Imaging groundwater infiltration dynamics in the karst vadose zone with long-term ERT monitoring

Water infiltration and recharge processes in karst systems are complex and difficult to measure with conventional hydrological methods. In particular, temporarily saturated groundwater reservoirs hosted in the vadose zone can play a buffering role in water infiltration. This results from the pronounced porosity and permeability contrasts created by local karstification processes of carbonate rocks. Analyses of time-lapse 2-D geoelectrical imaging over a period of 3 years at the Rochefort Cave Laboratory (RCL) site in south Belgium highlight variable hydrodynamics in a karst vadose zone. This represents the first long-term and permanently installed electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) monitoring in a karst landscape. The collected data were compared to conventional hydrological measurements (drip discharge monitoring, soil moisture and water conductivity data sets) and a detailed structural analysis of the local geological structures providing a thorough understanding of the groundwater infiltration. Seasonal changes affect all the imaged areas leading to increases in resistivity in spring and summer attributed to enhanced evapotranspiration, whereas winter is characterised by a general decrease in resistivity associated with a groundwater recharge of the vadose zone. Three types of hydrological dynamics, corresponding to areas with distinct lithological and structural features, could be identified via changes in resistivity: (D1) upper conductive layers, associated with clay-rich soil and epikarst, showing the highest variability related to weather conditions; (D2) deeper and more resistive limestone areas, characterised by variable degrees of porosity and clay contents, hence showing more diffuse seasonal variations; and (D3) a conductive fractured zone associated with damped seasonal dynamics, while showing a great variability similar to that of the upper layers in response to rainfall events. This study provides detailed images of the sources of drip discharge spots traditionally monitored in caves and aims to support modelling approaches of karst hydrological processes

[U/th Dating and Pollen Analysis of a Stalagmitic Sequence of the Isotopic Stage 5 (galerie-des-vervietois, Grotte-de-han, Belgium)]

The stalagmitic body of the ''Galerie des Vervietois'' (''Grotte de Han'', Belgium) has been sampled by numerous drillings. We present here two series studied by lithostratigraphy, palynology and absolute dating by the uranium series disequilibrium. These series allow one to date and reconstitute the palaeoclimatic sequence from isotopic substage 5.5 to isotopic substage 5.3, emphasizing the climatic deterioration of the isotopic substage 5.4 (Melisey I in the ''Grande Pile'' sequence)

Fracturation et karstification d\u27un massif: l\u27exemple de l\u27Azerou el Kebir (Algérie du Nord)

The fracturation of the sub-autochthonous massif of the Azerou el Kebir is not fundamentally different from that of the adjoining allochthonous massif - where the structures are due to an Alpine phase, known as the Atlas phase. As with all fractures, karstification only exploits certain of them, without having any linkage to their statistical importance, caves have developed following fractures which are qualitatively important, but are poorly represented quantitatively. The study of the karstification therefore, confirms his complementary to the structural analysis in order to elucidate the technical problems of fracturation in the region

Palaeoseismicity from karst sediments: the “Grotta del Cervo” cave case study (Central Italy)

Karst speleothems can be used for tectonic and palaeoseismic analyses; in particular, stalagmites can be treated as the records of a natural pendulum. Samples of stalagmites from the “Grotta del Cervo” and the “Grotta a Male” caves (Central Italy) have been dated using 14C and U/Th radiometric methods. The present paper shows the limits and validity of such methods for dating strong earthquakes of the past. In particular, radiometric 14C dating shows that the youngest general stalagmitic collapse observed inside the “Grotta del Cervo” cave must be related to the December 1456 earthquake of Central Italy

Middle-Late Pleistocene polycyclic evolution of a geologically stable coastal area (southern Apulia, Italy)

The Otranto-Leuca coastal tract is marked by the presence of numerous sea caves placed close to present sea level. They are located generally at the back of a shore platform covered by a sequence of breccia deposits, marine sediments and speleothems. At Grotta di Masseria dell'Orte, marine cemented sands rest on a narrow shore platform at about 6.2 m above mean sea level and are covered by speleothems older than 185 ka. At Grotta del Diavolo, which is mostly filled by breccia deposits, three beach levels have been detected at about 3.0, 3.5 and 5.9 m above msl. They are either covered by or overlie speleothems that yield an U/Th age of 340, 78 ka and between 170.3 and 146.5, respectively. Geomorphological evidence and radiometric ages indicate that the area after a period of uplift has been tectonically stable since the last part of the Middle Pleistocene so that marine landforms close to the present shoreline underwent a polycyclic evolution. The sedimentary fills of sea caves formed during Middle-Late Pleistocene glacial stages, when and or semiarid conditions promoted the removal of regolith and the development of thick breccia deposits. During Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 9.3, 5.5 and 5.1, cave sediments were partially eroded whereas beach layers and related speleothems developed. These are, in fact, the only marine isotope stages marked by a sea level position which in this Mediterranean region was either close to, or slightly higher than, the present one. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved