Monitoring deformation from hydrologic processes in a karst aquifer using long-baseline tiltmeters

International audienceThe 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 similar to 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

Tiltmeters as Tools for Characterizing Geometrical and Hydrodynamical Properties of Fractured Crystalline Aquifers and Fault Zones

International audienceIn 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

Direct Non-Invasive Measuring Techniques ofNanometric Liquid Level Variations UsingExtrinsic Fiber Fabry–Perot Interferometers

International audienceThis article investigates two different non-contact non-invasive solutions for measuring nanometric-order liquid-surface displacements with Extrinsic FiberFabry-Perot interferometers. They are investigated fordeveloping hydrostatic leveling sensor (HLS) systemstargeting the detection of very slowly-evolving movementsin geophysics and geotechnics. In the first technique,the sensing beam from the interferometer traverses a liquidof known refractive index and is reflected by a mirrorsubmerged at the bottom of the HLS vessel. The liquid-levelvariation is thus sensed as a variation of the optical pathlength of the interrogating beam. The second solution, on theother hand, directly exploits the reflection of the sensingbeam at the air-liquid interface in the absence of a reflective surface in the vessel. The subsequent variation of liquid levelis then measured directly as the beam’s optical path variation in air. The common denominator of these two techniquesis an Extrinsic Fabry-Perot sensor with nanometric precision operating at a wavelength of∼1310 nm. The interrogatingbeam suffers from high IR absorption in water, hence the latter solution is more advantageous in terms of dynamicrange. In applications where liquids other than water canbe employed, the use of low optical absorption liquids suchas Polydimethylsiloxanic fluids is recommended at this operating wavelength. Being more viscous and less volatile thanwater, these fluids can significantly improve the noise floor of HLS systems, hence contributing to a larger dynamicrange, lower instrumental drift and higher signal-to-noise ratio

New insights on the dynamic of the Vaucluse hydrological system from long base tiltmeter data

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Innovative Field Methods for Characterizing the Hydraulic Properties of a Complex Fractured Rock Aquifer (Ploemeur, Brittany)

International audienceCharacterizing 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

Analysis and modelling of tsunami-induced tilt for the 2007, M=7.6, Tocopilla and the 2010, M=8.8 Maule earthquakes, Chile, from long-base tiltmeter and broadband seismometer records

We present a detailed study of tsunami-induced tilt at in-land sites, to test the interest and feasibility of such analysis for tsunami detection and modelling. We studied tiltmeter and broadband seismometer records of northern Chile, detecting a clear signature of the tsunamis generated by the 2007 Tocopilla (M = 7.6) and the 2010 Maule (M = 8.8) earthquakes. We find that these records are dominated by the tilt due to the elastic loading of the oceanic floor, with a small effect of the horizontal gravitational attraction. We modelled the Maule tsunami using the seismic source model proposed by Delouis et al. and a bathymetric map, correctly fitting three tide gauge records of the area (Antofagasta, Iquique and Arica). At all the closest stations (7 STS2, 2 long-base tiltmeters), we correctly modelled the first few hours of the tilt signal for the Maule tsunami. The only phase mismatch is for the site that is closer to the ocean. We find a tilt response of 0.005–0.01 μm at 7 km away from the coastline in response to a sea level amplitude change of 10 cm. For the Maule earthquake, we observe a clear tilt signal starting 20 min before the arrival time of the tsunami at the nearest point on the coastline. This capability of tilt or seismic sensors to detect distant tsunamis before they arrive has been successfully tested with a scenario megathrust in the southern Peru-northern Chile seismic gap. However, for large events near the stations, this analysis may no longer be feasible, due to the large amplitude of the long-period seismic signals expected to obscure the loading signal. Inland tilt measurements of tsunamis smooth out short, often unmodelled wavelengths of the sea level perturbation, thus providing robust, large-scale images of the tsunami. Furthermore, tilt measurements are not expected to saturate even for the largest run-ups, nor to suffer from near-coast tsunami damages. Tiltmeters and broadband seismometers are thus valuable instruments for monitoring tsunamis in complement with tide gauge arrays

Optics at the service of geoscience: high-precision fiber interferometer development for applications in geophysics and industry

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