The aims of my diploma thesis are the design of a map of Drátenická cave surroundings in the Moravian Karst in the 1:500 scale with details utilizable by speleologists and the examination of a map of 1945 depicting the region of Drátenická cave. The thesis includes an elaboration of the theoretical foundations relevant for the fulfillment of the aims and the descriptions of the geodetic and processing procedures. The outcome of the thesis is the planimetric and altimetric survey, a new digital map of the region and the final examination of planimetric and altimetric components of the map of 1945.

Karst rivers are special type of rivers because of their hydrography conditions. They usually flow from non-karst area and as soon as they reach in to the karst area they disappear underground. There, they flow through cavities until they reach the surface again. The aim of this thesis is to assess the impact of water outflow from wastewater treatment plant on karst rivers. The study was done in the central area of CHKO Moravský kras where the impact of two WWTP on a cave system Rudické propadání – Býčí skála is evaluated. As a part of this study a half-year monitoring was carried out, which consisted of water sampling once every two weeks. In total, 13 water samples were taken from 8 sampling points. Also 4 additional one-time samples were taken from the cave system. Moreover, flow rate, temperature, conductivity, oxygen concentration and pH were measured at the sampling point. Afterwards, the content of undissolved solids, CODCr, BOD, N-NH4+, N-NO2-, N-NO3-, P-PO43- and total phosphorus were determined in the samples. The change of parameters in time and during the flow in the river was observed from the measured values. The balance of pollutants in particular parts of the river was calculated. The outflow values from waste water treatment plants were compared to the emission limits for surface waters and the parameters of rivers were compared to the environmental quality standards. According to the results, it can be observed that the water quality improves after passing through the cavities. It was proven that the outflows from the observed waste water treatment plants are negatively influencing the water streams. The most serious problem is the wash up of sludge from WWTP Rudice and its consequent sedimentation in the river and/or outflow to the Rudické propadání.

The aim of this thesis is to assess the impact of water outflow from wastewater treatment plant on karst rivers. The study was done in the northern area of Moravský kras protected landscape, where the impact of WWTP Ostrov u Macochy on a cave system Lopačské propadání was studied. As a part of this study a half-year monitoring was carried out, which consisted of water sampling every two weeks. In total, 13 water samples were taken from 7 sampling points. Moreover, flow rate, temperature, conductivity, oxygen concentration and pH were measured at the sampling point. Afterwards, the content of undissolved solids, COD, BOD, N-NH4+, N-NO2-, N-NO3-, NKi and total phosphorus were determined in the samples. The change of parameters in time on the sampling points and further along the flow of the river was evaluated from the measured values. The outflow values from waste water treatment plants were compared with the emission limits for surface waters and the values of river water parameters were compared with the environmental quality standards. It wasn’t proven that the outflow from the observed waste water treatment plant is negatively influencing the water stream. The most serious problems are: -The WWTP was designed for treatment of sewage from Ostrov u Macochy, which involved separate sanitary and storm sewers. After finishing the WWTP, a uniform sewer was built. -High concentration of total phosphorus on the outflow from WWTP. -Poor quality of Lopač brook water already before the outflow vent from WWTP.

In this thesis, the succession of spider assemblages in five limestone quarries of different ages in Bohemian Karst has been studied. The main goal of this paper was studying changes of spider assemblages along successional gradient. Furthermore, different environmental factors affecting spider communities and also assemblages of spider communites in different terraces of the quarry have been studied. Standardized methods (pitfall traps, hanging desk traps, shifting leaf litter, sweeping of herb vegetation, and beating shrubs) have been used for recording the highest possible richness of spiders. The results showed that position of the terraces and the age of the quarry do not affect species richness and density. Species density of epigeic spiders increased significantly with number of the plant species. The results showed that spiders do not have their own succession, but they are following vegetational succession. The environmental factors which affect species composition of spiders from the pitfall traps are positon of terraces, shading and moss cover. Although the age of the quarry was insignificant for spiders from pitfall traps, every quarry was inhabited by different spider communities. Shrubs and tree-dwelling spiders showed correlations with the age of the quarry. Data recorded from...

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is widely used to identify locations of sinkholes in covered karst terrain in Florida. Some sinkholes serve as hydraulic conduits between the surficial and underlying aquifers. Their role is critical in determining the surficial aquifer response to pumping in deeper aquifers. Improved methods for discriminating between hydraulically active sinkholes and plugged sinkholes could help regional water management. In the covered karst of west-central Florida a clay-rich weathering horizon forms over the limestone. The clay-rich layer is in turn overlain by surficial sands. Ground penetrating radar profiles typically show a strong reflector from the top of clay-rich horizon as well as internal layering within sands. Active sinkholes are expected to have sandy conduits that broach the clay layer, and perhaps layering in the overlying sand indicative of ongoing subsidence. Three dimensional simulations of GPR profiles over sinkhole with and without conduits were run with the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) program GPRMAX. Results from the synthetic surveys were then processed with standard techniques, including migration. The modeling confirms that conduits appear in GPR records primarily as gaps in the return from the clay layer. The modeling also shows that non-traditional survey geometries (varying antenna spacing and orientation) are unlikely to recover more information than traditional proximal transmitter-receiver separation. Also examined are GPR profiles and 3D grids over a set of active and inactive sinkholes in Tampa, Florida. Results from these surveys showed decent structural recovery of a small sinkhole similar in structure to that of the modeled ones. Indications of active subsidence and possible conduit structure were apparent from this data. Finally, the dense surveys served as a benchmark to compare interpretations taken with the same surveys at lower spatial resolutions and profiles with 2D-only processing methods in order to understand errors in analysis and interpretation that are possible from 2D surveys. Two-dimensional surveys, 2D processed and migrated, showed some similarity to the 3D results previously mentioned but contained more complexities and artifacts, which led to poorer interpretation ability.

