Glossary of Karst and Cave Terms

Field, M.S., 1999, A lexicon of cave and karst terminology with special reference to environmental karst hydrology: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Assessment, EPA/600/R-99/006, 201 p.

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Term	Description
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aquifer	1. A formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that contains sufficient saturated permeable material to yield significant ...		View
aquifer stimulation	A type of development that is done in semiconsolidated and completely consolidated formations to alter the formation physically to improve ...		View
aquifer storage	Gas storage in an aquifer [16].		View
aquifer system	A body of permeable and poorly permeable material that functions regionally as a water-yielding unit; it comprises two or more ...		View
aquifer test	A test to determine hydrologic properties of the aquifer involving the withdrawal of measured quantities of water from or addition ...		View
aquifer, artesian	A confined aquifer where the potentiometric surface rises above the top of the aquifer bed [16].		View
aquifer, coastal	An aquifer in a coastal region open to salt-water intrusions [16].		View
aquifer, flowing artesian	An artesian aquifer in which the water, under hydrostatic pressure rises above the land surface.		View
aquifer, karst	An aquifer in which the flow of water is or can be appreciable through one or more of the following: ...		View
aquifer, leaky	An aquifer overlain or underlain by semipermeable strata from or into which water will flow [16].		View
aquifere epikarstique	See epikarst zone.		View
aquifuge	A formation which has no interconnected openings or interstices and therefore neither stores nor transmits water [22]. See also confining ...		View
aquitard	A confining bed that retards but does not prevent the flow of water to or from an adjacent aquifer; a ...		View
aragonite	1. A relatively rare form of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), chemically identical to the more common calcite but of orthorhombic crystal ...		View
ardealite	A cave mineral - Ca2(SO4)(HPO4).4H2O [11].		View
area of influence of a well	The area surrounding a pumping or recharging well within which the potentiometric surface has been changed [22].		View
arete and pinnacle karst	A landscape of naked reticulated raw-topped ridges having almost vertical slopes and a relief of as much as 120 meters. ...		View
argillaceous	The property of rocks containing clay in non-negligible proportions [16].		View
argillaceous limestone	Limestone containing considerable amounts of clay [16].		View
arid	The property of dry climates and regions with a net deficiency of moisture [16].		View
arrival time	1. The time of arrival in subsurface flow tracing for the first tracer pulse to arrive at a discharge location. ...		View
artefact	A product of human manufacture or art, e.g. tools of bone, stone, etc., paintings, engravings. In caves, tools are often ...		View
artesian	Synonymous with confined.		View
artesian aquifer	Synonymous with confined aquifer. See aquifer, artesian.		View
artesian flow	Flow through a confined aquifer where the elevation of the overlying aquiclude is locally depressed so that the entire aquifer ...		View
artesian spring	See spring, artesian.		View
artesian well	A well deriving its water from a confined aquifer in which the water level stands above the ground surface [6]. ...		View
arthropods	Animals with jointed legs and bard external skeletons (exoskeletons). The group includes insects, crustaceans, spiders, millipedes, and several other types ...		View
artificial discharge	The discharge of ground water by pumping wells [16].		View
artificial recharge	Recharge at a rate greater than natural, resulting from deliberate or incidental human activities [6].		View

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