Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : The present study addresses the question of increasing need in water supply. One line of research consists in investigating karst aquifers that represent significant water supplies for the areas around the Mediterranean. This work aims at developing a methodology of predictive evaluation of karst distribution and karst thickness within the carbonate massifs. It is based on the study of the Tethysian carbonate platform from the area of Montpellier, South of France. This area underwent a polyphased, complex, tectonic evolution, involving successive karst forming events. The approach is based on the relationships between eustacy and geodynamics, on one hand, and base-level variation recorded within palaeokarsts, on the other hand. Sedimentary fill of palaeokarsts allows to identify distinct karstification phases and sometimes to date them. It is a marker of base-level variations, which we attempt to quantify, that is responsible for karst formation and karst filling and sealing. For three palaeokarsts of regional extent, we analyze : karst sedimentary-fill, the distribution along upstream-downstream profile, the vertical extension of palaeokarsts, indicative of the base-level lowering. - The " Bauxite palaeokarst " results from the two-stage evolution of the " Isthme Durancien " : i) Bauxitic weathering of the Neocomian cover over the southern Massif Central , related to an inversion during Barremian ; ii) ≥1600 m uplift and exhumation during Aptian-Albian, inducing erosion of alterites, upstream, and deposition of detrital bauxites, downstream. - The " Early Paleocene palaeokarsts with marine sedimentary-fill " indicate base level variations of more than 350m in the upstream area. It is suggested here that such base-level variations, exceeding eustacy and recorded in tabular undeformed series, result from desiccation-flooding events in an endoreic silled basin. - The " Miocene palaeokarst with Cevennes-sourced sediment-fill " records a Serravalian-Tortonian base-level drop, depicted by canyon incision in the hinterland of the Gulf of Lion Margin. Uplift values of ≥ 400m upstream, about 250m in an intermediate area and 10's of m downstream, are measured. The present 3D geometry and distribution of carbonate massifs (exposed and covered) are modeled in the study area, from the Cevennes to the Mediterranean. The 3D geological model integrates seismic reflection, borehole and gravimetric data. Tectonic restoration of a N-S section, extracted from the 3D model, allows to reconstruct paleo-base-levels with respect with the carbonate massifs, at different stages of deformation and successive phases of karstification. The 3D paleo-flows through carbonates across the study area, are thus constrained, especially during the Messinian desiccation stage. Application of the results to hydrogeology leads to the following : - Uplift of upstream hinterland (Cretaceous, Miocene) produces large amplitude karsts, but they do not make significant reservoirs. - Karstification responsible for the development of important and deep karst reservoirs is related to desiccation of endoreic basins (early Paleocene and Messinian). - Theses two events have produced two main deep karst reservoirs, with a gravimetric signature : (1) Upstream of Montpellier Thrust, between Pic St Loup, Les Matelles Fault and Hérault Basin, a deep karsts developed over 900m thickness in the Malm limestone, during Paleocene. (2) Downstream (south) of Montpellier Thrust, the coastal karsts extend offshore over more than 10km, they are sealed by a thick Miocene to Quaternary cover, and they result from the Messinian event.
Cette étude s'inscrit dans un contexte de demande croissante en ressources en eau, conduisant à mieux contraindre et estimer la distribution des aquifères karstifiés qui représentent une ressource importante, notamment sur le pourtour méditerranéen. Le but de ce travail est d'élaborer une méthode prédictive de la distribution de la karstification et de l'épaisseur de massifs carbonatés karstifiés, notamment pour les karsts profonds. La méthodologie est développée à partir de l'étude des karsts de la plateforme carbonatée téthysienne du Languedoc montpelliérain; région qui a subi une histoire tectonique complexe et polyphasée, entrainant des phases de karstification successives. Elle est basée sur la compréhension des relations entre eustatisme, géodynamique et niveau de base, enregistrées par les paléokarsts de la région. Le remplissage sédimentaire des paléokarsts permet d'identifier les épisodes de karstification et de les dater ; c'est un marqueur des variations -que l'on cherche à quantifier- du niveau de base local responsable de la formation et du comblement des karsts. On analyse 3 paléokarsts d'extension régionale dont on peut étudier : le remplissage karstique, la distribution le long de profils amont-aval et l'extension verticale indicatrice de l'amplitude de l'abaissement du niveau de base dont il est issu. On en déduit les causes géodynamiques à l'origine de leur formation: - Le " paléokarst des bauxites " à remplissage caractéristique, résulte de l'évolution en 2 phases de " l'Isthme Durancien " : altération bauxitique de la couverture néocomienne sur le sud du Massif Central, liée à une inversion au Barrémien, suivi d'une surrection ≥ 1600m à l'Aptien-Albien, causant l'érosion des altérites en amont et le dépôt des bauxites détritiques en aval. - Le " paléokarst à remplissage marin paléocène inférieur " indique des variations du niveau de base local ≥350m dans la zone amont sud-cévenole. On propose que ces variations de niveau de base d'amplitude très supérieures aux variations eustatiques et dans une zone faiblement déformée, résultent d'assèchements et d'ennoiements d'un bassin endoréique à seuil. - Le " paléokarst à remplissage détritique d'origine cévenole ", enregistre la chute du niveau de base au Serravalien-Tortonien, qui se traduit par l'incision de canyons dans l'arrière-pays de la marge du Golfe du Lion. On détermine une surrection de plus de 400 mètres à l'amont, près de 250m dans les blocs faillés intermédiaires et quelques dizaines de mètres dans la zone avale. En parallèle, on établit la géométrie et la distribution actuelles des massifs carbonatés dans la zone d'étude (y compris sous couverture), en construisant un modèle géologique 3D, des Cévennes à la Méditerranée. On intègre les données de sismique réflexion, de forages et les données gravimétriques. La restauration tectonique séquentielle d'une coupe Nord-Sud extraite du modèle géologique permet d'appréhender la position des paléo-niveaux de base par rapport aux massifs carbonatés, pour chaque époque de karstification. On déduit l'organisation 3D des paléo-écoulements à travers la géométrie complexe des massifs carbonatés languedociens, notamment pendant l'évènement messinien. En terme d'évaluation de la ressource en eau, on déduit que: - Les surrections de l'arrière-pays (Crétacé " moyen ", Miocène) produisent des karsts de grande amplitude, mais ne constituent pas de réservoirs significatifs. - La karstification à l'origine de réservoirs exploitables importants et profonds est créée par l'assèchement de bassins endoréiques, qui ont affecté la région au Paléocène inférieur et au Messinien . - Ces deux évènements sont à l'origine de deux principaux réservoirs karstiques profonds qui ont une signature gravimétrique : (1) En amont du chevauchement de Montpellier, entre le Pic Saint Loup, la faille des Matelles et le bassin de l'Hérault, le karst profond se développe sur une épaisseur atteignant 900m, et est attribuée à l'événement du Paléocène. (2) Au Sud du chevauchement de Montpellier les karsts côtiers s'étendent jusqu'à plus de 10 km au large, scellés par une épaisse couverture Miocène et Plio-Quaternaire, et résultent de l'événement Messinien.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00936257

