Browsing by Author "Roques, Clément"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Assessing Structural Geological Controls on Groundwater Processes in Mountain Settings: Insights From Three‐Dimensional Numerical Modeling
    (2025) Marti, Etienne; Leray, Sarah; Roques, Clément; Yáñez Carrizo, Gonzalo Alejandro; Poblete, Fernando; Abhervé, Ronan; Tapia, Felipe; Villela, Daniela; Butikofer, Pol
    Mountains play a critical role in the hydrological cycle by transferring heavy precipitation to lowland aquifers. However, their complexity and remoteness limit our understanding of groundwater flow, particularly the influence of faults. To fill the gap, semi-idealized 3D numerical models calibrated using the mountain river network and the lowland piezometric gradient were developed. The impact of faults on groundwater flow was explored by varying their hydraulic conductivity, position, orientation, and length. The metrics evaluated were flow partitioning, seepage area, flow path lengths, and residence times. It was found that the hydraulic conductivity contrast between a fault and the pervasive rock controls recharge partitioning as much as the overall transmissivity of the pervasive rock. Regional conductive faults parallel to the orogen promote mountain-block recharge over surface flow, as significantly as thick systems do, and vice versa. Local-scale faults can exert as much influence as regional faults when crossing the catchment outlet, highlighting the importance of local heterogeneity in regional flow dynamics. Intercatchment flow is primarily governed by lithology and topography and is modulated by the fault position relative to major topographic features. Faults influence seepage areas within a multi-kilometer distance in characteristic patterns useful for segregating their effective role. By lowering the water table, conductive faults systematically reduce the seepage areas. Meanwhile, barriers decrease seepage areas downstream of their trace and increase them upstream, without affecting the extent of seepage. Finally, the distributions of flow path lengths and residence times are uncorrelated, highlighting the importance of numerical modeling for groundwater dating.
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    Catchment landforms predict groundwater-dependent wetland sensitivity to recharge changes
    (2024) Marti, Etienne; Leray Sarah, Tiphaine Lucile; Roques, Clément
    This study investigates the influence of topography on the desaturation rates of groundwater-dependent wetlands in response to changes in recharge. We examined sixty catchments across northern Chile, which feature a wide variety of landforms. We categorized the landforms using geomorphon descriptors, identifying three distinct clusters: lowland, transition, and mountain settings. Using steady-state 3D groundwater models, we derived flow partitioning and seepage area extent for each catchment. Each cluster revealed consistent seepage areas evolution under varying wet-to-dry conditions. Our findings indicate that mountains exhibit reduced seepage area compared to lowlands at equivalent hydraulic conductivity to recharge (K/R) ratios but are less sensitive to recharge fluctuations with slower rates of seepage area variation. Statistical evidence demonstrates that geomorphons-defined landforms correlate with desaturation indicators, enabling the prediction of catchment sensitivity to climate change based solely on a topographic analysis.
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    Groundwater controls on headwater stream dynamics
    (2025) Roques, Clément; Abhervé, Ronan; Etienne, Bernard Christian; Figueroa, Ronny; Cornette, Nicolas; Gauvain, Alexandre; Dreuzy, Jean-Raynald de; Leray, Sarah Tiphaine Lucile; Bouchez, Camille; Boisson, Alexandre; Aquilina Luc; Brunner, Philip
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    HydroModPy: A Python toolbox for deploying catchment-scale shallow groundwater models 
    (2025) Gauvain, Alexandre; Abhervé, Ronan; Coche, Alexandre; Mesnil, Martin Le; Roques, Clément; Bouchez, Camille; Marçais, Jean; Leray Sarah,Tiphaine Lucile; Marti Etienne, Bernard Christian; Figueroa, Ronny; Bresciani, Etienne; Vautier, Camille; Boivin, Bastien; Sallou, June; Bourcier, Johan; Combemale, Benoit; Brunner, Philip; Longuevergne, Laurent; Aquilina, Luc; Dreuzy, Jean-Raynald de
    In response to the growing demand for groundwater flow models, we present HydroModPy, an open-source toolboxdesigned to automate their deployment at the catchment scale. Built on top of the MODFLOW-enabling FloPy library,HydroModPy combines the robust WhiteboxTools toolbox for geospatial analysis and the well-validated MODFLOW codefor groundwater modeling. This Python-based toolbox streamlines the construction, calibration, and analysis of unconfined aquifer models while adhering to FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles. It enhances model reproducibility through editable Python code, supports multi-site deployment, and provides compatibility with alternative groundwater flow solvers. Furthermore, it integrates pre- and post-processing functionalities to simplify workflows. The toolbox enables catchment delineation and hydrological feature extraction from DEMs, followed by semi-automatic model construction and advanced visualization of hydraulic head and flow results. Users can choose from predefined aquifer structures and hydraulic properties such as exponential decay of hydraulic conductivity and porosity with depth or import complex 3Dgeological models. HydroModPy outputs can be exported in standard formats (e.g., raster, shapefile, netCDF), including water table elevation, water table depth, groundwater storage, groundwater-dependent hydrographic network and streamflow rates, and subsurface residence times. HydroModPy is tailored for the deployment in diverse geomorphological and hydrological settings, enabling the testing and exploration of aquifer models under varying recharge conditions. Its deployment capabilities are demonstrated in complex shallow basement and crystalline aquifers, where topography and geology primarily govern groundwater flow dynamics from hillslope to catchment scales. As an open-source toolbox, HydroModPy is designed for the community and actively encourages contributions from its users. It supports research in hydro(geo)logy and land and water management, while also providing valuable opportunities for teaching and education
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    Topographic controls on seepage distribution in 3D mountain systems
    (2023) Marti, Etienne Bernard Christian; Leray, Sarah Tiphaine Lucile; Roques, Clément