Impact of extreme weather events on the risk of collapse of chalk quarries

Adjoining another quarry that underwent a massive collapse during the historic flooding of the Loing river in 1910, this quarry is representative of a large number of old chalk quarries located in zones liable to flooding in the Paris basin and metropolitan areas.
The objective is to study the stability of such a site given the natural ageing of chalk and, more particularly, the significant changes in its rheology and mechanical resistance when the chalk is in contact with major water flows.
This project follows on from Noémie Lafrance’s thesis on the effects of water on chalk, carried out at Ineris in collaboration with the University of Lorraine in 2016. The establishment of an in situ observation system is currently being studied using digital 3D geomechanical models. The e.cenaris platform will be used to manage the observation project and for the secure sharing of data between experts and researchers.