Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Institute of Physics
Résumé : International audience
In order to be able to provide valuable data in multiparameter measurement field operations, tiltmeters need to have a noise level better or equal than 10-9 rad for a period range from a few minutes to a few years and a long term stability ranging from 10-7 to 10-8 rad/yr. Tiltmeter measurements should also be as much as possible insensitive to thermal disturbances, by taking great care of the horizontality of the base line tube first. Secondly, thermal responses have been assessed. We also took great care of the coupling of our tiltmeters with the bedrock. We've designed a long base tiltmeter with sensors in silica which has a low dilatation coefficient. The linear variable displacement transducer is based on coil coupling (powered by an alternative voltage). Finally we show the results of two 100 m silica water tube tiltmeters which were installed in a mine in the French Vosges massif in the framework of a hydrology research project. These instruments show a remarkably good stability (6.5×10-9 rad/month) and a low noise level (of the order of 10-11 rad). Toroidal and spheroidal free modes of the Earth were observed after the two last major earthquakes on Sumatra.
ISSN: 0034-6748

hal-00708013
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00708013
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00708013/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00708013/file/2008_RSI.pdf
BIBCODE : 2008RScI...79c4502B

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Tilt fluctuations can potentially reflect the response of hydrosystems to important rainfall. In this context, long baseline tiltmeters have been installed in an underground tunnel penetrating the Fontaine de Vaucluse karst to study the medium deformation related to solicitations exerted by water infiltrating the hydrosystem. The instruments monitor the tilt as well as its spatial variation. Northward tilts reaching a 1 μrad amplitude are observed consecutively to rainfalls. The tilt amplitude is highly correlated with the Fontaine de Vaucluse outlet flow fluctuations. The measured tilt signal is also relatively homogeneous over a 150 m length. Different types of structure likely to produce such observations are tested in order to identify their location with respect to the tiltmeters, their dimension as well as the amount of water level variation in the structure. Following rainfalls, the infiltration of water modifies the pore pressure, inducing a medium deformation. The hypothesis of an homogeneous surface loading on the Vaucluse plateau is first refuted since the related tilt is much lower than the one measured. The water supplied by rainfalls has to accumulate in discontinuities in order to generate a higher tilt. So, the deformation related to a pressure exerted on a fracture filled by water is assessed. A first study reveals the interest of the tilt homogeneity information that constrains strongly the fracture properties. Thus, the fracture must be located at a distance more than a few hundreds metres from the tiltmeters in order to produce a tilt homogeneous in space. If the fracture is initially dry, it must also be filled on a height higher than 150 m consecutive to a rainfall in order to generate a tilt amplitude in the same magnitude as the one measured. Then, we explore the influence of water level variations on the tilt produced by a fracture located at the interface between the saturated and unsaturated zones, which are thereby permanently flooded. Since several parameters of that model satisfactorily explain the field observations, we discuss how simultaneous geodetical observations could provide complementary information that would further constrain the geometry of the structure at the origin of the medium deformation.
ISSN: 0956-540X

insu-01408482
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01408482
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01408482/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01408482/file/Lesparre-2017.pdf
DOI : 10.1093/gji/ggw446

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
In many geological reservoirs, open fractures or fault zones generally induce high spatial variability of hydrodynamical properties and shape the main deep-seated flow paths. It is of crucial interest to determine their structure and properties in order to achieve a sound and sustained exploitation of resources or to estimate the risk of failure of any underground storage. Tiltmeters have emerged as new tools to observe deformation generated by groundwater flow. As such instruments are highly sensitive to pressure gradients, they are perfectly suited for monitoring channelized flow in connected fractures and fault zones. Hence, they provide a unique insight of these reservoirs' geometry and dynamics over broad time scales. Here we demonstrate that continuous tilt data from surface long baseline tiltmeters (LBT) can be used alone to evaluate the general functioning of a fractured hardrock system and estimate the hydraulic properties of its main conductive features. The study is applied to the pumping site of Ploemeur observatory (Brittany, France) which is well documented and instrumented, and therefore forms a convenient setting for introducing LBT as tools for fractured media hydrology. On the short term, tilt signals are strongly correlated with pumping cycles and associated head level changes in well-connected boreholes. Besides, when pumps are stopped the maximal tilt direction is systematically perpendicular to a subvertical fault zone whose azimuth of strike has thereby been refined down to degree precision. By using a semi-analytical model of deformation, we establish the link between tilt and pressure change during pumping interruptions which then allows for hydraulic properties estimation from tilt measurements only. Finally, we validate our results with previous estimates obtained from other studies and discuss the orientation of future work that could enhance these estimates.
AGU Fall Meeting 2014
San Francisco, United States