This thesis is divided into two parts. The first one is focused on tracer tests carried out in several karst conduits in the Moravian Karst. Several conduits were tracer repeatedly during different discharges. Flow velocity, flow cross section area, longitudinal dispersivity and Peclet number were plotted against discharge for each studied conduit. Based on this comparison of parameters I deduced characteristics of karst conduits for example presence of phreatic channel or vadose channel or multiple channels. I also focused on comparison of my results with publications dealing with the same subject elsewhere in the world. Second part of the thesis is based on measurements of water stage, dischargeand temperature by pressure transducers at inlet and outlet points of karst conduit logged in 10 minutes interval. The goal was to find a relation between the velocity of hydraulic response propagation and discharge. Unfortunately, results show no correlation because there are probably more parameters influencing the velocity such as ratio of vadose/phreatic segments which may change rapidly during flood events.

Karst springs are an essential source of private water supply in northeast Tennessee for various end-users. There are no regulatory standards for private (drinking) water quality in the state, unlike the public water system, while water users are only advised to test for contaminants in private water sources like springs or private wells. Water quality generally is spatially and temporally dynamic in terms of chemical quality, and more prominently in a karst environment, therefore, this study investigates the water quality of roadside springs used for drinking water. Parameters to be measured include E. coli, radon, and various physicochemical properties (pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, chloride, fluoride, sulfide, nitrite, and nitrate). I plan to collect 51 water samples from 51 spring locations so that spatial patterns in spring water quality can be evaluated using spatial interpolation, statistical correlation, or spatial regression. Spring water quality results will be compared to water quality of the streams into which these springs discharge. Preliminary work to be presented here includes identification of sampling sites and sampling strategies and integration of existing data, including geology and spring water quality data from a prior related study. Key findings will guide the delineation of the studied karst springs into risk regions for microbial, chemical, and radioactive content, and identification of key factors associated with high risk regions.

The study of recent hydrological variability of five selected karstic lakes ofthe Middle Atlas, Morocco, provides important information on the climatic, geological as well as morphological factors influencing the surface variability. In this work, on annual scale from 1984 - 2019, the dataset of Pekel et al.,2016 regarding permanent water areas and on seasonal, monthly scale from 2015 - 2020 with sentinel satellite imagery the lake areas were investigated. The determination of lake areas serves as a proxy for water volume. All lakes show a supra-regional fluctuation trend on both time scales, which is influenced by precipitation on an annual scale, prevailing temperatures on a seasonal scale, and follows a drying trend. In addition, Lake Ifrah, due to its largest catchment area as well as the geometry of the lake basin, is subject to the greatest fluctuations. Furthermore, there is evidence of a large groundwater reservoir under Lake Afourgagh and a small reservoir under Lake Aguelmame Azizga. In summary, among many still unknown influencing variables, the factors of lake size and geometry of the basin, elevation gradients, climatic parameters, shoreline morphology, catchment size and groundwater storage exert a visible influence on lake area fluctuations. The methodology used to determine lake areas on both time scales has been shown to be appropriate by comparison with other publications.

Escherichia coli changes in Sinking Creek, an impaired water body in the Watauga watershed of northeast Tennessee, were assessed during storm events using water samples collected with ISCO automated samplers during eight storms at two locations. Turbidity and electrical conductivity (EC) data loggers were deployed in the creek, and dissolved oxygen (DO) was measured in situ to test the stream’s water quality and reaction to inclement weather. Cotton fabric was deployed at both locations and sent to an external lab to test for the presence of Optical Brighteners (OB), which are indicators of residential wastewater. E. coli and turbidity at the creek generally increased within 2.5 hours of a rain event, remaining above the single sample standard for several hours during the storm. At the spring, E. coli became elevated within 30 minutes of precipitation onset, but generally decreased below the standard during the event.

Ensuring access to safe drinking water to protect public health in many communities underserved or unserved by centralized water systems in the US requires regular water quality testing and reporting. Following testing, access to easy-to-comprehend water quality information may be challenging. Households served by water utilities have access to water quality information. However, households depending on unregulated water systems like wells and springs are often unaware of their water quality. Therefore, this study utilized multiple water quality parameters to determine the quality of karst spring water using two Water Quality Index (WQI) methods. In-situ measurements of physico-chemical parameters (pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, turbidity, conductivity, specific conductance, total dissolved solids, oxidation reduction potential were taken at 50 karst springs in east Tennessee during Summer 2021. Water samples were analyzed for microbial (fecal coliform, and E. coli), nutrients (nitrate and nitrite), and radiological (radon) constituents using standard analytical methods. Springs generally met federal and state water quality safe limits for physicochemical parameters, but 100% of water samples contained fecal coliform and 90% contained E. coli revealing widespread fecal contamination; 60% of springs exceeded radon concentrations of 300 pCi/L. WQI method 1 (Brown et al. 1972) rated 12 % of springs as very poor water quality and 88% as unfit for drinking. WQI method 2 (NSFWQI) rated 4% of the sampled springs as good, 92% as moderate and 4 % as bad. Water treatment procedures for microbial pollution purification are advised before the studied springs are used as a drinking water source.