Conference-slideshow by Jean-Claude Nobécourt, Association Française de Karstologie, at the Médiathèque Sonia Delaunay, organized by the Géo-Sites Alpes Azur association.
Jean-Claude Nobécourt, a trainer with the Fédération Française de Spéléologie and president of the regional culture and heritage magazine "Au fil du Coulomp", will shed new light on the formation of caves and sinkholes.
Ever since the scholarly publications of the 19th century describing the hydrological and geomorphological features of limestone, a conceptual model has become established: that of the "dissolution" of limestone under the effect of rainwater, which digs caves and chasms in our carbonate massifs.
However, over the last few decades, this model has proved insufficient to explain many caves: different processes, increasingly well understood but still too little exposed, are at work in the creation of underground voids and the organization of water circulation within limestone massifs.
After recalling the "classical" paradigm, the author describes the emergence of these original models for the formation of caves and sinkholes, some explicit examples of which can be found... right here in Provence-Côte d'Azur!
Ever since the scholarly publications of the 19th century describing the hydrological and geomorphological features of limestone, a conceptual model has become established: that of the "dissolution" of limestone under the effect of rainwater, which digs caves and chasms in our carbonate massifs.
However, over the last few decades, this model has proved insufficient to explain many caves: different processes, increasingly well understood but still too little exposed, are at work in the creation of underground voids and the organization of water circulation within limestone massifs.
After recalling the "classical" paradigm, the author describes the emergence of these original models for the formation of caves and sinkholes, some explicit examples of which can be found... right here in Provence-Côte d'Azur!
