Thinking and practice on the research direction of karst water in northern China

The carbonate aquifer in northern China is an important water resource of the country with large thickness and wide distribution. The karst water in this vast region has the functions in water resources，tourism and ecology. It plays an important role in the construction of national economy，especially in the construction of urban water supply and energy infrastructures. In the past 50 years，due to the influence of large-scale development and other high-intensity human activities，karst water environment problems in northern China have become prominent and brought a series of negative effects，which seriously restrict sustainable utilization of water resources. Under the background of ecological civilization construction vigorously advocated by the state，how to coordinate well the development of resources and environment in the northern karst areas is an issue that needs to rethought by the hydrogeological work industry. Starting from the national demand，this paper points out that the ecological reflow of cutoff karst springs，the pollution prevention and control of the acid "old kiln water" in closed coal mines，and the development and utilization of deep karst water and thermal resources should be taken as the key research directions of karst water in the future in northern China. At the same time，this paper briefly presents the results of investigations and research on these issues in recent years.