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International audienceIn this study we attempt to understand the water storage variations in a karst aquifer on the Larzac Plateau (South of France) using ground-based gravimetry. Surface to 60 m depth gravity measurements are performed three times a year since 2006 down a pothole, in complement to monthly absolute gravity (AG) measurements at three sites. The time variations of the surface to depth (STD) gravity differences are compared with the AG variations. Using a simple Bouguer plate model, we find that the STD gravity differences are very similar to the AG variations. The STD gravity differences are then used to determine apparent density values. These integrative density values are compared with measured grain densities from core samples to obtain an apparent porosity and saturation change representative of the investigated depth. The apparent porosity ranges from 4.8 to 7.3 per cent. We then discuss on the repartition of the apparent physical properties with respect to the epikarst and infiltration zone karst structures. We argue that AG and STD differences monitor epikarst water storage variations. Within this scope, we discuss the fact that seasonal scale water storage variation occurs predominantly in the epikarst

, et al.. Modelling atmospheric and induced non-tidal oceanic loading contributions to surface gravity and tilt measurements. Journal of Geodynamics, Elsevier, 2009, 48 (3-5) This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. AbstractWe 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. We validate two runs of the HUGO-m barotropic ocean model by comparing predicted sea surface height variations with hundred tide gauge measurements along the European coasts. We thenshow 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. Page 2 of 24A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p tWe finally 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.

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 (6.5x10(-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.

Fractured aquifers which bear valuable water resources are often difficult to characterize with classical hydrogeological tools due to their intrinsic heterogeneities. Here we implement ground surface deformation tools (tiltmetry and optical leveling) to monitor groundwater pressure changes induced by a classical hydraulic test at the Ploemeur observatory. By jointly analyzing complementary time constraining data (tilt) and spatially constraining data (vertical displacement), our results strongly suggest that the use of these surface deformation observations allows for estimating storativity and structural properties (dip, root depth, and lateral extension) of a large hydraulically active fracture, in good agreement with previous studies. Hence, we demonstrate that ground surface deformation is a useful addition to traditional hydrogeological techniques and opens possibilities for characterizing important large‐scale properties of fractured aquifers with short‐term well tests as a controlled forcing.

International audienceWe 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

[1] The aim of this study is to bring new information on water storage dynamics in karst systems from tiltmeter measurements. Newly developed long-base hydrostatic tiltmeters are installed at two sites on the Larzac plateau (France) in a karst aquifer of ∼100 km 2 recharge area. Each site is located within a karst cave where two tilt directions are monitored. Significant reversible tilt deformation reaching amplitudes of 10 −6 to 10 −5 rad was observed at both sites following heavy precipitation. Elastic parameters were determined with an experiment in which a tiltmeter site was loaded by up to 25 t of weight at strategic locations at the ground surface. Mechanisms responsible for the observed tilt were then examined by means of finite element modeling. Deformation induced by water pressure changes in fractures is our preferred interpretation as the most plausible mechanism. Within this scope, we used the tiltmeter responses to extract time constants using lumped parameter modeling. Time constants are interpreted to be associated with the filling and emptying of fractures nearby the tiltmeters. These instruments therefore appear as useful tools to study the local dynamics of water infiltration in karst systems.

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 a 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 hundred 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.