Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
4.4 Future Applications
Geospatial technology may also be used for other purposes in the park. Numerous
state, federal, and local government organizations in Kentucky have cooperated to
produce GIS data sets such as 1:24,000-scale geology, soils, digital elevation mod-
els, surface streams, springs, sinkholes, Karst groundwater basins, groundwater flow
routes, transportation networks, high resolution aerial photography, land cover, and
various internet map services and static maps. The park can apply geospatial tech-
nology with these data sets to analyze environmental and natural resource issues as
discussed in the following examples.
One of the challenges for the park is groundwater contamination. Activities from
agricultural, urban, and transportation settings can threaten groundwater quality in
a well-developed karst terrain. The Mammoth Cave region contains several differ-
ent groundwater basins many of which cross the park boundary and even drain in
park property. Karst landscapes are susceptible to many types of contamination.
Human-induced pollution such as animal waste, agricultural chemicals, leakage
from underground storage tanks, transportation fuels, and runoff from urban or
industrial sites is capable of contaminating groundwater and therefore cave ecosys-
tems. Pollution and waste can easily enter the groundwater system through sinks
and then spreads because of the often high velocity of the groundwater. Having
the ability to quickly visualize the spatial extent of data, like the list above, in a
GIS allows visualizing groundwater systems and planning to protect groundwater
quality.
Another important environmental concern is karst hazards in the form of sink-
hole collapse and flooding. Cover-collapse sinkholes are sinkholes that occur when
a dissolved void space in the limestone bedrock cannot support loose overling
soil material. They can vary in width and depth. A karst landscape is somewhat
like the plumbing system in your house. If there is a disturbance to part of the
plumbing, then the effects are felt somewhere else. Factories and homes built over
sinkholes may be damaged as artificial fill moves down into the sinkhole and it
collapses. Structures built in sinkholes, or garbage clogging sinkholes, can make
adjacent areas vulnerable to flooding. The public in general and planners in partic-
ular need to be aware of the vulnerability of a karst landscape, and how it affects
both natural and cultural resources (Olson
2001
). The spatial analysis of specific
layers such as geology, slope, aspect, sinkholes locations, groundwater flow paths,
springs, and many other data sets provides a powerful tool to avoid or alleviate karst
hazards.
In addition, geospatial technologies can be used in other environmental policy
and/or management applications such as land-use planning, energy research, water
resources, and fire management in the park and elsewhere. Geospatial analysis and
the ability to create customized maps and other data sets allows the park to educate
the public in ways were not possible years ago. Creating maps, reports, graphs, and
online maps in a GIS can be the means of facilitating awareness of the vulnerability
of a karst landscape.
