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Open research questions in Karst Systems and Hydrogeology

171 gap statements mined from Karst Systems and Hydrogeology papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 846 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • The evidence remains uneven. While many studies provide post-intervention verification, susceptibility zones or diagnostic investigations, fewer report quantitative thresholds, lifecycle cost evidence or climate-scenario testing. Therefore, the review does not establish a universal, climate-resilient, risk-assessment framework.

    Land subsidence and infrastructure failure risk assessment in karst and collapsible soils for climate-resilient infrastructure · 2026 · DOI

  • Future work will address this limitation by instrumenting the vadose zone for soil moisture and infiltration. Future work will examine historical hydroclimatological data to investigate this issue. However, this explanation does not account for vadose-zone vegetation and soil moisture responses to drought, for which direct measurements did not exist during this study.

    Mountain front recharge of a karst aquifer in the Denver Basin, southeastern Wyoming (USA): Recharge mechanism and multiyear drought impacts · 2026 · DOI

  • Maintaining a low gauging uncertainty, for example ±5%, across the full discharge range is therefore difficult. In the Swiss dataset, uncertainties greater than ±30% were identified for high-water discharge measurements, and seem even larger for low-water measurements. This limitation could be reduced by using a compound weir with two or three stages.

    Advanced Approach to Assess Groundwater Storage and Water Availability in Karst Aquifers at Regional Scale · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of explainability in machine learning models. The need for careful selection of conditioning factors that closely align with site-specific environmental variables. The importance of addressing interdependencies among selected variables to ensure robust model performance.

    Explainable Sinkhole Susceptibility Mapping Using Machine-Learning-Based SHAP: Quantifying and Comparing the Effects of Contributing Factors in Konya, Türkiye · 2025 · DOI

  • The lack of monitoring wells in some areas limited the sampling campaign.

    River–Spring Connectivity and Hydrogeochemical Processes in a Karst Water System of Northern China: A Case Study of Jinan Spring Catchment · 2024 · DOI

  • There is a scarcity of site-specific data available to adequately characterize the chemical, hydrologic, and hydraulic properties of a karst-dominated aquifer. The lack of characterization makes it difficult to manage groundwater resources sustainably.

    Hydraulic and Hydrogeochemical Characterization of Carbonate Aquifers in Arid Regions: A Case from the Western Desert, Egypt · 2024 · DOI

  • Transboundary waters account for 60% of the world’s freshwater, and in this era of increasing water stress, a supranational, integrated approach to transboundary water resource management is needed, but such cooperation is lacking in most countries.

    The Catastrophic Water Loss of Ancient Lake Prespa: A Chronicle of a Death Foretold · 2024 · DOI

  • Future research is recommended to further investigate the net effect of all of these climate parameter changes on fluviokarst basins to further discuss the evidence produced in this study.

    Fluviokarst modeling using stable isotopic ratios identifies the ratio of passive to active groundwater storage · 2026 · DOI

  • Further studies are needed to investigate the impact of climate change on the hydrochemical processes in the area. The study of the hydrochemical processes in other arid environments can provide valuable insights into the development of karst features. More research is needed to understand the relationship between the geology of the aquifer and the hydrochemical processes in the area.

    Geological and Hydrochemical Processes Driving Karst Development in Southeastern Riyadh, Central Saudi Arabia · 2024 · DOI

  • In contrast, precise monitoring and quantitative characterization of the spatial heterogeneity of geomaterial distribution remain insufficient.

    Assessment of Spatial Heterogeneity in Reconstructed Dump Stratigraphy: From Geomaterial Composition to Spatial Structure · 2026 · DOI

  • The spatial generality of this study’s findings still needs to be validated with additional monitoring data from dolomite caves.

    Hydrogeochemical Controls on δ13C-DIC in a Dolomite Cave: Insights from 7-Year Monitoring at Mahuang Cave, Southwest China · 2026 · DOI

  • This phenomenon, and its potential implications for speleothem-based reconstructions, remains poorly investigated.

    Petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of speleothems after cave occupation by bats (Roquette cave, Gard, France) · 2026 · DOI

  • The impacts of eogenetic karst characteristics on seasonal and longer term hydrological dynamics have been previously evaluated; however, stormflow remains understudied.

    Geochemistry at a Karst Spring Reveals Complex Stormflow Dynamics in an Eogenetic Karst Aquifer · 2025 · DOI

  • The understanding of the anthropogenic activities involved in sensitive karst systems remains limited. The impact of multiple anthropogenic activities on the hydrochemical characteristics of karst aquifers is not well understood.