insu-01093437
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01093437

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The deformation of natural systems in response to subsurface water storage and redistribution provides insightsinto the main water flow path within heterogeneous systems, including the role of faults or fractures. A longbaseline tiltmeter was installed in the low-noise underground laboratory of Rustrel (LSBB) to study the responseof the Fontaine de Vaucluse (FDV) karst hydrosystem to water cycle. Tilt data and piezometric levels recorded in aborehole close to the LSBB show a strong correlation with the discharge of the system observed at the FDV spring30 km away. Over several months, tilt data were recorded on three base lines, thus allowing, for the first time,to study the tilt gradient variation that appears homogeneous. Such information provides a significant constrainton hydrological processes leading to the measured deformation. Several deformation models were tested usingthe ADELI code to estimate the type of hydro-mechanical structure that could reproduce the measured tilt andits gradient. On one hand, models show that uniform loading at the surface produces a much smaller signal thanobserved on measured data. On the other hand, the deformation related to the filling of a fracture following aprecipitation event requires unrealistic fracture size. Finally, we found that a suitable hydro-mechanical modelcorresponds to the loading of numerous fractures at the interface between the saturated and unsaturated zones. Sucha configuration predicts a tilt distribution in agreement with observations. This study suggests that tilt networksinto a karst system should provide key observation for deciphering hydrological processes
Geophysical Research Abstracts
Vienne, Austria

insu-01308594
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01308594

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Characterizing the hydraulic properties of heterogeneous and complex aquifers often requires field scale investigations at multiple space and time scales to better constrain hydraulic property estimates. Here, we present and discuss results from the site of Ploemeur (Brittany, France) where complementary hydrological and geophysical approaches have been combined to characterize the hydrogeological functioning of this highly fractured crystalline rock aquifer. In particular, we show how cross-borehole flowmeter tests, pumping tests and frequency domain analysis of groundwater levels allow quantifying the hydraulic properties of the aquifer at different scales. In complement, we used groundwater temperature as an excellent tracer for characterizing groundwater flow. At the site scale, measurements of ground surface deformation through long-base tiltmeters provide robust estimates of aquifer storage and allow identifying the active structures where groundwater pressure changes occur, including those acting during recharge process. Finally, a numerical model of the site that combines hydraulic data and groundwater ages confirms the geometry of this complex aquifer and the consistency of the different datasets. The Ploemeur site, which has been used for water supply at a rate of about 106 m3 per year since 1991, belongs to the French network of hydrogeological sites H+ and is currently used for monitoring groundwater changes and testing innovative field methods.
AGU Fall Meeting 2014
San Francisco, United States

insu-01088596
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01088596

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
New inclinometers devoted to hydrological studies were set up in the Vosges Mountains (France). Two orthogonal 100-meter base hydrostatic inclinometers were installed in December 2004 as well as a hydrometeorological monitoring system for the 100-km² hydrological unit around the inclinometer. As inclinometers are very sensitive to environmental influences, this observatory is a test site to confront hydrological modelling and geodetic observations. Physical modelling to remove hydrological effects without calibrating on geodetic data is tested on these instruments. Specifically, two deformation processes are most important: fluid pressure variations in nearby hydraulically active fractures and surface loading at regional scale.
International Association of Geodesy Symposia
Perugia, Italy

hal-00710442
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00710442
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00710442/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00710442/file/2007IUGG_proceedingsIAG.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/978-3-540-85426-5_63

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We investigate the contribution of atmospheric and its induced non-tidal oceanic loading effects on surface time-varying gravity and tilt measurements for several stations in Western Europe. The ocean response to pressure forcing can be modelled accordingly to the inverted barometer, i.e. assuming that air pressure variations are fully compensated by static sea height changes, or using ocean general circulation models.Wevalidate two runs of theHUGO-mbarotropic ocean model by comparing predicted sea surface height variations with hundred tide-gauge measurements along the European coasts. We then show that global surface pressure field, as well as a barotropic high-resolution ocean model forced by air pressure and winds allow in most cases a significant reduction of the variance of gravity residuals and, to a smaller extends tilt residuals. Wefinally show that precise gravity measurements with superconducting gravimeters allow the observation of large storm surges, occurring in the North Sea, even for inland stations. However, we also confirm that the continental hydrology contribution cannot be neglected. Thanks to their specific sensitivity feature, only tiltmeters closest to the coast can clearly detect the loading due to these storm surges.
ISSN: 0264-3707

hal-00708046
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00708046
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00708046/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00708046/file/ETS2008_BOY.pdf
BIBCODE : 2009JGeo...48..182B

