Karst aquifers represent a major challenge for water resources, particularly in the Jura region where 80% of drinking water is obtained from them. The karst aquifer of Fourbanne (Doubs) constitutes an exceptional in-situ research laboratory to better understand the functioning of these systems. This karst is mainly fed by stream losses and has a well-developed network of underground conduits. Its unsaturated part is accessible through a 20 m vertical shaft dug by the ASCD group of cavers. Since the end of 2013, the aquifer benefits from a continuous hydrogeological monitoring at the outlet and in the underground gallery in the framework of the Jurassic Karst Observatory (OSU Theta – SNO Karst, IR Ozcar).
Since the end of 2018, the observatory has been enhanced with continuous geophysical monitoring. The installation of a dense network of Résif-Sismob sensors is planned at the end of 2021 on the watershed for a period of 4 months to study water transfers in the reservoir and its hydromechanical response during floods.
This news is an extract of an article published in the last issue of the Résif Newsletter.
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Geologic map of the Fourbanne karst aquifer watershed (modified from Cholet et al. 2017)