Geoecological Monitoring of Karst Water in Georgia, Caucasus (Case Study of Racha Limestone Massif)

Asanidze, Lasha; Avkopashvili, Guranda; Tsikarishvili, Kukuri; Lezhava, Zaza; Chikhradze, Nino; Avkopashvili, Marika; Samkharadze, Zurab; Chartolani, Giorgi

doi:10.4236/ojg.2017.76056

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In addition, during heavy rains, in the open quarries the intense washing of substances from the rocks and getting of contaminated waters directly into the karst springs through fissures takes place, which is often followed by turbidity-contamination of drinking waters in Chiatura. Such relations have been practically confirmed by our experiments with tracing of dyed waters ([1] [10] [18] [19]).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 72%

Impact of Anthropogenic Factor on Karst Landscape (Zemo Imereti Structural Plateau Case Study), Georgia, Caucasus

Lezhava¹,

Tsikarishvili²,

Asanidze³

et al. 2020

OJG

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The Zemo Imereti (Chiatura) Structural Plateau covers the easternmost part of the western Georgia limestone belt and is the only region of the platform karst in the entire Caucasus. Zemo Imereti Plateau's complex structural studies revealed that the karst landscape has been completely transformed due to human strong economic activities, mainly related to the manganese unplanned, predatory extraction. The ore mining process completely destroyed the soil and vegetation cover thus creating "anthropo-badlands". Due to manganese open-cast mining, the layers located over limestones are almost totally removed and heavy rains stipulate intense washout of substances from loose rocks. Intense washout of manganese extracted from mines and high contamination of river water streams take place directly in the river beds. Karst sinkholes and wells are common in the plateau, which are often used as waste fills-storages by the local population. Contaminated underground karst waters flowing into the above mentioned landforms are directly related to the karst springs used by the population and occasionally cause their turbidity and contamination, which is also confirmed by our indicator tests. As a laboratory study of the samples showed, mineralization of underground karst waters in the study area is 1.5-3 times higher than similar values in neighboring karst areas, which should be explained by the widespread of manganese open pits in the feeding basins of underground karst waters. According to the materials obtained from our surveys and calculations carried out, karst (chemical) denudation (surface 64.2-190.6 m 3 /km 2 /year, underground 1.5-117.0 m 3 /km 2 /year) has been increased in the study area than in other karst regions of Georgia, which is also related to technologic factors.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 72%

Impact of Anthropogenic Factor on Karst Landscape (Zemo Imereti Structural Plateau Case Study), Georgia, Caucasus

Lezhava¹,

Tsikarishvili²,

Asanidze³

et al. 2020

OJG

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“…Farmers also use the water and grass for grazing cattle, goats and sheep [ 44 , 45 ]. Numerous studies and research in recent years have proven that the amount of water and soil pollution from heavy metal is vast in this area and has exceeded the permissible and highly accepted standards [ 34 , 36 , 46 , 47 ]. Therefore, the pollution of rivers, soil and air with heavy metal will affect the health of the population on the one hand and the local diet in Georgia on the other hand [ 34 , 45 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heavy Metal Levels in Milk and Cheese Produced in the Kvemo Kartli Region, Georgia

Sidawi

Ghambashidze

Urushadze

et al. 2021

Foods

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Milk and dairy products are among the most important food sectors in Georgia, and milk is considered one of the most essential foods in the human diet according to Georgian food culture. Kvemo Kartli is one of the major regions in Georgia for milk production. This region suffers from heavy metal contamination in soil and water because of the mining industry. This study was conducted to determine the concentrations of cadmium, lead, iron, zinc, copper, chromium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, selenium and molybdenum in milk and cheese and to evaluate whether the concentrations of these elements correspond to the permissible levels of toxic elements in milk and cheese for Georgia and the EU. In total, 195 milk samples and 25 cheese samples (16 from Imeruli cheese and nine from Sulguni cheese) were collected from nine different villages in the Kvemo Kartli region in Georgia: Chapala, Vanati, Bolnisi, Mtskneti, Sabereti, Ratevani, Khidiskuri, Kazreti, Kvemo Bolnisi. The determination of heavy metal in all samples was carried out by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The research results show that the concentration of these elements in most milk samples is fairly constant for all villages and is less than the permissible levels, except for seven samples from the following villages: Kvemo Bolnisi, Bolnisi, Mitskineti and Ratawani, where the concentration of lead in the milk samples was higher than the permissible limits mentioned in the literature, ranging from 0.027 to 1003 mg L−1. As for copper, its concentration in milk in Sabereti and Vanati villages was above the permissible limits according to the EU limit, ranging from 0.42 to 1.28 mg L−1. For cheese samples, the concentration of cadmium, lead, copper, Co and Ni in the two types of cheese was less than the permissible limit according to the laws of Georgia. Finally, the heavy metal concentrations in Imeruli and Sulguni cheese for manganese (Mn), chromium (Cr), selenium (Se), molybdenum (Mo) zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) were above the permissible limit. Thus, the study results showed that the consumption of milk does not pose a direct and serious threat to the health of consumers. As for the two types of cheese, future studies and continuous monitoring are necessary to assess the cheese content of trace elements and the risk of its consumption to the consumer.

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“…In this paper we present new information on the Muradi and Usholta Cave systems focusing on speleogenic processes and secondary mineralogical deposits. The Muradi and Usholta caves are developed on the Racha limestone massif, the total area of which exceeds 590 km 2 (Asanidze et al 2017b;Asanidze et al, 2017c). Geographically, the Racha limestone massif is located in the Oni and Ambrolauri regions (western Georgia).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping of Potential Show Caves in the Racha Limestone Massif (Country of Georgia)

Asanidze¹,

Lezhava²,

Chikhradze³

et al. 2018

Proceedings of the 15th Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst and Th

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The Racha limestone massif is located in the eastern part of the karst zone of western Georgia. The massif is a typical example of Georgian mountain karst regions, where diverse surface and subsurface karst landforms are found. The main aim of this research is to present mapping of two potential show caves, and document speleological information from the Racha limestone massif. The morphological parameters and tectonic directions of the Muradi and Usholta Caves were mapped using the compass-clinometer and laser distance meter, to compile 3D models of the caves. To our knowledge these are the first 3D models of karst caves in Georgia.

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Geoecological Monitoring of Karst Water in Georgia, Caucasus (Case Study of Racha Limestone Massif)

Cited by 7 publications

References 14 publications

Impact of Anthropogenic Factor on Karst Landscape (Zemo Imereti Structural Plateau Case Study), Georgia, Caucasus

Impact of Anthropogenic Factor on Karst Landscape (Zemo Imereti Structural Plateau Case Study), Georgia, Caucasus

Heavy Metal Levels in Milk and Cheese Produced in the Kvemo Kartli Region, Georgia

Mapping of Potential Show Caves in the Racha Limestone Massif (Country of Georgia)

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