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
After the 2009 Morakot typhoon, which triggered numerous large landslides in Taiwan, Mouyen et al. (2013)showed for the first time the potential of time-lapse gravity survey to infer the mass of sediments transferringby landsliding or through rivers. By providing an integrated measurement of masses, gravimetry might thus becomplementary to common methods used to assess the sediments discharge of rivers. But the masses of rocksdisplaced by Morakot were exceptionally large as a result of the record-breaking rainfalls brought by this typhoonand one might wonder to what extent time-lapse gravimetry could record such sediment transfers. In order tobetter assess the capabilities of this method, we set a time-lapse gravity network dedicated to the monitoring ofsuch sediments transfers in Paolai village (south-central Taiwan). Paolai is located near the large Laonong riverwhere temporary alluvial deposits of sediments exist and face steep mountain slopes likely to experience landslides.Both features are considered as potential source of mass transfers, and in turn of temporal gravity changes. Thefirst base gravity measurements were done in November 2015, using absolute and relative gravimeters, and will berepeated every year, before and after the typhoon season. In the same time, we also use a terrestrial lidar to scan thegeometry of both the river and the mountain slopes, hence providing a detailed topographical survey of the studiedarea. Adding Lidar measurements is an efficient strategy to solve for the non-uniqueness of gravity solutions.Meanwhile, we use the Eros morphodynamic model, that combine landsliding and flooding models, to investigatevarious scenarios of landsliding and subsequent sediment transport and compute the gravity changes on a virtualnetwork of gravimeters. This gives us insights on the expected order of magnitudes for these surface sedimenttransfers, which are useful to unravel the induced gravity signal from others sources such as local hydrology orvertical ground displacements. The modeling results also enable us to set network location that are best defined todetect mass changes associated with sediment transfer. The main objective of this study is to test whether timelapsegravity brings a new and reliable information compared to present methods monitoring sediments transfersand landscape evolution.
European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2016
Vienne, Austria

insu-01308554
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01308554

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
We investigate the deformation induced by water pressure variations in hydrologically active natural fractures, and recorded by tiltmeters and strainmeters. The deformation associated with a single fracture is derived using finite-element modelling (FEM). A range in fracture geometries is explored, first to highlight the sensitivity of each geometrical parameter to the deformation, and secondly to allow transfer to observation sites. Water level variations in the fracture are then derived from a hydrological model, driven by observed rainfall, and calibrated on fracture water flow measurements. The modelling results are explicitly applied to constrain the local hydrological contribution to observations with the 100-m-long hydrostatic tiltmeter installed at Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines (France). Our study shows that well-founded physical modelling of local hydrological effect allows a substantial correction of records in observatories.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-00708093
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00708093
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00708093/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00708093/file/fracture_v72.pdf
BIBCODE : 2009GeoJI.178..667L

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Taylor & Francis
Résumé : International audience
The astronomical and geodetic observatory OCA, located on the karst plateau of Calern (Caussols, France), has been monitoring earth deformation for several years. Two long baseline tiltmeters have been installed in a shaft in 2007, along with classical hydrogeological monitoring tools in order to investigate the relationship between current karst deformation and hydrology. Dye tests have shown that the plateau is drained towards the East, to the spring of Bramafam, except for its Western third. Karst tilting, as recorded by the tiltmeters, is linked to rainfall events. These instruments bring additional information to characterize different reservoirs: the deep karst aquifer of Bramafan with high amplitude oscillations of its water table, up to 100 m, the perched aquifer of Moustiques shaft whose response is attenuated, and several slope aquifers with reduced oscillations (Fontaniers, Castel Bon Pré). Tilt deformation reaches 8 μrad with a definite orientation between N90°E and N100°E. The best correlation between hydrology and tilts is observed for the deep aquifers. If the first autumn rainfall is ineffective on tilt, it recharges the epikarst and refills the reserves. The winter rains cause the water to flush towards the eastern deep aquifer and provokes a quick tilting of the plateau. Finally, the long term variations in tilt and water table show a very good correlation The relationship between current hydrological deformations and tectonics is also analyzed; broken and shifted speleothems in the shafts indicate a general shift of the plateau towards the south.
ISSN: 0985-3111

hal-00708116
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00708116
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00708116/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00708116/file/2010_Geodinamica_Calern_final.pdf
BIBCODE : 10.3166/ga.23.49-64