The Karst Interest Group’s (KIG) mission is to encourage and support inter-disciplinary collaboration and technology transfer among scientists working in karst areas.
The 8th USGS Karst Interest Group was held virtually in October 2021.
The purpose of the KIG workshops is to bring together scientists from different offices of the USGS, Department of the Interior, other Federal and state agencies, research institutes, and universities to present the results of scientific work in karst areas or discuss karst related programs in their bureaus or offices. Workshops usually consist of technical presentations and poster sessions.
2021 Workshop
The 8th USGS Karst Interest Group (KIG) Workshop was held virtually in October 2021.
If you have any questions, please reach out to us at KIG_group@usgs.gov.
- Final Agenda (PDF)
- Meeting Info (PDF)
- Presentation guidelines
Presentation guidelines
REQUIREMENTS FOR ABSTRACTS
Extended abstracts are limited to 10 pages and must be approved for publication. USGS personnel must provide the IPDS number for their individually approved extended abstract.
REQUIREMENTS FOR PAPERS
Peer-reviewed, approved publications only.
All submitted papers must have a minimum of 2 peer reviews. Additionally, papers must be approved for publication through the normal report-review process of your agency.
For example, USGS information products containing new research or interpretive information, that is, material that has not been published previously in a USGS series publication, outside publication, or elsewhere will need to be approved by a Bureau Approving Official (BAO) in the USGS Office of Science Quality and Integrity (OSQI). However, the KIG proceedings is for abstracts and extended abstracts and thus approval authority within the USGS is at the Center Chief level.
If you are having difficulty finding colleague/peer reviewers for your paper, contact the proceedings co-coordinators (KIG@usgs.gov).
USGS Report Standards and report template
After acceptance by the technical committee, use the KIG 2021 report template for submitting the final, approved paper.
TOPICS FOR PAPERS AND POSTERS
- Geophysical methods in karst
- Karst ecosystems
- Karst geomicrobiology
- Programs within DOI that involve karst
- Numerical modeling in karst
- Karst in coastal zones
- Contaminant transport in karst
- Sediment transport in karst conduits systems
- Pathogens in karst
- Effects of climate change on karst aquifers
- Natural resource development in karst areas
- Geochemistry of karst systems
- Aquifer hydraulics in karst systems
- Tracers in karst
- Fractured carbonate systems
- Speleogenesis
- Cave and spring species and habitats
- Evaporite-carbonate karst differences
- Karst hazards
- Agriculture and karst issues
- Geologic framework of karst systems
- Karst Aquifer Systems
Proceedings from Previous Meetings
Kuniansky, E.L. (2001) U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group proceedings, St Petersburg, Florida, February 13-16, 2001: USGS Water-Resources Investigations Report 01-4011, 211 p.
Kuniansky, E.L. (2002) U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group proceedings, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, August 20-22, 2002: USGS Water-Resources Investigations Report 02-4174, 89 p.
Kuniansky, E.L. (2005) U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group proceedings, Rapid City, South Dakota, September 12-15, 2005: USGS Scientific Investigations Report 05-5160, 296 p.
Kuniansky, E.L. (2008) U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group proceedings, Bowling Green, Kentucky, May 27-29, 2008: USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5023, 142 p.
Kuniansky, E.L. (2011) U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group proceedings, Fayetteville, Arkansas, April 26-29, 2011: USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5031, 212 p.
Mission of the USGS Karst Interest Group
The Karst Interest Group’s (KIG) mission is to encourage and support inter-disciplinary collaboration and technology transfer among USGS scientists working in karst areas. Additionally, the KIG encourages the exchange of karst-related information between USGS scientists and scientists from various other entities.

KIG is a part of the 2021 International Year of Caves and Karst.
The International Year of Caves and Karst is organized by the International Union of Speleology, the worldwide organization of cave and karst explorers, scientists, managers, and educators.



Related Content
Proceedings from previous Karst Interest Group workshops
U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, San Antonio, Texas, May 16–18, 2017
U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Carlsbad, New Mexico, April 29-May 2, 2014
U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Fayetteville, Arkansas, April 26-29, 2011
U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Bowling Green, Kentucky, May 27-29, 2008
U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group: proceedings, St Petersburg, Florida February 13-16, 2001
Related Content
- Multimedia
- Publications
Proceedings from previous Karst Interest Group workshops
U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, San Antonio, Texas, May 16–18, 2017
Introduction and AcknowledgmentsKarst aquifer systems are present throughout parts of the United States and some of its territories, and have developed in carbonate rocks (primarily limestone and dolomite) and evaporites (gypsum, anhydrite, and halite) that span an interval of time encompassing more than 550 million years. The depositional environments, diagenetic processes, post-depositional tectU.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Carlsbad, New Mexico, April 29-May 2, 2014
Karst aquifer systems are present throughout parts of the United States and some of its territories, and have developed in carbonate rocks (primarily limestone and dolomite) that span an interval of time encompassing more than 550 million years. The depositional environments, diagenetic processes, post-depositional tectonic events, and geochemical weathering processes that form karst aquifers areU.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Fayetteville, Arkansas, April 26-29, 2011
Karst aquifer systems are present throughout parts of the United States and some of its territories and are developed in carbonate rocks (primarily limestone and dolomite) that span the entire geologic time frame. The depositional environments, diagenetic processes, and post-depositional tectonic events that form carbonate rock aquifers are varied and complex, involving both biological and physicaU.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Bowling Green, Kentucky, May 27-29, 2008
*INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS* Karst aquifer systems are present throughout parts of the United States and some of its territories. The complex depositional environments that form carbonate rocks combined with post-depositional tectonic events and the diverse climatic regimes under which these rocks were formed result in unique hydrologic systems. The dissolution of calcium carbonate and thU.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group: proceedings, St Petersburg, Florida February 13-16, 2001
Karst and similar landscapes are found in a wide range of biogeographic classes. In the U.S. for example, Everglades, Mammoth Cave, and Hawaii Volcanoes National Parks have little in common - except karst or pseudokarst, and a cultural past (even though these are very different). This diversity of geologic settings makes karst difficult to categorize and work with when designing a national program - Partners