are affected by geothermal heat. These are caused to expand,
compressing the layers above. But the +4°C (39°F) stratum water
is already at its densest and virtually incompressible at this tem-
perature, so all it can do is to push out laterally, providing the
springs with their flow. This action explains how springs can
emerge from high mountain peaks at such cold temperatures,
where there would be insufficient local collection for a gravity
seepage.
Rain absorbs oxygen in its fall through the atmosphere. After
it enters the ground and percolates through the soil, plant roots
and organisms reduce its oxygen content. So when it eventually
emerges as a true spring, the water is often oxygen-deficient,
though rich in carbonic acid. It is dangerous to drink this water
directly from the spring, for being hungry for oxygen, the water
can steal it from susceptible organs, like the stomach, causing
great discomfort. If breathed directly, the carbonic acid can dam-
age the lungs. Known to mountain folk as 'damp-worm,' and by
miners as 'choke-damp' respectively, both can be fatal. However,
within ten metres of the source, the water has usually, through its
active movement, absorbed sufficient oxygen to be quite safe to
drink.How springwater rises
Viktor Schauberger designed an experiment to demonstrate how
groundwater rises during the day and recedes at night. The equip-
ment consists of a glass U-tube with open ends, one of which has
contact with the air only by two very fine capillary tubes, the other
end being open. Each arm is sealed off from the other by some
saltwater-saturated sand at the bottom of the U-tube. High grade
springwater with low oxygen content, and having had no contact
with strong light, is inserted into each arm. The U-tube is placed
in a soil-filled bucket, containing ice at the bottom to create an
artificial environment of +4°C (39°F) temperature.
When the bucket is put out in the Sun, a positive temperature
gradient is set up and, because there is greater contact with the
outside atmosphere, the water level can rise on the open end of
the U-tube. At night, when the temperature gradient decreases,
the water level rises on the side with the capillary tubes, falling on
the open side, and rising on the partially blocked side. (This
- THE FORMATION OF SPRINGS