Experimental Field Infrastructures

The ENIGMA ITN network benefits from densely-monitored field infrastructures designed to host both long-term monitoring and experimental campaigns for process observation.

Data and datasets produced by ENIGMA fellows are to be found on several databases: click here to access the datasets.

Ploeumeur Experimental Site (France)

Located in Brittany, the Ploeumeur Experimental Site is monitored since 1991 by the French network of hydrogeological research sites H+. It consists of 3 sub-sites located on a heteregeneous fractured crystalline bedrock : Ploeumeur/Kermadoye; Stang Er Brune and Guidel.

Several monitoring are carried out:

  • Hydrologic and climatic monitoring of the site (since 2003)
  • Hydrochemical monitoring of the site 
  • Monitoring of ground deformation
  • Monitoring connected to exploitation (since 1991)

More on the H+ website


Hermalle-sous-Argentau Experimental Site (Belgium)

The Hermalle-sous-Argentau Experimental Field Site is located at the eponymous city Hermalle-sous-Argentau in North-East Belgium. Its particularity resides in its location between the Meuse River and and the Albert Canal. 

The site consists of alluvial plain sediments, and is equipped with one pumpig well, 15 piezometers and electricity. It allows diverse pumping tests, tracer tests, ERT and flux/flow direction measurements.

More on the Hermalle-sous-Argentau site


Lauswiesen Hydrogeological Site (Germany)

Established in 1996, the Lauswiesen test site is located in the Neckar valley, near the town of Tübingen (south of Germany). Its consists of an unconsolidated and unconfined aquifer.   It is equipped with 20 small diameter wells, allowing different tests setting, hydrogeological (pumpig test, heat tracer tests, chemical monitoring…) as well as hydrogeophysical (tomographic salt tracer tests, electrical resistivty surveys, seismic surveys…) testings.

More on the Lauswiesen Site


Hyderabad Site (India)

Located near the city of Hyderabad in India, the Hyderabad site consists of two sub-sites (Choutuppal and Maheswaram sites). It consists of an aquifer in crystalline rock. Managed by the French BRGM, experimentations aim to understand better the transfers of water and chemical elements in an hetergeneous aquifer that is strongly influenced by human presence.

Several monitoring are made on the sites : hydrologic and climatic monitoring ; hydrochemical, exploitation-related monitoring.

Data produced during experimentations are accessible via the H+ network database.

More on the H+ website


The Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (Sweden)

The Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory is managed by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waster Management Company (SKB). The main task is to understand the role of rock as a barrier, for radioactive substances for example. The laboratory serves also as test site for nuclear waste repository new techniques.

More on SKB website


HOBE sites (Denmark)

The Danish hydrological observatory Skjern catachment is composed of different sites : Fjord, Meadow, agricultural, heathland, stream and forest site. It aims to understand better 1/ land surface processes between unsaturated zone, recharge and soil moisture and 2/ Groundwater – surface water interactions.

More on HOBE sites


The Emme site (Switzerland)

The Emme field site is located in the Swiss valley of the Emme river. Several monitorings activites take place to help understand soil-groundwater and surface water – groundwater interactions in a peri-Alpine region.

More on the Emme Site


The Argentona site (Spain)

Located near Barcelona, the Argentona site is instrumented by the UPC-CSIC Groundwater hydrology group. Monitoring of heads, electrical conductivity and temperature help understand changes in aquifer water composition.

More on the Argentona Site


H+ Larzac and LSBB sites (France)

The two sites are part of H+ network as observatories of the karst in France. They are instrumented in several ways : boreholes, gravimetry, ERT, fluxes, GPS, sismometer.

The Larzac GEK observatory is a multidisciplinear field site : it gathers researchers from hydrology, karstology, ecology and geophysics.

More on the Larzac and LSBB sites