Karst Studies in West Central Florida 9

KARST GEOMORPHOLOGY AND RELATION TO THE PHREATIC

SURFACE: BRIAR CAVE, MARION COUNTY, FLORIDA

Lee Florea (lflorea@chuma1.cas.usf.edu), Kristin Kelley

Department of Geology, University of South Florida
4202 E. Fowler Ave SCA 528, Tampa, Florida 33620

Tomoyuki Hashimoto, David Miller, Robert Mrykalo

Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of South Florida
4202 E. Fowler Ave SCA 238, Tampa, Florida 33620

ABSTRACT

Conduits in Briar Cave, located on the outskirts of Ocala in Marion County, Florida, are
oriented linearly and their elevations are bimodal. The upper and lower levels of conduits
are horizontal and have developed at 19 m and 13 m above mean sea level respectively.
Orientations of conduits are controlled principally by a sub-orthogonal fracture set with
axes of 200º and 140º. Principal conduit development is along an orientation of 200º, which
is consistent with the transmissivity anisotropy in the Upper Floridan Aquifer in the study
area. Limited lithologic data suggest possible stratigraphic control on conduit develop-
ment. Historical evidence from cave exploration has documented falling water levels within
the Upper Floridan Aquifer from increased groundwater withdrawals in the Ocala area.

INTRODUCTION

Briar Cave, in Marion County, Florida, is lo-
cated on the southern outskirts of Ocala (Fig-
ure 1). The cave underlies a low hill between
two sinkholes that lie approximately 200 m
east of I-75. Briar Cave trends northeast-
southwest and consists of a dry upper level
and a wet lower level. The cave has been
surveyed to a length of approximately 2 km,
making it one of the longest subaerial caves
in the state of Florida. Portions of the cave
are inaccessible during periods of high wa-
ter. The water level in the cave is the phreatic
surface of the Upper Floridan Aquifer (UFA),
which is unconfined in the region around
Ocala. These features of Briar Cave are
unique in Florida, and make it an ideal site
for investigation.
Briar Cave may have been discovered as
early as 1938. In May 1966, the cave was
surveyed and a partial map was published
in The Florida Speleologist. The cave was
closed in 1971 by the owners using con-
struction debris, limestone boulders, and
concrete dumped into the entrance
(Johnson, 1990). For a period of 18 years,
the cave was unvisited until access was
once again granted in 1989. The Florida
Speleological Society installed a gate in the
entrance so that research and conserva-
tion work could continue in the cave. Due
to falling water levels, more discoveries
have been made, including 300 m of pas-
sage in the southern part of the cave.
10 Briar Cave Karst Studies in West Central Florida

the flank of the Ocala uplift. The three sub-

units (Crystal River, Williston, and Inglis)
have traditionally been differentiated based
on their fossils, the most common of which
are forams, mollusks, echinoids, and bryo-
zoans.

Matrix properties of the Ocala Limestone vary

from higher permeability grainstones to lower
permeability packstones and wackestones
(Budd and Vacher, 2002). The stratigraphic
locations of these matrix properties are spa-
tially variable and have not been defined in
the study area.

Hydrology of the Briar Cave Area

Groundwater flow in the vicinity of Briar Cave

is affected by the presence of two, nearby,
first-magnitude springs.