tel-00936257
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00936257
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00936257/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00936257/file/thA_se_husson_couleurs.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Thai Society of Higher Education Institutes on Environment
Résumé : International audience
Due to the high level of endemic species that they support and the high threats they are facing, such as unsustainable limestone quarrying, hunting and urbanization, limestone karsts are recognized as biodiversity hotspots needing urgent protection. The first aim of our study was to investigate the mammal rodent diversity of Thai limestone karsts. Our second aim was to examine the diversity at a finer scale than the species level (intraspecific biodiversity) using phylogeographic approaches. Therefore, we studied the phylogeographic structure of a threatened rodent, endemic to limestone karsts of Thailand, the Murinae Leopoldamys neilli. We sampled 76 limestone karsts in whole Thailand and live-trapped 444 rodents including 115 Leopoldamys neilli. Our study revealed an important rodent diversity in Thai limestone karsts. Besides endemic rodent species, karsts also host typical forest species to which they provide forest refugia in deforested regions. At the intraspecific level, our study revealed an unexpected high level of genetic differentiation within the rodent species L. neilli. As each limestone area of Thailand is characterized by a particular genetic lineage of L. neilli, the destruction of these karsts would lead to the disappearance of unique intraspecific strains not found elsewhere. Our results highlight the importance of protecting limestone habitats to preserve not only their interspecific but also intraspecific rodent diversity that is highly threatened as more than 20% of limestone karsts in Thailand have already been quarried. Management plans of limestone, a non-renewable resource, should urgently take into account this high biological importance of karsts.
The 1st EnvironmentAsia International Conference on "Environmental Supporting in Food and Energy Security: Crisis and Opportunity"
Bangkok, Thailand

ird-00714455
http://hal.ird.fr/ird-00714455
http://hal.ird.fr/ird-00714455/document
IRD : fdi:010056152

