Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: France and Karstology
Research Interests: Geology and Geomorphology
Research Interests:
Our paper 1) describes in detail three successive paleokarstic incisions formed in a continental environment, each one later filled with sediments containing marine fauna. The altitude distribution of the analysed outcrops implies... more
Our paper 1) describes in detail three successive paleokarstic incisions formed in a continental environment, each one later filled with sediments containing marine fauna. The altitude distribution of the analysed outcrops implies successive base-level falls and rises ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
It is difficult to explain the position and behaviour of the main karst springs of southern France without calling on a drop in the water table below those encountered at the lowest levels of Pleistocene glacio-eustatic fluctuations. The... more
It is difficult to explain the position and behaviour of the main karst springs of southern France without calling on a drop in the water
table below those encountered at the lowest levels of Pleistocene glacio-eustatic fluctuations. The principal karst features around the
Mediterranean are probably inherited from the Messinian period (“Salinity crisis”) when sea level dropped dramatically due to the closing
of the Straight of Gibraltar and desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea. Important deep karst systems were formed because the regional
ground water dropped and the main valleys were entrenched as canyons. Sea level rise during the Pliocene caused sedimentation in the
Messinian canyons and water, under a low hydraulic head, entered the upper cave levels.
The powerful submarine spring of Port-Miou is located south of Marseille in a drowned canyon of the Calanques massif. The main
water flow comes from a vertical shaft that extends to a depth of more than 147 m bsl. The close shelf margin comprises a submarine
karst plateau cut by a deep canyon whose bottom reaches 1,000 m bsl. The canyon ends upstream in a pocket valley without relation to
any important continental valley. This canyon was probably excavated by the underground paleoriver of Port-Miou during the Messinian
Salinity Crisis. Currently, seawater mixes with karst water at depth. The crisis also affected inland karst aquifers. The famous spring of
Fontaine de Vaucluse was explored by a ROV (remote observation vehicle) to a depth of 308 m, 224 m below current sea level. Flutes
observed on the wall of the shaft indicate the spring was formerly an air-filled shaft connected to a deep underground river flowing
towards a deep valley. Outcroppings and seismic data confirm the presence of deep paleo-valleys filled with Pliocene sediments in the
current Rhône and Durance valleys. In the Ardèche, several vauclusian springs may also be related to the Messinian Rhône canyon,
located at about 200 m below present sea level. A Pliocene base level rise resulted in horizontal dry cave levels. In the hinterland of Gulf
of Lion, the Cévennes karst margin was drained toward the hydrologic window opened by the Messinian erosional surface on the continental
shelf.
table below those encountered at the lowest levels of Pleistocene glacio-eustatic fluctuations. The principal karst features around the
Mediterranean are probably inherited from the Messinian period (“Salinity crisis”) when sea level dropped dramatically due to the closing
of the Straight of Gibraltar and desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea. Important deep karst systems were formed because the regional
ground water dropped and the main valleys were entrenched as canyons. Sea level rise during the Pliocene caused sedimentation in the
Messinian canyons and water, under a low hydraulic head, entered the upper cave levels.
The powerful submarine spring of Port-Miou is located south of Marseille in a drowned canyon of the Calanques massif. The main
water flow comes from a vertical shaft that extends to a depth of more than 147 m bsl. The close shelf margin comprises a submarine
karst plateau cut by a deep canyon whose bottom reaches 1,000 m bsl. The canyon ends upstream in a pocket valley without relation to
any important continental valley. This canyon was probably excavated by the underground paleoriver of Port-Miou during the Messinian
Salinity Crisis. Currently, seawater mixes with karst water at depth. The crisis also affected inland karst aquifers. The famous spring of
Fontaine de Vaucluse was explored by a ROV (remote observation vehicle) to a depth of 308 m, 224 m below current sea level. Flutes
observed on the wall of the shaft indicate the spring was formerly an air-filled shaft connected to a deep underground river flowing
towards a deep valley. Outcroppings and seismic data confirm the presence of deep paleo-valleys filled with Pliocene sediments in the
current Rhône and Durance valleys. In the Ardèche, several vauclusian springs may also be related to the Messinian Rhône canyon,
located at about 200 m below present sea level. A Pliocene base level rise resulted in horizontal dry cave levels. In the hinterland of Gulf
of Lion, the Cévennes karst margin was drained toward the hydrologic window opened by the Messinian erosional surface on the continental
shelf.