Silver Springs lies about 10 km northeast of

Briar Cave (Figure 1). The spring forms the
headwater of the Silver Springs River and
Figure 1: Location of Briar Cave, Rainbow Springs, and
Silver Springs. Contours are the 2000 potentiometic lev- has an average discharge of 23 m3/sec. The
els of the Upper Floridan Aquifer. Contour interval is 10 drainage basin for Silver Springs encom-
feet. passes an 1890-km2 area lying north, west,
Geology of the Briar Cave Area and south of the spring (Faulkner 1973). As
currently delineated, this basin includes the
Briar cave has developed in the Ocala Lime- Briar Cave site.
stone (Eocene). Pliocene to Miocene Haw-
thorn Group sediments and younger undif- Rainbow Springs is located about 25 km west
ferentiated deposits unconformably overlie of Briar Cave (Figure 1). Discharge from this
the Ocala Limestone in the Ocala area. spring forms the Rainbow River that flows to
These sedimentary deposits are composed the Gulf of Mexico. The annual mean dis-
mainly of terrigenous quartz sand and clay charge from 1965 through 1999 was 22 m3/
with small amounts of limestone, phosphate, sec (Scott et al., 2002). The drainage basin
and organics. for Rainbow Springs is approximately 1940
km2 to the north and east of spring.
Locally, the Ocala Group is a fossiliferous,
Some flow to these two springs may be sup-
shallow-marine limestone. It varies in thick-
plied by discharge from Briar Cave; however,
ness and dips toward the south and east in
it is not clear how the cave is hydrologically
the Briar Cave area reflecting its position on
connected to either spring. Observations at
Karst Studies in West Central Florida Briar Cave 11

Briar Cave indicate fracture control, which is
known in other areas of Florida to greatly in-
fluence the direction and magnitude of ground-
water flow. The direction of fracture control has
also been correlated with the location of sink-
holes and springs in the surrounding geo-
graphic area (Littlefield et al., 1984). The
groundwater divide between Rainbow and Sil-
ver springs is presently depicted to be just west
of Briar Cave based solely upon potentiomet-
ric data (Jones et al., 1996). These data are
not detailed enough to display variability at the
local scale.
fect upon platform exposure (Copeland,
1991). During interglacial periods such as the
present, highstands of sea-level covered large
portions of the platform leaving terraces and
beach lines (Healy, 1975). Glacial periods saw
greater platform exposure, possibly off the
margins of the continental shelf. This variable
sea-level position had significant impact upon
the stratigraphic framework of the platform,
and potential impacts to the hydrogeologic
framework.
Speleogenesis in Florida

Both Silver and Rainbow Springs are dis- Limestones of Florida are modified by disso-
charge points for the UFA, which is a sub-unit lution processes resulting in karst (White,
of the extensive Floridan Aquifer System 1988; Miller, 1986; Copeland, 1991, White,
(FAS). The FAS is a platform-wide flow sys- 1970; Lane, 1986, Schmidt and Scott, 1984).
tem encompassing the entirety of the Florida Significant solution porosity has developed in
Peninsula, the adjacent subaqueous platform, portions of the UFA not confined by relatively
and portions of southern Georgia, Alabama insoluble material including the Miocene
and South Carolina (Miller, 1986). It is multi- Hawthorne Formation. This solution porosity
component as it consists of several strati- is a dominant component of groundwater flow.
graphic and hydrogeologic horizons classified
into upper, and lower units (Johnson and Bush, The complexities of conduit systems in Florida
1988). It is multi-regime since it behaves as aare not well understood (Wilson, 2002). Con-
triple-porosity flow system with matrix, frac- duit integration and morphology are potentially
ture, and conduit flow (White, 2002). a reflection of the young diagenetic state of
the host rock, or “eogenetic karst” (Vacher and
The FAS has developed within the Florida pen- Mylroie, 2002), mixing zone dissolution
insula, which is a partially exposed peninsu- (Plummer, 1975), bio-geochemical processes
lar carbonate platform system composed of (Garman, 2002), and glacio-eustatic overprint-
near-horizontal sequences of carbonates, ing (Brinkmann and Reeder, 1994).
evaporates, and clastics ranging in age from
Jurassic to Holocene (Miller, 1986). The UFA Voids and conduits within the vadose zone,
is composed of carbonates of the Suwanee, such as Briar Cave, are concentrated princi-
Ocala, and Upper Avon Park Limestones, pally in the uplands of the panhandle, along
which represent time-stratigraphic units (Oli- the Cody Scarp and the Ocala Uplift at the
gocene to middle Eocene) (Miller, 1986; boundary between confinement and
Copeland, 1991). The bulk of groundwater unconfinement (Lane, 1986). These dissolu-
withdrawal for municipal and agricultural pur- tion features can be subdivided into two main
poses occurs from springs or well fields with categories: those that form in vadose condi-
source water in the Upper Floridan Aquifer. tions and those that are a reflection of a prior
phreatic surface. These latter voids may serve
Sea-level changes have had a dramatic ef- as a key to understanding speleogenetic pro-
12 Briar Cave Karst Studies in West Central Florida

