Datasets of solid and liquid discharges of an urban Mediterranean river and its karst springs (Las River, SE France)

Christiane Dufresne (1, 2, 3, 4) , Bruno Arfib (4) , Loic Ducros (5, 2) , Céline Duffa (2) , Frank Giner (2) , Vincent Rey (3) , Thierry Lamarque (6)

1 ISMER - Institut des Sciences de la MER de Rimouski
2 IRSN - Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire
3 MIO - Institut méditerranéen d'océanologie
4 CEREGE - Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement
5 GIS - Laboratoire de Géochimie Isotopique Environnementale (GIS) / Université de Nîmes
6 Association Spélé-H2O

This data paper presents: (1) the liquid and solid discharge characteristics of the Las River, an urban Mediterranean stream flowing to the Bay of Toulon (south of France), and (2) the water height of the main karst springs supplying the Las River. We assessed the river's discharge with hydrological observations and we explored floods characteristics influencing its solid discharge [1]. The location of the monitoring station near the river's mouth was selected accordingly to accessibility and technical constraints, as far downstream as possible. The vast majority of tributaries (such as possible underground springs, stormwater outlets, urban runoff) were taken into account. A multi-parameter probe (temperature, pressure, turbidity and electric conductivity) and a sediment trap were deployed continuously for 17 months, from October 2012 to March 2014. At the river's sources, probes (temperature, water height) were deployed to characterized karst springs. Times series were averaged at a daily time step, and water height converted in discharge when the rating curve was available. Sediment samples were analyzed for grain-size distribution. Datasets may help to estimate karsts' contributions to the Mediterranean Sea and to assess their influence on rivers discharge and solid yield. Stakeholders may also use the maximum water height to evaluate the flooding risk. Our data also contribute to linking the catchment freshwater to the coastal sea, a connection yet to be fully explored.

Mots clés: Karst spring; Urban stream; Solid yield; Discharge; Grain-size; Mediterranean river; Dardennes springs; flood

Domaines: Géologie appliquée; Hydrologie

Christiane Dufresne, Bruno Arfib, Loic Ducros, Céline Duffa, Frank Giner, et al.. Datasets of solid and liquid discharges of an urban Mediterranean river and its karst springs (Las River, SE France). Data in Brief, 2020, 31, pp.106022. ⟨10.1016/j.dib.2020.106022⟩. ⟨hal-02936388⟩