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Karstic aquifers represent the most important fresh water reservoirs in many regions of the world like the Mediterranean Basin. However, because of complex processes of karstification, those aquifers are highly heterogeneous at all spatial scales and vulnerable to contamination. In this dissertation, we studied the potential of gravimetry and ambient seismic noise for hydrological modeling in karstic areas.The dolomitic area surrounding the “GEK” observatory in the Durzon catchment on the Larzac plateau, in France, is the preferred site for these studies. Inside the observatory, a superconducting gravimeter dedicated to hydrology has continuously measured gravity changes since 2011 with high precision, undertaken for the first time on a karst. From this gravity monitoring, we made conceptual hydrological models which laid the foundation of 1-D flow physical models. Indeed, gravimetry is an integrative hydro-geophysical method which allows 1) to consider the epikarst, locally heterogeneous as an equivalent tabular medium and 2) to define the types of transfer (fast & slow) occurring at the site. Especially, the lack of fast transfer through the GEK epikarst was precisely quantified for the first time at the field scale (~100m). Gravity-driven water mass balance with local meteorological data (evapotranspiration from a flux tower and precipitation) allowed setting the bottom outlet of the model to 1 mm.day-1. This flow has proved to be representative of the low-flow discharge at the only spring which represents all groundwater outflows from the catchment. This result supposes the homogeneity of the dolomitic epikarst almost at the basin scale. Model parameters were next calibrated using one year of ambient seismic noise monitored at two stations. Phase velocity changes obtained by cross-correlating the noise between 6 and 8 Hz were used as a ”timer” to follow the water infiltration between a depth of 30 and 60 meters. Thus, monitoring seismic velocity changes using ambient seismic noise demonstrates great potential for the study of deep and complex critical zones and could fill the instrumental gap currently existing in hydrology.Time-lapse gravity measurements with a spring-based portable gravimeter have also demonstrated the different behavior of two epikarsts and their variability at the scale of a few hundred meters. Monthly measurements around the observatory revealed the spatial homogeneity of this dolomitic epikarst: all the stations showed the same water storage changes. On the contrary, seasonal surface to depth gravity measurements along the underground passage of the Saint-Ferréol sinkhole, in limestone, have shown fast transfer and strong spatial variability of water storage. Lithology is then expected to play a part in the epikarst capacity to retain water. The precision needed to measure the weak hydrological induced signals during those surveys required robust methodology and an ambient temperature effect on measurements with spring-based gravimeter was observed in the field and quantified in the laboratory.
Les aquifères karstiques représentent des ressources en eau essentielles dans de nombreuses régions du monde comme le bassin Méditerranéen. Cependant, de par les processus complexes de karstification, ces aquifères sont hétérogènes à de nombreuses échelles et vulnérables. Dans cette thèse, nous étudions le potentiel de la gravimétrie et du bruit sismique ambiant pour la modélisation hydrologique en milieu karstique.Le site dolomitique de l’observatoire « GEK », sur le bassin du Durzon dans le Larzac, est le site d’étude privilégié de ces travaux. Dans l’observatoire, un gravimètre supraconducteur dédié à l’hydrologie mesure depuis 2011 les variations de gravité en continu et à une très haute précision, pour la première fois sur un karst. Des modèles hydrologiques conceptuels ont été réalisés à partir de cette surveillance gravimétrique et ont permis de poser les bases de modèles physiques d’écoulements 1-D. En effet la gravimétrie, intégratrice, permet 1) de considérer l’épikarst localement hétérogène comme un milieu tabulaire équivalent et 2) de définir les types de transfert à l’œuvre sur le site. En particulier, l’absence de transfert rapide dans l’épikarst a été quantifiée avec précision pour la première fois à l’échelle du terrain (~100m). A l’aide de données météorologiques locales, un bilan de masse précis a permis de définir le flux en limite inférieure du modèle à 1 mm.jour-1. Ce flux s’est montré représentatif du débit de basses-eaux de la source drainant l’ensemble du bassin. Ce résultat suppose une homogénéité de l’épikarst dolomitique quasiment à l’échelle du bassin. Les paramètres des modèles physiques ont ensuite pu être calibrés à l’aide d’un an d’intercorrélation du bruit sismique ambiant entre deux stations. Les variations de vitesses de phase obtenues entre 6 et 8Hz nous ont servi de « chronomètre » pour suivre l’infiltration entre 30 et 60m de profondeur. La surveillance passive des variations de vitesses sismiques par intercorrélation du bruit sismique ambiant montre ainsi un fort potentiel pour l’étude des zones critiques profondes et complexes à l’échelle du terrain et peut combler la lacune instrumentale qui existe actuellement en hydrologie.Des campagnes répétées de mesures avec un gravimètre portable à ressort ont également mis en évidence le fonctionnement différent de deux épikarsts et leur variabilité à l’échelle de la centaine de mètres. Des mesures mensuelles autour de l’observatoire ont mis en évidence l’homogénéité spatiale de cet épikarst dolomitique : toutes les stations ont les mêmes variations temporelles de stock d’eau. Au contraire, des mesures saisonnières en surface et en profondeur le long de la galerie souterraine calcaire de l’abîme de Saint-Ferréol ont montré une variabilité spatiale forte du stockage ainsi que du transfert rapide. La lithologie de l’épikarst est donc suspectée de jouer un rôle dans sa capacité de stockage. Lors de ces campagnes, la faiblesse du signal recherché a nécessité une méthodologie précautionneuse et un effet de température sur les mesures des gravimètres relatifs à ressort a été observé sur le terrain et quantifié en laboratoire.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01649606

