Hydro-climate characteristics of the karst system of Wintimdouine cave (Western High Atlas, Morocco): monitoring and implications for paleoclimate research
International audience The cave of Wintimdouine, located in a semi-arid context in Morocco, comprises the longest-known underground river in Africa. This cave system faces many challenges related to anthropogenic and climate forcing. Therefore, it has become necessary to understand the functioning o...
Published in: | Environmental Earth Sciences |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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HAL CCSD
2019
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hal.science/hal-02518667 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8496-5 |
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ftepunivpsaclay:oai:HAL:hal-02518667v1 |
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Open Polar |
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École Polytechnique, Université Paris-Saclay: HAL |
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ftepunivpsaclay |
language |
English |
topic |
UUnderground river Stable isotopes Moisture trajectories Cave monitoring Climate variability NAO [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-GEO-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Geophysics [physics.geo-ph] |
spellingShingle |
UUnderground river Stable isotopes Moisture trajectories Cave monitoring Climate variability NAO [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-GEO-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Geophysics [physics.geo-ph] Brahim, Yassine Ait Bouchaou, Lhoussaine Sifeddine, Abdel Beraaouz, El Hassane Wanaim, Abderrahmane Cheng, Hai Hydro-climate characteristics of the karst system of Wintimdouine cave (Western High Atlas, Morocco): monitoring and implications for paleoclimate research |
topic_facet |
UUnderground river Stable isotopes Moisture trajectories Cave monitoring Climate variability NAO [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-GEO-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Geophysics [physics.geo-ph] |
description |
International audience The cave of Wintimdouine, located in a semi-arid context in Morocco, comprises the longest-known underground river in Africa. This cave system faces many challenges related to anthropogenic and climate forcing. Therefore, it has become necessary to understand the functioning of the aquifer system of Wintimdouine and how the regional climate affects its environment. Herein, we used different approaches based on a 4-year monitoring to shed light on the hydro-chemical behavior and stable isotopes contents of water samples, climate settings inside the cave, and moisture trajectory analyses. Chemical analyses show that groundwater is dominated by bicarbonate and calcite with an excellent chemical quality of cave water, suggesting an active recharge of the aquifer system which constitutes the main drinking source in the region. The stable isotope composition is consistent among rainwater, cave water and groundwater samples outside the cave. The evaporation effect is not significant, probably due to the rapid infiltration of surface water to the epikarst and vadose zone, which is favored by the abundance of exo-karstic forms above the cave. The cave monitoring indicates that periods of increased drip water flow induce an increase of temperature and humidity inside the cave, mainly during the spring-summer season. The high relative humidity and the relatively stable temperature favor the carbonate deposition under equilibrium conditions with drip water inside the cave. Furthermore, the moisture trajectory analysis confirms that the predominant air masses reach Wintimdouine cave from the North Atlantic Ocean, consistent with the mean deuterium-excess value of rainwater samples and the NAO-related westerly winds. Hence, we highlight the potential of Wintimdouine speleothem delta O-18 as a proxy of past climate variability at a regional scale. |
author2 |
Xi'an Jiaotong University (Xjtu) Université Ibn Zohr Agadir Variabilité à long terme du climat de l'océan (VALCO) Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN) Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)) École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité) Laboratory of Applied Geology and Geo-EnvironmentIbn Zohr University |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Brahim, Yassine Ait Bouchaou, Lhoussaine Sifeddine, Abdel Beraaouz, El Hassane Wanaim, Abderrahmane Cheng, Hai |
author_facet |
Brahim, Yassine Ait Bouchaou, Lhoussaine Sifeddine, Abdel Beraaouz, El Hassane Wanaim, Abderrahmane Cheng, Hai |
author_sort |
Brahim, Yassine Ait |
title |
Hydro-climate characteristics of the karst system of Wintimdouine cave (Western High Atlas, Morocco): monitoring and implications for paleoclimate research |
title_short |
Hydro-climate characteristics of the karst system of Wintimdouine cave (Western High Atlas, Morocco): monitoring and implications for paleoclimate research |