cesses below the present day water table and of the core-logs studied had the combination
may also help link speleogenetic processes of appropriate location and necessary infor-
to sea-level change. mation for further use. In the two core-logs
chosen (W-1934 and W-11943) we identified
METHODS elevation data for principal stratigraphic hori-
zons including the base of the Hawthorn and
Members of our team conducted a cave sur- zones of higher reported porosity (greater than
vey on March 9th 2003, from the entrance to 10%).
the Needle Room. We collected 11 data sta-
tions (a total distance of 70.2 m). Data at each RESULTS
station included passage dimensions and
cross-sections. Profile and plan sketches re- We used the map produced in this study to
corded azimuths of joints and other signifi- interpret level locations and cross-sections
cant features including the elevation of the the within the cave (Figure 2). From available to-
water level of the UFA. These survey data and pographic data, the entrance to the cave is
sketches assisted in constructing a map de- at approximately 25 m above mean sea level
picting profile, plan, and cross sections of the (amsl). The map from the survey indicates
section of Briar Cave mapped in this study. that the upper, dry level of the cave is at 19 m
amsl, and the lower level is at 13 m amsl.
We acquired and digitized a map of Briar Cave
from the caving community and produced The radial frequency polygon in Figure 3
ArcView polygon shapefiles consisting of the shows a dominant fracture peak at an azimuth
entrance region, the upper level, and the lower of 200º and a sub-dominant peak at 140º.
level. We used fracture-trace data recorded Sinkhole overlays and of other local caves
during our field work from 37 passages known (such as Hitch Hiker’s Cave and Scott Springs)
to be influenced by fractures to produce a line shows alignments consistent with these direc-
shapefile. Attributes for each fracture included tions (Figure 4).
the azimuth and length. Additional GIS data
collected from various sources include: geo- Based on lithologic data from core-logs from
graphic and topographic data for Florida and nearby wells, Briar Cave has formed within
Marion County; UFA potentiometric surface the lower Ocala Limestone (Figure 5). It is
contours for 2000; and sinkhole data for Cen- likely that Briar Cave has developed within
tral Florida from the Florida Geological Sur- units of higher reported porosity (greater than
vey. 10%) whereas solutionally enlarged fractures
penetrate all limestone units including those
We constructed a radial frequency polygon of of lower porosity (less than 10%). The en-
fracture data using a 20º bin range. We also trance sink has formed near the intersection
produced overlays of sinkhole data and loca- of the Hawthorn Formation and the Ocala
tions of Briar Cave and other karst features. Group (25 m).
From these overlays, we identified visual lin-
eations of the sinkhole data. DISCUSSION

We acquired on-line lithologic data from core Data from the cave survey and fracture analy-
logs available from the Florida Geological Sur- sis shows that orientations of conduits in Briar
vey for several local drilled wells. Only a few Cave is controlled by a sub-orthogonal joint
Karst Studies in West Central Florida Briar Cave. 13

Figure 2: Section of Briar Cave mapped during this study.

14 Briar Cave Karst Studies in West Central Florida

pattern of 200º and 140º and a sub-dominant

fracture trend of 180º (Figure 3). These frac-
ture patterns are common throughout the
Florida peninsula (Palmer, 2002; Lane, 1986;
Littlefield et al., 1984).

