DRIP WATER CHEMISTRY OF DIAMOND CAVERNS IN PARK CITY, KENTUCKY

This research aims to give insight into factors contributing to seasonal variation of karst cave drip water hydrochemistry to surface condition. The study area is a small show cave, Diamond Caverns, located just outside the boundary of Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. Various water chemistry parameters, such as chloride, nitrate, dissolved oxygen, pH, and conductivity were monitored. A YSI EXO was deployed to measure the aforementioned parameters at one-hour intervals in a drip water pool starting November 2023. The drip water pool has a slow yet constant drip of water feeding into it, and the water flow rate is observed to increase with any recent rain events. On average, it takes 15-30 minutes for water to travel from the surface into the cave system. Almost all the parameters remained relatively constant throughout the observation period aside from chloride, which fluctuated between 1.30 mg/L and 6.59 mg/L during the monitoring period. The spike in chloride concentration is a response to salting during winter on major roads above the cave system. Similarly, the non-variable response of nitrate can most likely be attributed to winter conditions on the surface, during which farming activities are reduced. Continued monitoring of the drip water chemistry into the spring season will help ascertain the relation.