Abstract
Mineral and thermal waters are a special kind of ground-water, distinguished by specific chemical or physical properties such as higher mineralization, concentration of certain constituents, dissolved gas, radioactivity, or temperature. Hydrologically, they are a part of ground-water system. Mineral or thermal waters are usually connegted with specific and unique geological and tetuunic structure.. The classical territory of mineral and thermal waters is Europe, where these waters have been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times.
The development of spas and increased demands for mineral water for spa operation necessitated increased knowledge of spring structures and the development of optimal balneotechnical works. These problems are discussed on the examples of the Karlovy Vary Spa (Karlsbad) and Jàchymov Spa (St. Jachimstha) in W Bohemia. The location of mineral springs in the Karlovy Vary Spa, the largest spa in Czechoslovakia, in a highly urbanized area required a thorough investigation and unique methods for capturing thermal water at a greater depth to provide a steady supply of thermal water and to protect the springs against pollution from the surface. The Jachymov radioactive thermal springs, which were accidentally discovered in a deep, subsurface uranium mine, present a unique problem of protecting the stability of spring's regime in a mining environment.
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Laboutka, M., Vylita, B. Mineral and thermal waters of Western Bohemia. GeoJournal 7, 403–411 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00194487
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00194487