This paper presents the spatial implementation of the karst feature database (KFD) of Minnesota in a GIS environment. ESRI's ArcInfo and ArcView GIS packages were used to analyze and manipulate the spatial operations of the KFD of Minnesota. Spatial operations were classified into three data manipulation categories: single layer operation, multiple layer operation, and other spatial transformation in the KFD. Most of the spatial operations discussed in this paper can be conducted using ArcInfo, ArcView, and ArcGIS. A set of strategies and rules were proposed and used to build the spatial operational module in the KFD to make the spatial operations more efficient and topographically correct.

The Karst Feature Database (KFD) of Minnesota is a relational GIS-based Database Management System (DBMS). Previous karst feature datasets used inconsistent attributes to describe karst features in different areas of Minnesota. Existing metadata were modified and standardized to represent a comprehensive metadata for all the karst features in Minnesota. Microsoft Access 2000 and ArcView 3.2 were used to develop this working database. Existing county and sub-county karst feature datasets have been assembled into the KFD, which is capable of visualizing and analyzing the entire data set. By November 17 2002, 11,682 karst features were stored in the KFD of Minnesota. Data tables are stored in a Microsoft Access 2000 DBMS and linked to corresponding ArcView applications. The current KFD of Minnesota has been moved from a Windows NT server to a Windows 2000 Citrix server accessible to researchers and planners through networked interfaces.

An understanding of what influences sinkhole formation and the ability to accurately predict sinkhole hazards is critical to environmental management efforts in the karst lands of southeastern Minnesota. Based on the distribution of distances to the nearest sinkhole, sinkhole density, bedrock geology and depth to bedrock in southeastern Minnesota and northwestern Iowa, a decision tree model has been developed to construct maps of sinkhole probability in Minnesota. The decision tree model was converted as cartographic models and implemented in ArcGIS to create a preliminary sinkhole probability map in Goodhue, Wabasha, Olmsted, Fillmore, and Mower Counties. This model quantifies bedrock geology, depth to bedrock, sinkhole density, and neighborhood effects in southeastern Minnesota but excludes potential controlling factors such as structural control, topographic settings, human activities and land-use. The sinkhole probability map needs to be verified and updated as more sinkholes are mapped and more information about sinkhole formation is obtained.

This paper presents the overall sinkhole distributions and conducts hypothesis tests of sinkhole distributions and sinkhole formation using data stored in the Karst Feature Database (KFD) of Minnesota. Nearest neighbor analysis (NNA) was extended to include different orders of NNA, different scales of concentrated zones of sinkholes, and directions to the nearest sinkholes. The statistical results, along with the sinkhole density distribution, indicate that sinkholes tend to form in highly concentrated zones instead of scattered individuals. The pattern changes from clustered to random to regular as the scale of the analysis decreases from 10-100 km2 to 5-30 km 2 to 2-10 km2. Hypotheses that may explain this phenomenon are: (1) areas in the highly concentrated zones of sinkholes have similar geologic and topographical settings that favor sinkhole formation; (2) existing sinkholes change the hydraulic gradient in the surrounding area and increase the solution and erosional processes that eventually form more new sinkholes.