Who isn’t tempted by a free book, especially when it’s about karst or caves? The Groundwater Project has just published a 300-page volume on the science of karst and management of aquifers.
“Karst: Environment and Management of Aquifers” is a newly published book, authored by Zoran Stevanović, John Gunn, Nico Goldscheider and Nataša Ravbar. It is free and can be downloaded from the Groundwater Project’s website.
This link also includes an interview with the authors.
If anyone who downloads the book would like to tell us what they think, please get in touch – we would love to hear from you!
Publisher’s summary:
Karst comprises complex systems of soluble rocks and water forming a surface and underground environment with rich but vulnerable aquifer systems that produce the world’s largest proportion of pristine water. The interactions of soluble rocks and water create landscapes and subsurface forms that are not found in any other rock or aquifer. These features range from springs that discharge groundwater that forms large rivers to arid or high-altitude terrains without surface water—but with abundant groundwater reserves at great depth that are difficult to access.
Karst is of global importance as a source of potable water. Nearly one billion people rely on karst for health, sanitation, food production, and economic development. However, karst’s heterogeneity and anisotropy combine to create highly dynamic water regimes rendering the groundwater system sensitive to a changing climate and vulnerable to pollution. These topics are important to water managers and decision makers.
In addition to these important topics, the authors describe the history of karstology and provide a comprehensive explanation of surface and subsurface forms of karst and the natural forces that shape it.
As a practical guide, the book includes solved exercises, questions with answers, and supplemental material which presents further examples, visualizations, and theories. The book is richly illustrated and includes more than 100 photographs of karst landscapes and features from around the world.
As an introduction to karst, this book is written for a broad audience that includes readers without prior knowledge of groundwater science, but will be appreciated by students and professionals working in karst areas. Readers will emerge with a comprehensive understanding of karst and why engineering is becoming increasingly important to defend these critical hydrogeological features.
Karst: Environment and Management of Aquifers (2024), Zoran Stevanović, John Gunn, Nico Goldscheider and Nataša Ravbar, 300pp ISBN 978-1-77470-077-8. Publ. The Groundwater Project
