Investigating the effect of various stratigraphy on karst development and variability of karst springs discharges, Kermanshah Province

In karstification phenomenon of carbonate formations various factors are involved which the most important of them are lithology, precipitation, stratigraphic characteristics, structural factors and the topography of the region. Thick and massive limestones have much higher potential for the development of karst and, as a result, the formation of karst features. In this research, four important karstic springs have been investigated, the name of these springs are Ravansar, Kabotarlaneh, Sahneh and Kashanbeh. The catchment areas of these springs are located in the different geological formations with various lithologies and ages. The discharge of springs and its variability depends significantly on the lithology of the aforementioned formations. The average annual discharge of the Ravansar, Darband Sahneh, Kashanbeh, and Kabotarlaneh springs in the hydrological year 2016–2017 is 1932, 462, 166 and 771 lit/s, respectively. Moreover, the coefficients of variation of these karst springs are 1.07, 0.30, 0.49 and 0.48 and the maximum to minimum ratio of these springs were calculated 20, 2, 7 and 4, respectively. The Ravansar and Kabotarlaneh springs have three discharge coefficients, while the springs of the Sahneh and Kashanbeh have two, which are related to stratigraphy and lithology of their basins. The largest of the aquifer storage from these springs is dedicated to the Ravansar spring, and the smallest is Kashanbeh; the discharge of these springs also confirms it.