Karst Geographers

Geographers interested in karst:

• John All (WKU) environmental management
  
• Bob Brinkmann (USF) sinkholes, policy, geomorphology, and hydrology
  
• George Brook (Georgia) speleothem dating
  
• Sean Chenoweth (UL-Monroe)
  
• Nick Crawford (WKU) hydrogeology
  
• Jerry Davis (San Francisco State)
  
• Mick Day (UW-Milwaukee) GIS, geomorphology
  
• Percy Dougherty (Kutztown)
  
• Tom Feeney (Shippensburg)
  
• Alan Glennon (Ph.D. Student, UCSB) GIS
  
• Rhonda Glennon (ESRI) GIS
  
• Chris Groves (WKU) hydrogeology, geochemistry
  
• Drew Hyatt (Eastern Connecticut State University)
  
• Pat Kambesis (WKU) exploration, cartography
  
• Hilary Lambert
  
• Dave Lemberg (WMU) planning
  
• Phil Reeder (USF) hydrogeology, geoarcheology
  
• Bernie Szukalski (ESRI) GIS
  
• Tao Tang (Buffalo State)
  
• Rozemarijn Tarhule-Lips (Oklahoma)
  
• Phil van Beynen (USF)

Have done karst work in the past...

• Katie Algeo (WKU) Cultural Geography
  
• Mike Goodchild (UCSB) GIS
  
• Hugo Loaiciga (UCSB) hydrogeology
  
• Chuanrong Zhang (UWW) GIS

Please comment or email to add/remove names (glennon at gmail).

Cave and Karst Science at AAG 2006

Geographic Approaches to Understanding Karst

Karst landscapes—terranes typically characterized by caves, closed depressions, disrupted surface drainage, and underground drainage systems—are widespread. Ford and Williams (1989) estimate that karst landforms cover seven to ten percent of the earth's ice-free land surface and approximately 25 percent of the world's population either lives above or utilizes karst aquifers. Further, common natural hazards in karstlands include unexpected flooding, water scarcity, degraded water quality, ground subsidence, and catastrophic collapse. Since the processes that shape karst landscapes are both complex and occur primarily in the subsurface, the paucity of data has restricted scientific endeavors.

Over the last several decades, however, geographically-based technological and intellectual innovations have evolved to more easily allow collection, management, and analysis of karst data. In particular, developments within geographic information systems, global positioning systems, high-resolution satellite imagery and remote sensing, geostatistics, and ruggedized field survey and monitoring equipment, promise to further the understanding of karst systems.

This session invites participants to discuss the following two broad topics:

• geographically-centered approaches to better understanding karst landscapes and processes. Example topics include applied field studies, techniques, hazards assessment, extraterrestrial karst, karst-societal interaction, GIS applications, simulation, and data integration.
  
  
• the contemporary state of karst science, with intent to define a karst geography research agenda.