Welcome to the GSA Karst Division
The Karst Division (KD) was formally approved by GSA Council in December 2015. In the U.S., rocks with the potential to be karstic occur in every one of the 50 states, and approximately 18% of their area is underlain by soluble rocks either having karst or the potential for its development (Weary and Doctor 2014). Portions of major cities and innumerable smaller cities are underlain by karst (e.g., St. Louis, MO; Nashville, TN; Birmingham, AL; Austin, TX; Louisville, KY). According to Veni and colleagues (2001), karst terrane underlies approximately 25% of the global land surface. Ford and Williams (1989) estimated that “25% of the global population is supplied largely or entirely by karst waters” and approximately 1.5 billion people live in karstic terrain."
GSA, with its multidisciplinary geosciences scope and large, international membership, is helping to bring prominence to karst science and to provide a scientific focal point for karst researchers across the disciplines.