NNT : 2016MONTT128
tel-01649606
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01649606
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01649606/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01649606/file/2016_FORES_archivage.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Taylor & Francis
Résumé : The Latest Cretaceous/Paleocene paleokarsts from Bas-Languedoc (South of France) are characterized by : 1) exokarstic paleosurfaces (sink holes, pinnacles, canyons) which are mostly superimposed onto the Late Jurassic limestones and partly filled up with breccias and sandy clays containing Paleocene planktonic foraminifera; 2) endokarstic cavities filled up by sandy pelites and laminated mudstones with similar micropaleontological assemblage. All these cavities constitute three cut-and-filled paleokarstic systems. A general model of formation for this polyphase system is proposed. These paleosurfaces are generated by a Latest Cretaceous tectonic phase and Paleocene movements associated with eustatic rises inducing rapid floodings. During Upper Danian-Lower Selandian times three successive base levels drops, whose cumulated duration could be as long as 3 Ma, have induced several hundred metres of incisions within the exposed Jurassic carbonate series. A paleogeographic reconstruction shows three main marine gulfs which extend towards NE the EW Pyrenean thrust belt ("Pyrenean Paleocene Trough", PPT) located on the axis of the future Pyrenees. The similarity of the facies and micropaleontological content in the two domains suggests connexions between the marine Paleocene deposits of Bas-Languedoc and the PPT. It could thus explain the succession of the same tectono-eustatic events. We propose, as an hypothesis, that the rapid sea-level changes, as recorded by the imbricated karstic paleomorphologies, could be induced by the closing and the opening of a strait in the Eastern part of the PPT acting as a sill. This would be controlled by tectonic movements along the active orogenic axis of the Pyrenean Range and eustatic variations of the Paleocene World Ocean. The karstic systems developed during these low-stand episodes may have been later reactivated after the Early Selandian and more specifically during the Messinian desiccation event. This late evolution may have generated deep flooded karsts, now situated below the present sea level. Such karsts, partly inherited from Paleocene, could be important aquifers of economic interest.
ISSN: 0985-3111

hal-00407601
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407601
DOI : 10.3166/ga.20.301-326

