Influence of geologic structure on the presence, discharge and physical and chemical properties of springs in the Muszynka catchment (Carpathian flysch)

The study helped to determine the spatial distribution of springs, their discharge values as well as the physical and chemical parameters of their waters, as these depend on the exact lithology of the aquifers drained and on the distance from tectonic discontinuity zones and the direction these follow in the flysch rocks of the Beskid Sądecki Range. The occurrence of springs is most frequently related to region-wide faults or joints that run in the NE-SW or NW-SE direction. However, that the presence of discontinuity zones does not always increase the number of springs per unit area or their discharge values. It was the case for some lithostratigraphic units that in spite of rather high tectonic activity, both a low springs density index and low spring discharge were obtained from the study. The relationships between water temperature or pH and categorized orientation of the nearest lineament proved to be statistically significant. Thus, it has been unambiguously shown that, in the study area, being located on lineaments or in structural zones does not affect spring discharge, temperature, pH or the SEC of spring water, but relatively high correlation values was found in the case of relationships between pH or SEC and categorized geology.