Engineering Geology

Engineering Geology

Hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical investigation of Vorskharan karsitic spring in Firoozkooh county

Authors
Hossein Ebrahimi
Farzad Akbari
Soroor Mazrae Asl
Babak Biglari
10.22034/JEG.2023.17.4.1019591
Abstract
The Vorskharan karst spring with a catchment area of 50 square kilometers and an average discharge of about 1.35 m2/s is one of the most important springs in the city of Firouzkouh. In order to asses the hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical charachteristics of the spring, the physical and chemical properties of the spring water were measured and analyzed for several months. The results showed that the recession curve of the spring has a slope and the value of its coefficient is about 0.003. The low coefficienof the discharge variation t, electrical conductivity and major ions, as well as the single slope of the spring’s recession curve , are mainly due to the elongated shape of the aquifer and the long-term presence of snow in the catchment basin of the spring. Considering the relatively high water level of the spring and the existence of a sinkhole and a polje in the spring’s catchment area, as well as the coefficient of small changes in the physical and chemical parameters of the spring, it can be said that the dominant flow system in the aquifer which recharges Vorskharan spring,is conduit-diffusive. According to the field studies and the evaluation of the percentage of soil cover, the development of dissolved spaces and other morphological effects of karst, the percentage of annual recharge in the catchment area was estimated at 56%. With the amount of precipitation, the percentage of annual recharge, the annual recharge volume of the preliminary water catchment basin equal to 19.2 MCM and the annual discharge volume of the spring through the annual hydrograph of the spring was calculated to be equal to 20.1 MCM. It was also observed that the type of water is Ca-HCO3, and the lithology of the aquifer is calcareous and dolomite.
Keywords
Vorskharan karst spring
Hydrogeology
Hydrogeochemistry
catchment basin
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