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Karst systems are the most important groundwater reservoirs in Mediterranean area. Beyond saturated zone, unsaturated zone constitute an entity where water storage and transfer play a major role in a global behavior of spring water. This structure and functioning are complex and not well known because of the high heterogeneity created and organized by groundwater flow. In this study, we used gravimetric and hydrogeologic method to directly observe and quantify water storage and transfer processes in unsaturated zone of karst system. Surface to depth gravity measurements on several karst system allow quantifying seasonal water storage changes in unsaturated zone. We show that these variations occur in the first tens meters of unsaturated zone. Furthermore, water storage capacity of unsaturated zone seems to be influenced by lithology (limestone or dolomite). Finally, direct observations of water flow in unsaturated zone are done using caves access. We show that some characteristics of unsaturated water flow such as bipolar slow-fast flow can be widespread for whatever depth of measurement and recharge area. Model of this flow, using a simple modeling scheme, show the complexity of water transfer processes in unsaturated zone of karst system.
Les aquifères karstiques constituent l'essentiel des ressources en eau du pourtour Méditerranéen. Au-delà de la zone saturée de ces systèmes, la zone non saturée constitue une entité importante quant au transfert et au stockage temporaire de l'eau. La structure et le fonctionnement de cette entité du karst sont complexes et mal connus à cause du processus de karstification qui hiérarchise la circulation hydrodynamique en son sein. Dans cette étude nous utilisons des méthodes géodésiques et hydrogéologiques afin d'observer de façon directe et de quantifier les processus de transfert et de stockage de la zone non saturée. Les mesures gravimétriques en surface et profondeur sur différents systèmes karstiques ont permis de quantifier les variations du stockage en eau saisonnier dans la zone non saturée. La gravimétrie différentielle montre que ces variations sont réparties dans les quelques premiers mètres de la zone non saturée. Il semble, de plus, que la capacité de stockage de la zone non saturée soit fonction de la lithologie de l'encaissant (calcaire et dolomie). Enfin, des observations directes du flux d'eau en zone non saturée ont été effectuées par le biais de mesures dans différentes cavités. Nous montrons que certaines caractéristiques du flux d'eau en zone non saturée, comme la présence d'un flux bipolaire lent-rapide, peuvent être généralisées quelque soit la profondeur de mesure et la surface d'impluvium. La modélisation de ce flux, à partir d'un schéma simple, a montré la complexité des processus de transfert engendrés au sein de la zone non saturée.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00829346

tel-00829346
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00829346
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00829346/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00829346/file/manuscrit_deville_finish.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We present in this study the first data on Ra isotopes, 222Rn, and 210Pb in waters from the Lez karst system, one of the main ground-water resources in the South of France. The low Ra isotope activities of the Lez system waters (from 0.35 to 3.45 mBq/L of 226Ra) were measured by gamma spectrometry using the method developed in our previous work. Our data reveal the coherent behavior of 226Ra in Lez spring waters, well correlated to other major and trace elements, like Cl, Na, K, Mg, Li, Rb and Ba. The (228Ra/226Ra) ratios are distinct between the Lez spring (0.60 to 0.72) and two neighboring springs (0.52 to 0.65), showing the spatial variability in karst systems. In spite of their small variations in the Lez spring, it was possible to trace different water components and mixing processes from Lower-Cretaceous, Upper-Jurassic and Middle Jurassic end-members, in agreement with previous studies based on major and trace elements. Data obtained on waters derived from the Upper-Jurassic karst reveal that their (228Ra/226Ra) ratios are not related to the Th/U ratio of the Jurassic limestone, but are rather influenced by the soil and alterite cover of the recharge area.222Rn activities in the Lez spring are relatively low (0.5 to 3.7 Bq/L) compared to other karst regions. The highest 222Rn activities are found in diluted waters following heavy rainfall episodes, suggesting a subsurface origin of Rn. Soil and alterite samples that have much higher 226Ra activities (from 51 to 130 Bq/kg), compared to those from the main aquifer rocks (from 2.9 to 16 Bq/kg), are probably the main source of Rn, rather than the rocks of the karst itself. The study of several flood episodes reveals the correlation between Rn peak-values or total activity discharged at the spring with cumulative rainfall. Finally, 222Rn dissolved in water decays to 210Pb, and our data show that constraints on transfer times of underground waters can potentially be obtained from their coupled measurement.
ISSN: 0009-2541

hal-01622749
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01622749
DOI : 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2017.06.022

