Karst spring
spring that is part of a karst system
A karst spring or karstic spring is a spring (exsurgence, outflow of groundwater) that is part of a karst hydrological system.
Description
Because of their often conical or inverted bowl shape, karst springs are also known in German-speaking lands as a Topf ("pot") which is reflected in names such as Aachtopf (the source of the Radolfzeller Aach) or Blautopf (the source of the Blau river in Blaubeuren).
Karst springs often have a very high yield or discharge rate, because they are often fed by underground drainage from a large catchment basin. Because the springs are usually the terminus of a cave drainage system at the place where a river cave reaches the Earth's surface, it is often possible to enter the caves from karst springs for exploration.
Large karst springs are located in many parts of the world; the largest ones are believed to be in Papua New Guinea, with others located in Mediterranean countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Turkey, Slovenia, and Italy.
Types
An estavelle or inversac is a ground orifice which, depending on weather conditions and season, can serve either as a sink or as a source of fresh water. It is a type of sinkhole.
A Vauclusian spring is a spring that originates from a shaft or a cave system, with the water surging upwards under relatively high pressure. It is named after the Fontaine de Vaucluse in southern France.
Submarine karst springs, also known as vruljas, occur worldwide, and are most numerous in shallow waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Karst spring” is spring that is part of a karst system. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Karst, spring and part, not as a finished interpretation.
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This entry incorporates text from “Karst spring” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.