The H+ national observation service (SNO H+) was created in 2002 with following missions:
The first goal of the SNO H+ is to maintain and coordinate a network of experimental sites capable of providing data – including chronicles or data on long term experiments – for the characterisation, quantification and modelling of water, element and energy transfers in underground aquifers.
The coupling between measurements, theories, and models is a fundamental goal of the SNO H+. The observatory aims to create a long-term relation between research teams interested in the theoretical, numerical or experimental aspects of transfers in heterogeneous media.
The SNO H+ also has the task of establishing a partnership between fundamental research, training and operational partners. Training activities are organised on the exploitation of the resource and the prevention of environmental risks.
The SNO H+ belongs to the national distributed research infrastructure OZCAR (Critical Zone Observatories: Research and Application) that include more that 60 instrumented sites dedicated to the observation and monitoring of the Critical Zone, the thin outer venner of Earth’s continents extending from the top of the vegetation canopy down to groundwater.
The H+ database includes the hydrogeophysical data acquired on the sites of the SNO H+:
Scientific context The AUVERWATCH observatory (AUVERgne WATer CHemistry) aims to characterize water bodies in Auvergne (volcanic, sandy, alluvial, crystalline, thermo-mineral aquifers, and precipitation) and ensure their long-term monitoring in order to observe the evolution of these hydrosystems in the face of anthropogenic pressures and climate change. AUVERWATCH focuses in particular on the Allier alluvial aquifer, […]
Scientific context The Larzac karst is located in the Grands Causses region, south of the Massif Central. The studied aquifer lies within Middle to Upper Jurassic limestone and dolomitic formations, approximately 400 m thick. These formations rest on the Upper Lias marly series, which acts as an impermeable barrier and defines the lower boundary of […]
Scientific context The LSBB (Laboratoire Souterrain à Bas Bruit) is located in the Fontaine de Vaucluse karst massif, one of the largest in Europe, within a 20th-century military underground facility classified as architectural heritage. It features over 4 km of underground galleries, situated 30 to 520 meters below the rock surface, providing a unique environment […]
Scientific context The Poitiers Hydrogeological Experimental Site (HES) is located on the northern slope of the ‘Seuil du Poitou’ geological structure, a vast Mesozoic carbonate plateau marking the transition between the Aquitaine and Parisian sedimentary basins. The Jurassic limestones, which are laid on a crystalline Hercynian basement, contain two superimposed aquifers: (i) the Lower and […]
Scientific context The Ploemeur-Guidel observatory is located in a littoral area near Lorient dominated by agricultural, military, and urban activities. The observatory builds up two instrumentalized sites in highly heterogeneous crystalline context. The Ploemeur site is an high-yielding anthropized hydrosystem pumped since 1991 that supplies drinking water to a town of 20,000 inhabitants. Although the […]
The first eLTER scientific conference will be held in Tampere, Finland from 23 to 27 June 2025.Topics will range from socio-ecology to hydrology, biodiversity to biogeochemistry.The call for workshops ran from April 1 to June 14, 2024, and feedback will be given at the end of June.The call for abstracts will open in October 2024 […]
The 3rd OZCAR-TERENO conference “Advancing Critical Zone science” will take place from 29 September to 2 October 2025 at the FIAP in Paris. The conference will take place over 3 days, with a visit to the Orgeval catchment area on 29 September. The conference will combine keynotes in the morning with parallel sessions and poster […]
The annual TERRA FORMA project meetings will be held from June 2 to 5, 2025 in Lorient and on the Guidel site. These meetings will provide an opportunity to share a summary of the 3rd year of the project, to continue discussions on cross-functional issues, and to launch the deployment phase on pilot sites. You […]