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Société géologique de France
Résumé : The Mesozoic series of the southern units of the Pyrenean Empordà thrust sheets (Montgrí and Figueres nappes, Catalonia, Spain) were finally emplaced over the autochthonous basement and its Cenozoic cover during Eocene times. However, they have originally been folded by the "Laramian" compressional event (Late Cretaceous/Early Paleocene), while they were still in their root zone more than 50 km to the N-NE. Postdating the Santonian, the emersion of the Cretaceous tectorogen induced karst formation at the expense of Berriasian to Santonian limestone sequences. Karst cavities of this paleokarst 1 (lapiaz and canyons) were subsequently coated with a fine, red or black, Microcodium-bearing, continental silt, and infilled with marine chaotic breccias. Following a new episode of emersion then erosion, the original paleokarst 1 was cross-cut by newly formed cavities of the paleokarst 2, filled with Lutetian-Bartonian marine breccias. Both types of marine breccias (Paleocene then Eocene in age) are now relatively well dated by means of planktonic foraminifera (Globigerinacea) occurring within the argillaceous-sandy matrix, and for the older ones, within the argillaceous-sandy or carbonate, finely laminated, interbedded hemipelagites, that mark the top of marine sequences tens of centimetres thick. The relationships of the "Laramian" and "Pyrenean" compressional tectonic events, occurring from latest Cretaceous to Bartonian, with the development of paleokarsts 1 and 2 are analysed in the perspective of the progressive southwards emplacement of the Montgrí thrust sheet, during Eocene time.
EISSN: 1777-5817

hal-00405328
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00405328
DOI : 10.2113/gssgfbull.178.1.15

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Society of Exploration Geophysicists
Résumé : Read More: http://library.seg.org/doi/10.1190/geo2015-0411.1
International audience
Understanding the role of the unsaturated zone in aquifer recharge and contaminant attenuation processes is a major challenge for the protection and management of karstic water resources. We present the potential of the magnetic resonance soundings (MRS) geophysical method for characterizing the vadose zone of karst aquifers composed of epikarst and infiltration layers. To investigate the hydraulic functioning of the Durzon karst system located on the Larzac plateau (southern France), we used the MRS method at 16 sites. The MRS results have been compared with available geologic information and to core water content measurements. The remarkable spatial variability of the MRS response observed in the study area makes it possible to determine ranges of water storage properties in relation to the lithology of the investigated carbonate formations (dolomite, marly, and siliceous limestone). All soundings found either constant or increasing MRS water content with depth, which demonstrates that the infiltration zone might be the major water storage entity for permanent water storage, with important consequences for recharge quality and quantity. These results show the feasibility and potential of the MRS method for the characterization of the karst unsaturated zone and for understanding the vertical distribution of water content, which impacts the overall functioning of karst systems.Read More: http://library.seg.org/doi/10.1190/geo2015-0411.1
ISSN: 0016-8033

hal-01412654
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01412654
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01412654/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01412654/file/mazilli2016.pdf
DOI : 10.1190/GEO2015-0411.1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
An original karstic system in a coastal alluvial plain located in a carbonate environment (Cassis, Provence -- SE France) was studied using a multi-method approach (electrical resistivity tomography, gravimetric, passive seismic survey), combined with geomorphologic methods, surface observations and drilling. Limestone dissolution and/or cavity collapse led to the development of a polje, which was filled rapidly by erosion of Aptian marls. The combination of several dating and paleoenvironmental proxies indicates that the polje was filled during a glacial period (MIS 6, 8 or 10, i.e. in the 130-360 ka age range). This discovery has implications for the understanding of karst processes. The connection between the polje and the three km-long Bestouan underwater karstic conduit with submarine outlet is strongly suggested by sedimentological studies and geophysical prospections.
ISSN: 0169-555X

hal-01054334
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01054334
DOI : 10.1016/j.geomorph.2014.02.021

