VADOSE SPRINGS

VADOSE SPRINGS (from Latin vadōsus - very fine, shallow), a name that combines all sources (i.e., natural outlets of underground waters to the earth's surface) that discharge vadose waters, i.e., underground waters formed from atmospheric precipitation and waters that have penetrated to greater or lesser depths of the earth's crust from the surface. V. s. are contrasted with juvenile sources, which discharge to the earth's surface waters that have been released from molten masses (magma) in the depths of the earth's crust. Some mineral sources (see) associated with volcanic foci can be classified as juvenile. It should be noted, however, that juvenile waters in their pure form rarely reach the earth's surface (i.e., in the form of sources). In most cases, at one depth or another, they mix with vadose waters, so that ultimately sources consisting of mixed water are formed. The overwhelming majority of sources (both mineral and so-called fresh) belong to vadose or mixed types. The different origins of vadose and juvenile waters are reflected to some extent in their chemical character, which is important in balneology (see). Vadose waters contain dissolved substances from the surface parts of the earth's crust, while juvenile waters may contain substances that are usually absent or rare in the surface zone. The temperature of V. s. depends on local climatic and soil conditions and is usually not high (in contrast to juvenile waters). However, warm and even hot V. s. are known, ascending from great depths or having acquired a high temperature from proximity to volcanic masses.