Sinkholes and Springs of the Ozark Physiographic Province, northern Arkansas, from Topographic Maps
Dates
Publication Date
2016-05-20
Start Date
1942
End Date
2014
Citation
Turner, N.L., Knierim, K.J., Kresse, T., 2016, Sinkholes and Springs of the Ozark Physiographic Province, northern Arkansas, from Topographic Maps: U.S. Geological Survey data release, http://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7XK8CNZ.
Summary
Springs and sinkholes in the Ozark Plateaus Physiographic Province (Ozarks) in Arkansas were digitized from 1:24,000-scale topographic maps to produce a digital dataset of karst features. Karst landscapes generally are created from bedrock dissolution that results in distinctive landforms, including sinkholes, springs, caves, and sinking streams, and a high degree of interaction between surface water and groundwater. The dataset can be used to better understand groundwater flow in the karst landscape of the Arkansas Ozarks and potential effects of karst-feature density on water quality, geomorphology, water resources, and karst hazards. In the Ozarks, karst features are present in several limestone and dolomite formations (for example, [...]
Summary
Springs and sinkholes in the Ozark Plateaus Physiographic Province (Ozarks) in Arkansas were digitized from 1:24,000-scale topographic maps to produce a digital dataset of karst features. Karst landscapes generally are created from bedrock dissolution that results in distinctive landforms, including sinkholes, springs, caves, and sinking streams, and a high degree of interaction between surface water and groundwater. The dataset can be used to better understand groundwater flow in the karst landscape of the Arkansas Ozarks and potential effects of karst-feature density on water quality, geomorphology, water resources, and karst hazards. In the Ozarks, karst features are present in several limestone and dolomite formations (for example, the Boone Formation, Pitkin Limestone, and Powell Dolomite). Springs (points) and sinkholes (polygons and centroid points) were digitized from over 200 topographic quadrangle maps from 22 different counties with published dates ranging from 1942 to 2014. The digitization efforts using the topographic maps resulted in 805 springs and 1,242 sinkholes across the Arkansas Ozarks. These datasets represent the spring and sinkhole centroid points and sinkhole polygons from the digitization efforts. Topographic maps were the only source of data used to provide a distribution from a single data source over the Ozarks in Arkansas. These karst-feature datasets will be a resource for years to come in karst science, water science, geomorphology, and other fields.
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Purpose
These datasets are a compilation of karst features (sinkholes and springs) digitized from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps over the Ozark Plateaus Physiographic Province (Ozarks) of northern Arkansas. Both historical (1940s through 1980s) and recent (2014) topographic maps were used in the creation of the dataset. Sinkhole polygons were digitized from enclosed depressions (identified by hachure marks) on the USGS topographic maps, and are additionally represented as a centroid point that was defined from the polygon. Springs were digitized as points from labeled spring locations on the topographic maps. Attributes for the karst features include the type of feature (spring or sinkhole), name of the county and quadrangle of location, topographic map year, coordinates (latitude and longitude), area (for sinkhole polygons), and name (for springs, where a name occurred on the topographic map). No digital dataset of this type existed previously for the Arkansas Ozarks, and in karst regions (landscapes dominated by bedrock dissolution), the interconnectedness of groundwater and surface water is dynamic and complex. With this dataset, quantitative, regional-scale investigations of water quality, karst science, and geomorphology can be completed.
