Hydrological responses of the chalk aquifer to the regional climatic signal

Abstract

Piezometric variability was investigated using monthly time series from 40 piezometers in different areas across the Upper Normandy region, over the 1968-2009 period. The piezometers were classified according to their hydrological behaviour. This paper aimed at characterising the dominant modes explaining piezometric variability and at investigating the causes of this variability. Significant components in the piezometric signals were identified: the annual cycle and an interannual mode (4-12 years) with different variances for each observation borehole group. The influence of the morphostructural organisation of the Upper Normandy chalk plateau on the modalities of the water level variability in the chalk aquifer was defined. The relative contributions and standard deviations of each component found in the signal time series of the groundwater level was estimated. The highest values were recorded in the Northern study area, and clay-with-flints and aquifer thicknesses influence the transfer on an annual scale, while the loess thickness influences the transfer on a multi-year scale.