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Lecture notes:
 
I. Groundwater, Groundwater Pollution, and Mammoth Cave
    A. Karst--ground water you get when water flows through cracks in caves; it's an area where ground water flows
    through caves; the name originated from a region of Yugoslavia with many features involving karst

    B. Aquifer--an underground well; underground layer of sand, gravel, porous rock, etc. that holds ground water

    C. Conductivity--the speed at which water flows through a certain material (ex. shale has a low conductivity)

    D. Sink holes--places where water sinks underground

    E. Five (5) ingredients for caves to form
            1. Water--water needs to have a specific kind of chemistry so it can dissolve material (the water needs to be
            somewhat acidic)

            2. Soluble rock (ex. limestone and sometimes marble)--limestone dissolves by means of carbonic acid

            3. Hydraulic gradient--the water needs to flow downhill; water needs to flow fast so it needs to flow downhill
            rather than uphill

            4. Structure of rocks--starts off being flat lying rock to possibly being tilted or having faults

            5. Time--caves need a lot of time to form; it takes about 10,000 years for the youngest caves to form

    F. Two (2) basic kinds of cave passages
            1. Phreatic Cave Passage--cave passage that are totally underwater; generally very smooth walls; formed
            when it was completely filled with water

            2. Vadose Cave Passage--water flowing through like a river; walls not as smooth

II. Sink Hole Plain (Kentucky)
    A. Limestone is completely exposed

    B. Holes have formed all over the place because the limestone has dissolved

    C. It's a recharge area (it rains, water sits in sink holes, then water falls into the ground water system and the entire
    process is repeated again)

    D. That's why the area looks like a "rolling" valley

III. Miscellaneous
    A. Different colors in calcite is due to impurities in materials coming in contact with the calcite

    B. Difference between stalaCites and stalaGmites
            1. stalaCites--deposits that form from the Ceiling

            2. stalaGmites--deposits that form on the Ground

    C. Gypsum flower--calcium sulfate; above the limestone are thin lenses of sandstone with little shale which has sulfur
    in it; water carried some of the sulfur with it and then it mixed with the calcite therefore forming a calcium sulfate
    gypsum flower

    D. Caves are good for archaeological resources; geologist can find evidence of pre-historic people and creatures