Characterizing the vadose zone and a perched aquifer near the Vosges ridge at the La Soutte experimental site,Obernai, France

We consider a series of hydrogeophysical techniques that provide a multiscale investigation of the water content in the vadose zone and of the perched aquifer at the experimental site of “La Soutte” in the Vosges Mountains (France). It is located in a catchment area where several springs and streams occur along fractured volcanic and weathered plutonic rocks. The site is the object of a long-term study that uses both continuous and repeated measurements to monitor hydrogeological processes. The main results from AMT and DC resistivity techniques allow the determination of a high-resolution 3D resistivity model over a large range of depths (from 10⁰ to 10³ m). We discuss their use and propose a hydrogeological model (porosity, water conductivity and water content). We also use MRS and GPR for a detailed investigation of the shallow part of the catchment that consists of soil and weathered rocks of highly varying thickness (0 to 15 m). MRS is used to map the thickness and total water volume content by unit surface of the saturated weathered zone. It also yields estimates of the vadose zone thickness through the depth to the top of the saturated zone. Moreover, we show results from GPR CMP measurements that yield estimates of the water content and porosity in the shallowest layer (0–30 cm) by simple interpretation of the ground direct wave.