2011 Vegetation Map for Mammoth Cave National Park

An accuracy assessment on a 2009 Vegetation Map of Mammoth Cave National Park produced by University of Georgia indicated inadequate reliability. As well, there were significant polygon boundary errors and unclassified polygons left blank on the map. With pressing need for a vegetation map to support the park’s Fire Management Plan (FMP), a derivative of the 2008 Landfire map was produced. Specifically, 24 categories were regrouped into 4 vegetation categories useful for the FMP. Barrens and Prairie Plantation categories were added as superimposed polygons, and the same approach was taken for both fire and storm-linked forest canopy gaps. Accuracy assessment data points were sampled on a random basis until the cumulative percent correct stabilized, indicating that the sample size was adequate. The final cumulative average for this map was 66% accurate, which will require enhanced field checking of prescribed fire plots. Funding will be sought for yet a new map

Use of Sorption Isotherms to Improve the Efficacy of the Storm-water Filters

Sorption has been widely used as an inexpensive and environmental friendly water treatment technology. A large variety of adsorbents with different adsorption mechanisms have drawn interests, and combinations of adsorbents will enhance sorption of mixed solutions. However, current sorption research tends to focus on single material. The objective of this study was to develop sorption isotherms for ZPG®, (Zeolite, Perlite, Granular Activated Carbon), used in a stormwater filter cartridge. Contaminants of concern include Cu2+ and quaternary ammonia compounds (QAC). Adsorption isotherms were established for Cu2+ and QAC, and the best fit for the isotherm data was a Langmuir isotherm for Cu2+ and Freundlich isotherm for QAC. The Empirical Constant for Cu2+, Qo, which represents the maximum adsorption capacity, was 4.61μg/L. The equilibrium constant K, which represents the distribution of the contaminants between water and ZPG particles, was 11μg/g for Cu2+ and 8μg/g for QAC. The adsorption isotherm, adsorption rate, and maximum adsorption capacity are used as the criteria, and the result can be used for performance evaluation with the safety limits for the aquatic organisms presented in the Mammoth Cave National Park

An Alternative to the Advection Dispersion Model for Interpreting Dye Tracing Studies in Fractured-Rock and Karst Aquifers

Due to the complexity of groundwater fl ow in fractured-rock and karst aquifers, solute transport models for these aquifers are typically stochastic models based on tracer transport studies. Water and tracers do not fl ow at one single advective velocity but experience a wide range of velocities, from rapid fl ow in conduits to near stagnant conditions in adjacent voids. This variance of velocities is referred to as dispersion and is traditionally described mathematically by the advection-dispersion equation (ADE). Analytical solutions to the ADE are available and are referred to as advection-dispersion models (ADM).The ADM is fitted to the tracer data by varying the parameters until a best-fit is achieved between the experimental residence time distribution (RTD) and the model RTD. The major shortcomings of this approach are due to the symmetry of the ADM and its associated prediction of finite concentrations at zero time and its inability to reflect the long upper tail typical in experimental RTD data. This paper presents an alternative conceptual approach to the ADM for modeling solute transport in fractured-rock and karst aquifers. In this approach the variance in fl ow velocities and fl ow path lengths are addressed directly by treating them as random, gamma distributed variables and deriving the RTD from a transformation of random variables based on the ratio of length to velocity and representing the RTD as a conditional probability distribution of time. The resulting four parameter (Gamma-RTD) model is relatively easily parameterized since the fl ow path length is tightly distributed about the known straight line distance between the injection point and the effluent. The model is demonstrated and contrasted to the ADM below by applying it to tracer data from a quantitative tracer study at Mammoth Cave National Park. The results indicate that the Gamma-RTD is superior to the ADM in modeling the shape as well as the area of the experimental RTD

Mammoth Cave International Center for Science and Learning

The Mammoth Cave International Center for Science and Learning (MCICSL) is a cooperative venture of Mammoth Cave National Park and Western Kentucky University. Funding, logistical support, and governance of MCICSL are shared equally by both entities. MCICSL is part of a national network of research learning centers located within the National Park Service. The goals of MCICSL and the other research learning centers are to: I. Facilitate the use of parks for scientific inquiry. II. Support science-informed decision making. III. Communicate the relevance of and provide access to knowledge gained through scientific research. IV. Promote science literacy and resource stewardship. MCICSL has been operational since the middle of 2005, so it is still building programs. Current staffing consists of a Research Director (Toomey) and a part-time Education Program Specialist (Trimboli). In spite of the limited staff, MCICSL is meeting its goals and is leading both research and education based programs

White-nose Syndrome at Mammoth Cave National Park: Actions Before and After Its Detection

Since it was identified in the United States in 2006, white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats has become an important issue in the management of caves and bats at Mammoth Cave National Park (MACA). The threat of its arrival has led to more intense monitoring of bat populations, increased studies, and interventions with both the visiting public and researchers. The timeline of MACA’s WNS response is shown in Table 1