    Hydrochemical Characteristics and Evolution under the Influence of Multiple Anthropogenic Activities in Karst Aquifers, Northern China · 2024 · DOI

  • The lack of understanding of the mechanisms of invasion resistance in karst ecosystems.

    Functional traits explain the weakening of biotic resistance to plant invasion under karst soil phosphorus heterogeneity · 2026 · DOI

  • The impact of recharge dams on enhancing recharge remains marginal compared to natural recharge volumes. Uncertainties in recirculation and springflow augmentation led to these strategies not being implemented. The study does not provide a comprehensive analysis of the economic and social implications of managed aquifer recharge.

    Enhancing Recharge in the Edwards Aquifer, Texas: Measures, Outcomes, and Lessons for Karst Aquifers · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need for further research on seawater intrusion in the coastal karst area of Gunungkidul. The study highlights the importance of considering the heterogeneous characteristics of the karst aquifer and local pumping activities.

    Analisis Salinitas Air Sumur sebagai Indikator Intrusi Air Laut di Pesisir Karst Gunungkidul · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of efficient ground improvement systems for high-speed railway embankments in karst terrain. The need for a design methodology that takes into account the specific conditions of karst terrain. The need for a validation of the system's performance through laboratory testing and full-scale in situ pile load tests.

    Field Performance of a Pile-Cap Ground Improvement System for High-Speed Railway Embankments in Karst Terrain · 2026 · DOI

  • Further studies can explore the application of ERT in different geological backgrounds and research requirements. Future research can investigate the coupling relationship between aquifer thickness and water quality.

    Karst distribution characteristics in a watershed under topographic differentiation and implication for groundwater resource: A case study in Southwest China using ERT and borehole data · 2026 · DOI

  • Traditional karst investigation methods have limitations, such as relying on field geological reconnaissance and outcrop lithological analysis. There is a need for a more effective method to detect karst distribution characteristics.

    Karst distribution characteristics in a watershed under topographic differentiation and implication for groundwater resource: A case study in Southwest China using ERT and borehole data · 2026 · DOI

  • Conceptual modeling methods for this reservoir type are relatively sparse in the literature and often fail to simulate collapse processes realistically or forecast sediment infill.

    Paleokarst reservoir architecture derived from forward modeling of modern cave systems—A case study · 2026 · DOI

  • The strong non-linear characteristics in the inflow-outflow process within the aquifers - The high heterogeneity in the hydraulic properties of karst regions - The need to capture spatial dependencies…

    A Fully Connected Neural Network (FCNN) Model to Simulate Karst Spring Flowrates in the Umbria Region (Central Italy) · 2024 · DOI

  • The lack of reliable simulations and forecasts of karst spring discharges - The need for high-performance models to understand and simulate complex behaviors related to multiple…

    A Fully Connected Neural Network (FCNN) Model to Simulate Karst Spring Flowrates in the Umbria Region (Central Italy) · 2024 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a research gap in understanding the processes leading to karst development in arid environments. The study aims to fill this gap by investigating the role of water in the development of karst features in southeastern Riyadh. The paper also identifies a gap in understanding the hydrochemical processes affecting groundwater chemistry in this area.

    Geological and Hydrochemical Processes Driving Karst Development in Southeastern Riyadh, Central Saudi Arabia · 2024 · DOI

  • Further studies are needed to investigate the geochemical mechanisms controlling the groundwater composition, - research on the effective management of groundwater resources in karst-dominated aquifers is necessary, - investigation of the artesian upwelling of groundwater from deep aquifers…

    Hydraulic and Hydrogeochemical Characterization of Carbonate Aquifers in Arid Regions: A Case from the Western Desert, Egypt · 2024 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Karst Systems and Hydrogeology

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) Future work will address this limitation by instrumenting the vadose zone for soil moisture and infiltration (“Mountain front recharge of a karst aquifer in the Denver Basin, southeastern…”, 2026); (2) The lack of understanding of the mechanisms of invasion resistance in karst ecosystems (“Functional traits explain the weakening of biotic resistance to plant invasion…”, 2026); (3) There is a need for further research on seawater intrusion in the coastal karst area of Gunungkidul (“Analisis Salinitas Air Sumur sebagai Indikator Intrusi Air Laut di Pesisir…”, 2026); (4) The lack of efficient ground improvement systems for high-speed railway embankments in karst terrain (“Field Performance of a Pile-Cap Ground Improvement System for High-Speed…”, 2026); (5) Future research can investigate the coupling relationship between aquifer thickness and water quality (“Karst distribution characteristics in a watershed under topographic…”, 2026). 171 gap statements have been mined from Karst Systems and Hydrogeology papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 846 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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