Comparisons of water quality among sites

For purposes of overall comparisons, data depicted in the following bar charts are averages for essentially homogeneous water masses at each site. Thus, Rio Frio cave that contains two discrete water masses separated by a transition zone is reported as two samples - RFs (shallow or upper layer) and RFd (deeper layer). The transition zone values are not presented since they do not represent a homogeneous water mass. Likewise, El Potrero 2 cave contains an essentially homogeneous, shallow layer overlying a transition zone. At the point where the profile was made, water depths were not great enough to reach any deeper layers. Thus, data for P2s represents an average for the homogeneous water mass above the transition zone and is not for the entire cave pool. Averages for the San Rafael cave were only for the relative warmer main spring side of the cave. Sites for which no links are provided are those for which only single spatial (but multiple temporal) point samples of water quality were obtained.

Sites are labeled as follows (in left to right order as they appear in the bar charts):

• RFs and RFd = upper (shallow) and deep water layer in Rio Frio cave
• PA = averaged data for the series of springs at Poza Azul and La Florda
• SR = San Rafael de Los Castros spring cave
• ZU = Cueva la Zumbadora
• P1 and P2s = El Potrero sites 1 and 2 (shallow water), respectively
• PL = Mina El Palmito
• SO = El Socavón
• AS = "Above Socavón 1"
• CA = Cueva de Juana at Rancho El Calvillo
  CLICK ON ANY GRAPH FOR A LARGER IMAGE OF IT
  

  Temperature	Specific conductance
  pH	Dissolved Oxygen
  Redox Potential

  List of sites from which high and low values for each parameter were found:

  	LOW VALUE	HIGH VALUE
  Temperature	Palmito	Potrero 1
  pH	San Rafael	Palmito
  Specific Conductance	Cavillo	San Rafael
  Dissolved Oxygen	San Rafael	Palmito
  Redox	San Rafael	Poza Azul

  It is interesting to note that opposite extremes of temperature were found at sites within the same hill (Palmito and Potrero 1). San Rafael had the lowest pH, dissolved oxygen and redox and the highest specific conductance.