as a few oddities and anomalies documented during investigations. The goal of this study is to produce basin-specific models that take into account the extreme heterogeneity and anisotropy for each of the groundwater systems within the aquifers of the Arbuckle Mountains.