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The behaviour of the four Ra isotopes (measured by gamma spectrometry) and 222Rn (measured with an AlphaGUARD ionisation chamber) has been investigated in NaCl-rich thermal waters of Balaruc-les-Bains on the Mediterranean coast (South of France). This study allows identification of the deep thermal water signature and reveals the influence of seawater or karst water inflows on Ra isotopes and 222Rn. The deep thermal water has 226Ra and 222Rn activities of 840 and 1900 mBq/l, respectively, a (228Ra/226Ra) activity ratio of 0.59, and low (224Ra/228Ra) and (223Ra/226Ra) ratios of 0.67 and 0.025, respectively. Several arguments suggest a dominant role of radioactive decay for short-lived Ra isotopes and Rn during the relatively rapid ascent of thermal water through wide open fractures and drains. The low (223Ra/226Ra) ratio constrains the maximum ascent velocity of thermal water to 8-10 m/h. Seawater inflow into the hydrothermal system results in an enrichment in short-lived Ra isotopes and 222Rn. The high (223Ra/226Ra) ratio (0.23) suggests that 223Ra, 224Ra and 222Rn produced by alpha-recoil in the upper-Jurassic limestone are entrained by seawater percolation through the coastal basement, due to active pumping in one of the near shore production well. This process would be enhanced by a low water/rock ratio (i.e. in a low-porosity, micro-fractured limestone). Mixing of this enriched seawater with thermal water induces barite precipitation with co-precipitation of a large fraction of Ra. Short-lived Ra isotopes may thus be useful tracers of seawater flux towards the continent. Conversely, the inflow and mixing of karst groundwater result in a general dilution of all dissolved elements, only a small enrichment in 224Ra and 223Ra, but a large enrichment in 222Rn (up to 26 Bq/l). The combination of Ra isotopes and 222Rn data provides a good way to trace the dynamics of different water masses along coastal areas.
ISSN: 0016-7037

hal-00795512
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00795512
DOI : 10.1016/j.gca.2012.09.010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
A new portable sampling system was developed to extract Radium isotopes from large volumes (up to 300 L) of fresh surface- and ground-waters of low Ra-activities (<5 mBq/L). Ra is quantitatively adsorbed on a small amount (6.5 g) of MnO2-coated acrylic fibers, which are then dried and burned at 600 °C in the laboratory. The resulting Mn-oxide powder (about 2 cm3 when compacted) is then analyzed through gamma-ray spectrometry which allows measurement of the whole Ra quartet (226Ra, 228Ra, 224Ra and 223Ra) in a single counting of a few days. The usual relative standard combined uncertainties (1σ) are 2–3% for 226Ra, 228Ra and 224Ra; and less than 10% for 223Ra. This method was applied to the analysis of Ra in karstic waters of the Lez aquifer, and surface- and ground-waters of the upper and middle Vidourle watershed (South of France). The analyzed waters have relatively low 226Ra activities (1–4 mBq/L) in both cases, regardless of the contrasted geology (Mesozoic limestone vs crystalline Variscan basement), but clearly distinct (228Ra/226Ra) ratios in agreement with the differences in Th/U ratios of the two drained areas. Short-lived Ra isotopes (224Ra and 223Ra) appear to be mainly influenced by near-surface desorption/recoil processes for most of the sampling sites.
ISSN: 0969-8043

hal-01491281
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01491281
DOI : 10.1016/j.apradiso.2016.12.010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : A detailed and integrated geologic–hydraulic–geophysical–geochemical study of groundwater flow in the near-vicinity of a borehole drilled into fractured and karstified limestone demonstrates the power of such an integrated approach in localising and characterising preferential groundwater flow pathways and ambient borehole flow. The study, conducted in the vicinity of a 100-m-deep research borehole on the island of Mallorca, achieves such characterisation on a scale from millimetres to tens of metres in scale. More specifically, it adds single packer and open-hole pumping test interpretations to the results obtained during fluid logging, impeller flowmeter testing, borehole imaging, core descriptions and an innovative fracture analysis. This approach allows the delineation of the main flowing features and showed that such features are directly or indirectly linked to karst phenomena. Understanding this complex flow system is critical for an appropriate assessment of groundwater resources and the design of sustainable groundwater production schemes.
ISSN: 1431-2174

hal-00404921
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00404921
DOI : 10.1007/s10040-006-0086-4