Sinkhole overlays (Figure 4) suggest the pres-

ence of several areas of sinkhole alignments
indicating preferential dissolution along linea-
ments. These overlays, combined with loca-
tion and map data for several other caves and
karst features close to Briar Cave, imply that
such a feature oriented at 200º may exist in
the study area.

Care must be used when delineating linea-

ments using surface data such as sinkholes.
These data can identify only the presence of
a “photolinear” whose genesis must be deter-
mined by other techniques. Certain geophysi-
cal methods may be of use in these studies.
The technique outlined in this paper utilizing
in-cave data is more definitive of the local Figure 4: Sinkhole overlay with Briar Cave and other
trends of fractures in the study area. Dissolu- karst features. Stippled bands indicate possible linea-
tion along these trends can be expected to ments.
control the transmissivity structure of the UFA

Figure 3: (Left) Map of Briar Cave (after Anderson and Krause). (center) Frequency data for fractures. (Right)
Radial frequency polygon of fracture data.
Karst Studies in West Central Florida Briar Cave 15

and is the likely source of identified Conduits in Briar Cave exhibit a bimodal dis-
photolinears. tribution of elevations (Figure 2). Such con-
duit distributions commonly reflect changes in
Passage morphologies in Briar Cave are com- regional hydrogeology (Florea, 2001). In Briar
plex, but display low height-to-width ratios typi- Cave, this would suggest that the phreatic sur-
cal of lateral mixing-zone environments face was at one time at an elevation of 19 m
(Mylroie and Carew, 1990). Such mixing would instead of its present position of 13 m. The
occur when meteoric recharge from the sur- cause of this is unclear, but could be a result
face reaches the phreatic surface of the Up- of glacio-eustatic changes in sea-level. Caves
per Floridan Aquifer. This recharge could be formed in mixing zones in young carbonates
expected to enter the system preferentially on many carbonate islands have been linked
through fractures. to this process (Mylroie and Carew, 1990).

Figure 5: Stratigraphic profile between wells W-11943 and W-1934. This passes just south of the Briar Cave site.
The shaded regions represent zones of higher porosity. The wavy line at the top represent the surface topogra-
phy. The vertical exaggeration is 250.
16 Briar Cave Karst Studies in West Central Florida

Higher porosity zones, which likely equate to

higher permeability grainstones, from data in
core logs may or may not correlate to conduit
levels in Briar Cave. Additional data, with this
specific purpose in mind, will be necessary to
show any connection. It is likely, however, that
stratigraphic control does influence conduit
morphology. Results from Budd and Vacher
(2002) reveal the importance of high-perme-
ability facies within the limestones of the UFA
to the south of our study area. It is possible
that the phreatic surface in the unconfined UFA
has sought out these facies. The combina-
tion of higher permeability and mixing-zone
processes can be expected to greatly enhance
the potential for lateral dissolution.

We suspect that selective dissolution of frac-

tures orientated at 200º and dissolution in high-
permeability zones within the lower Ocala
Limestone have resulted in the development
of this extensive conduit system. We also sus-
pect that changes in base level have left the
upper level of this cave in the vadose zone.
The conceptual model presented in Figure 6
shows our present interpretation of the devel-
opment of Briar Cave. It is a visual interpreta-
tion of the statement, “fractures control the
orientation of conduit systems and matrix prop-
erties control the overall morphology.” This
model needs further investigation through
more detailed geologic profiling and hydrologic
property testing.

