Transcript A GIS Based Hydrologic Study of the Kane Caves in Wyoming

A Hydrologic Study of the
Kane Caves in Wyoming
Valerie A. Bennett
CE 394K
Fall 2000
Motivation
• The Kane caves are going to be the
subject of my graduate research
• We are interested in the role that
bacteria play in a karst system
• We also hope to determine the source
of recharge for the area
Project Goals
• Build a base map of geographic and
flow data for the Big Horn Lake
watershed
• Create a point shapefile of the USGS
gage station at Kane
• Graph streamflow data for one year
Data Sources
• HUC coverage for Region 10 from the
USGS
• River Reach File 1 coverage from the
EPA
• Information on streamflow for USGS
station #06279500 obtained from the
USGS National Water Information
System
Geologic Setting
• The Kane Caves are
located in the Bighorn
Basin, approximately
130 km east of
Yellowstone National
Park
• They formed in the
Little Sheep Mountain
Anticline along the
Bighorn River
What do bacteria do in a cave?
• Bacteria form
colonies like the
mat seen here
• They oxidize sulfur
and make sulfuric
acid
Geographic Map
The Big Horn Lake Basin
Streamflow
• Discharge in the area is important because
when discharge is high, the caves become
flooded
• Flooding provides an influx of nutrients for
the bacteria
• After a snowmelt, the cave entrance floods
for around two months
Streamflow Graph
Bighorn River at Kane, WY
14000
12000
Discharge (cfs)
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
9/12/98
11/1/98
12/21/98
2/9/99
3/31/99
5/20/99
Time (one year)
7/9/99
8/28/99
10/17/99
12/6/99
Conclusions
• The Kane Caves of Wyoming formed by
sulfuric acid dissolution
• For my project, I created a watershed base
map for the Big Horn Lake Basin from
HUC region 10 and made a point shapefile
for the gage station (#06279500) at Kane
• I plotted discharge for a period of one year
for the Kane station
Future Work
• I am in the process of selecting other gaging
stations along the Bighorn River that could
be good sites for monitoring discharge
• I am making a map of other locations in the
world where caves are formed by sulfuric
acid dissolution
Acknowledgements
• Philip Bennett, my advisor (UTDoGS)
• Annette Engel (UTDoGS) provided the
photos
• Funding by NSF LExEN program
• Thanks to the USGS for providing so much
data for the public