Structural analysis of the fracture networks controlling groundwater flow and discharge in the Agourai Plateau (Tabular Middle Atlas, Morocco)

The circulation of water in the carbonate aquifer of the Agourai plateau and the outflow in the Ain Maarouf spring, on the border with the Saiss basin, is mainly controlled by fractures. In order to understand the functioning of the Spring and to ensure good management of the water resources, a fracture study was carried out in several representative sectors to establish the pattern, hierarchy and chronology of the fracture network. Four main fracture sets were identified, with the NW-SE and NE-SW families being predominant and the E-W and N-S families being least represented. The crosscut relationships suggest that the NW-SE set of fractures are more recent. Their higher degree of connectivity and openness, and the absence of infill, favour preferential groundwater flow and flow within the Ain Maarouf spring.