Karst and groundwater resources in the Ocala

area, like in much of Florida, are being greatly
stressed by the impacts of human develop-
ment. The potentiometic surface of the UFA
near Ocala has dropped since the mid-1960’s
and has been documented by cavers visiting
Briar Cave (Krause, 1990). The land surround-
ing Briar Cave has become urbanized in the
past 10 years, and recent zoning changes for
the property including the cave have opened
the way for development. Though efforts of
Figure 6: Conceptual model for the formaiton of Briar
Cave. “A” represents the matrix of the Upper Floridan
Aquifer. In “B” recharge through fractures mixes with
water at the potentiometric surface enhancing dissolu-
tion at this interface in a high permeability unit. In “C”
the elevation of the potentiometric surface drops to the
next high permeability unit. Fractures between are
solutionally widened.
Karst Studies in West Central Florida
cavers and cave scientists have secured the
land immediately over the cave as
greenspace, effects within the cave will be
unavoidable. The results of this study lead us
to predict that more conduits exist beyond the
limits of the known cave along the trend shown
in Figure 3. We also predict that pollutants
entering the UFA up-gradient of the cave will
impact the cave. Such impacts, in fact, have
been noticed by cavers over the past few years
as reports of “bad air” (low oxygen levels) in
Briar Cave. One possible explanation is or-
ganic depletion of oxygen due to increased
nitrate levels in the water.
CONCLUSIONS
Briar Cave, near Ocala in Marion County
Florida, has a bimodal distribution of conduit
elevations. Results from this study show that
the upper and lower conduit levels are hori-
zontal and have developed at 19 m and 13 m
above mean sea level. Orientations of con-
duits are controlled by a sub-orthogonal frac-
ture set with a principal axis of 200º and a
secondary axis of 140º, which can be expected
to reflect aquifer transmissivity structure.
Limeted lithologic data suggests variations
that may mean that conduit development fol-
lows variations in matrix permeabilities of the
host limestone. Historical evidence from cave
exploration has been witness to falling water
levels within the UFA. Stress upon the Floridan
Aquifer due to human encroachment requires
a better understanding of system wide behav-
ior.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We wish to thank Scott Purcell and Diane Wil-
son of Subsurface Evaluations, Inc.; Bill HEALY, H. G., 1975, Terraces and Shorelines
Birdsall and Bill Walker of the Florida Speleo- of Florida, Florida Geological Survey Map
logical Survey; and Alan Baker at the Florida Series 71.
Geological Survey.
Briar Cave 17
REFERENCES
BRINKMANN, R., REEDER, P., 1994, The
Influence of Sea-Level Change and Geologic
Structure on Cave Development in West-
Central Florida, Physical Geography, vol. 15,
no. 1, pp. 52-61.
BUDD, D. A., VACHER, H. L., 2002, Facies
Control on Matrix Permeability in the Upper
Floridan Aquifer, West-Central Florida: Im-
plications to Diffuse Flow, in Hydrogeology
and Biology of Post Paleozoic Karst Aqui-
fers (Martin, J. B., Wicks, C. M., Sasowsky,
I. D., eds.), Karst Frontiers, Proceedings of
the Karst Waters Institute Symposium, pp.
14-24.
COPELAND, R., 1991, Florida’s Ground Wa-
ter Quality Monitoring Program:
Hydrogeologic Framework, Florida Geologi-
cal Survey Special Publication no. 32 (T.
Scott, J. Lloyd, G. Maddox, eds.), Florida
Geological Survey, 97 pp.
FLOREA, L. J., 2001, Geomorphic Indica-
tors of Paleo-Environmental Conditions,
Wells Cave Kentucky, Geo2, vol. 12, no. 1-3,
p. 4-11.
GARMAN, K. M., 2002, Biodiversity Associ-
ated with Anoxic, Sulfidic Environments in
West Central Florida Cave Systems, in
Hydrogeology and Biology of Post Paleozoic
Karst Aquifers (Martin, J. B., Wicks, C. M.,
Sasowsky, I. D., eds.), Karst Frontiers, Pro-
ceedings of the Karst Waters Institute Sym-
posium, pp. 64-65.
18 Briar Cave Karst Studies in West Central Florida

