Eogenetic Karst from the Perspective of an Equivalent Porous Medium

The porosity of young limestones experiencing meteoric diagenesis in the vicinity of their deposition (eogenetic karst) is mainly a double porosity consisting of touching-vug channels and preferred passageways lacing through a matrix of interparticle porosity. In contrast, the porosity of limestones experiencing subaerial erosion following burial diagenesis and uplift (telogenetic karst) is mainly a double porosity consisting of conduits within a network of fractures. The stark contrast between these two kinds of karst is illustrated by their position on a graph showing the hydraulic characteristics of an equivalent porous medium consisting of straight, cylindrical tubes (n-D space, where n is porosity,D is the diameter of the tubes, and logn is plotted against logD). Studies of the hydrology of small carbonate islands show that large-scale, horizontal hydraulic conductivity (K) increases by orders of magnitude during the evolution of eogenetic karst. Earlier petrologic studies have shown there is little if any change in the total porosity of the limestone during eogenetic diagenesis. The limestone of eogenetic karst, therefore, tracks horizontally inn-D space. In contrast, the path from initial sedimentary material to telogenetic karst comprises a descent on the graph with reduction ofn during burial diagenesis, then a sideways shift with increasingD due to opening of fractures during uplift and exposure, and finally an increase inD andn during development of the conduits along the fractures. Eogenetic caves are mainly limited to boundaries between geologic units and hydrologic zones: stream caves at the contact between carbonates and underlying impermeable rocks (and collapse-origin caves derived therefrom); vertical caves along platform-margin fractures; epikarst; phreatic pockets (banana holes) along the water table; and flank margin caves that form as mixing chambers at the coastal freshwater-saltwater “interface”. In contrast, the caverns of telogenetic karst are part of a system of interconnected conduits that drain an entire region. The eogenetic caves of small carbonate islands are, for the most part, not significantly involved in the drainage of the island

Eogenetic Karst Hydrology: Insights From the 2004 Hurricanes, Peninsular Florida

Eogenetic karst lies geographically and temporally close to the depositional environment of limestone in warm marine water at low latitude, in areas marked by midafternoon thunderstorms during a summer rainy season. Spring hydrographs from such an environment in north-central Florida are characterized by smooth, months-long, seasonal maxima. The passage of Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in September 2004 over three field locations shows how the eogenetic karst of the Upper Floridan Aquifer responds to unequivocal recharge events. Hydrographs at wells in the High Springs area, Rainbow Springs, and at Morris, Briar, and Bat Caves all responded promptly with a similar drawn-out rise to a maximum that extended long into the winter dry season. The timing indicates that the typical hydrograph of eogenetic karst is not the short-term fluctuations of springs in epigenic, telogenetic karst, or the smoothed response to all the summer thunderstorms, but rather the protracted response of the system to rainfall that exceeds a threshold. The similarity of cave and noncave hydrographs indicates distributed autogenic recharge and a free communication between secondary porosity and permeable matrix—both of which differ from the hydrology of epigenic, telogenetic karst. At Briar Cave, drip rates lagged behind the water table rise, suggesting that recharge was delivered by fractures, which control the cave’s morphology. At High Springs, hydrographs at the Santa Fe River and a submerged conduit apparently connected to it show sharp maxima after the storms, unlike the other cave hydrographs. Our interpretation is that the caves, in general, are discontinuous

Spheroidal dolomites in a Visean karst system - bacterial induced origin?

Spheroidal dolomite crystals occur in the karstified top of a Dinantian dolomite sequence in eastern Belgium. The spheroidal dolomite crystals are best developed at the base of the karst system. The dolomite crystals are characterized by a spherulitic or dumb-bell inclusion pattern, and are overgrown by dolomite cements with a rhombohedral outline. They are considered to be bacterially related precipitates based on, (1) textural similarities with documented bacteriogenic precipitates, (2) the presence of 'bacterial'microspheres and framboidal pyrite embedded within the dolomite, and (3) their general geological setting. The geochemical characteristics of the dolomites and associated minerals support a bacterial origin. The ubiquity of framboidal pyrite, depleted in 34S (δ34S=— 22.4 to — 25.5%oCDT), testifies to a period of bacterial sulphate reduction. The isotopic composition of the spheroidal dolomites (δ13C=— 2.4 to - 3.2%oPDB and δ18O=— 3.8 to - 3.4%oPDB) suggest a contribution from oxidized organic carbon produced during bacterial sulphate reduction. Sulphate reduction may also result in a concomitant 18O depletion if the system is nearly closed. It is however, evident from the sulphur isotopic composition of associated framboidal pyrite that the system was fairly open. The 18O depletion of the spheroidal dolomite crystals (δ18O=— 3.8 to — 3.4%oPDB) and their occurrence adjacent to, and within karst cavities suggests a mixing zone origin, with a significant proportion of freshwater in it. The rhombohedral cement-overgrowths have calculated δ18O values in the range of 0 to +5.3%oPDB, which reflect precipitation from normal to slightly evaporated contemporaneous seawater