title_full |
Hydro-climate characteristics of the karst system of Wintimdouine cave (Western High Atlas, Morocco): monitoring and implications for paleoclimate research |
title_fullStr |
Hydro-climate characteristics of the karst system of Wintimdouine cave (Western High Atlas, Morocco): monitoring and implications for paleoclimate research |
title_full_unstemmed |
Hydro-climate characteristics of the karst system of Wintimdouine cave (Western High Atlas, Morocco): monitoring and implications for paleoclimate research |
title_sort |
hydro-climate characteristics of the karst system of wintimdouine cave (western high atlas, morocco): monitoring and implications for paleoclimate research |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-02518667 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8496-5 |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
ISSN: 1866-6280 EISSN: 1866-6299 Environmental Earth Sciences https://hal.science/hal-02518667 Environmental Earth Sciences, 2019, 78 (16), ⟨10.1007/s12665-019-8496-5⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1007/s12665-019-8496-5 hal-02518667 https://hal.science/hal-02518667 doi:10.1007/s12665-019-8496-5 IRD: fdi:010076587 WOS: 000480489000003 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8496-5 |
container_title |
Environmental Earth Sciences |
container_volume |
78 |
container_issue |
16 |
_version_ |
1799485461369978880 |
spelling |
ftepunivpsaclay:oai:HAL:hal-02518667v1 2024-05-19T07:45:25+00:00 Hydro-climate characteristics of the karst system of Wintimdouine cave (Western High Atlas, Morocco): monitoring and implications for paleoclimate research Brahim, Yassine Ait Bouchaou, Lhoussaine Sifeddine, Abdel Beraaouz, El Hassane Wanaim, Abderrahmane Cheng, Hai Xi'an Jiaotong University (Xjtu) Université Ibn Zohr Agadir Variabilité à long terme du climat de l'océan (VALCO) Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN) Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)) École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité) Laboratory of Applied Geology and Geo-EnvironmentIbn Zohr University 2019-08 https://hal.science/hal-02518667 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8496-5 en eng HAL CCSD Springer info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1007/s12665-019-8496-5 hal-02518667 https://hal.science/hal-02518667 doi:10.1007/s12665-019-8496-5 IRD: fdi:010076587 WOS: 000480489000003 ISSN: 1866-6280 EISSN: 1866-6299 Environmental Earth Sciences https://hal.science/hal-02518667 Environmental Earth Sciences, 2019, 78 (16), ⟨10.1007/s12665-019-8496-5⟩ UUnderground river Stable isotopes Moisture trajectories Cave monitoring Climate variability NAO [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-GEO-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Geophysics [physics.geo-ph] info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2019 ftepunivpsaclay https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8496-5 2024-04-25T00:48:38Z International audience The cave of Wintimdouine, located in a semi-arid context in Morocco, comprises the longest-known underground river in Africa. This cave system faces many challenges related to anthropogenic and climate forcing. Therefore, it has become necessary to understand the functioning of the aquifer system of Wintimdouine and how the regional climate affects its environment. Herein, we used different approaches based on a 4-year monitoring to shed light on the hydro-chemical behavior and stable isotopes contents of water samples, climate settings inside the cave, and moisture trajectory analyses. Chemical analyses show that groundwater is dominated by bicarbonate and calcite with an excellent chemical quality of cave water, suggesting an active recharge of the aquifer system which constitutes the main drinking source in the region. The stable isotope composition is consistent among rainwater, cave water and groundwater samples outside the cave. The evaporation effect is not significant, probably due to the rapid infiltration of surface water to the epikarst and vadose zone, which is favored by the abundance of exo-karstic forms above the cave. The cave monitoring indicates that periods of increased drip water flow induce an increase of temperature and humidity inside the cave, mainly during the spring-summer season. The high relative humidity and the relatively stable temperature favor the carbonate deposition under equilibrium conditions with drip water inside the cave. Furthermore, the moisture trajectory analysis confirms that the predominant air masses reach Wintimdouine cave from the North Atlantic Ocean, consistent with the mean deuterium-excess value of rainwater samples and the NAO-related westerly winds. Hence, we highlight the potential of Wintimdouine speleothem delta O-18 as a proxy of past climate variability at a regional scale. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic École Polytechnique, Université Paris-Saclay: HAL Environmental Earth Sciences 78 16 |