JOHNSON, J. M., 1990, Briar Cave, a Chro- PALMER, A. N., 2002, Karst in Paleozoic
nology of Discovery, The Florida Speleolo- Rocks: How Does it Differ from Florida?, in
gist, Florida Speleologist Society, vol. 27, no.
Hydrogeology and Biology of Post Paleozoic
2, pp. 27-27. Karst Aquifers (Martin, J. B., Wicks, C. M.,
Sasowsky, I. D., eds.), Karst Frontiers, Pro-
JOHNSON, R. H., BUSH, P. W., 1988, Sum- ceedings of the Karst Waters Institute Sym-
mary of the Hydrology of the Floridan Aqui- posium, pp. 185-191.
fer System in Florida and in Parts of Geor-
gia, South Carolina, and Alabama, USGS PLUMMER, L. N., 1975, Mixing of Sea Wa-
Professional Paper 1403-A, 24pp. ter With Calcium Carbonate Ground Water,
Geological Society of America Memoir 142,
JONES, G. W., UPCHURCH, S. B., CHAM- pp. 219-236.
PION, K. M., 1996, Origin of Nitrate in Ground
Water Discharging from Rainbow Springs, SCHMIDT, W., SCOTT, T., M., 1984 Florida
Marion County, Florida, Southwest Florida Karst – Its Relationship to Geologic Struc-
Water Management District, 155 pp. ture and Stratigraphy, 1st Multidisciplinary
Conference on Sinkholes (B. F. Beck, ed),
KRAUSE, A., 1990, The Exploration of Briar pp. 11-16.
Cave, The Florida Speleologist, Florida Spe-
leological Society, vol. 27, no.2, p 29. SCOTT, T. M., MEANS, G. H., MEANS, R.
C., MEEGAN, R. P., 2002, First Magnitude
LANE, E., 1986, Karst in Florida, Florida Geo- Springs of Florida, Florida Geological Sur-
logical Survey, Special Publication no 29, vey, Open File Report no. 85, 138pp.
100pp.
VACHER, H. L., MYLROIE, J. E., 2002,
LITTLEFIELD, J. R., CULBRETH, M. A., Eogenetic Karst from the Perspective of an
UPCHURCH, S. B., STEWART, M. T., 1984, Equivalent Porous Medium, Carbonates and
Relationship of Modern Sinkhole Develop- Evaporates, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 182-196.
ment to Large-Scale Photolinear Features,
1st Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes WHITE, W. A., 1970, The Geomorphology
(B. F. Beck, ed), pp. 189-195. of the Floridan Peninsula: Florida Bureau of
Geology Bulletin 51.
MILLER, J. A., 1986, Hydrogeologic Frame-
work of the Floridan Aquifer System in Florida WHITE, W. B., 1988, Geomorphology and
and in Parts of Georgia, Alabama, and South Hydrology of Karst Terrains, Oxford Univer-
Carolina, USGS Professional Paper 1403- sity Press, 464 pp.
B, 91pp.
WHITE, W. B., 2002, Groundwater Flow in
MYLROIE, J. E. and CAREW, J. L., 1990, Karst, Matrix Flow and Conduit Flow With
The Flank Margin Model for Dissolution Cave Implications for the Floridan Aquifer, in
Development in Carbonate Platforms: Earth Hydrogeology and Biology of Post Paleozoic
Surface Processes and Landforms, v. 15, p. Karst Aquifers (Martin, J. B., Wicks, C. M.,
413-424. Sasowsky, I. D., eds.), Karst Frontiers, Pro-
Karst Studies in West Central Florida Briar Cave 19

ceedings of the Karst Waters Institute Sym-

posium, pp. 9-13.

WILSON, W. L., 2002, Conduit Morphology

and Hydrodynamics of the Floridan Aquifer:
Moving to the Next Level-Conduit Modeling,
in Hydrogeology and Biology of Post Paleo-
zoic Karst Aquifers (Martin, J. B., Wicks, C.
M., Sasowsky, I. D., eds.), Karst Frontiers,
Proceedings of the Karst Waters Institute
Symposium, pp. 5-8.