The mechanisms controlling fluid flow through fractures intersecting chalk
in the vadose zone were studied through mater percolation experiments in na
tural discrete fractures and by close examination of the inner structure of
fracture voids. The percolation experiments showed that the flow is focuse
d in dissolution channels along the fracture plane, and that fluxes and Row
trajectories within that net vary in both time and space. The locations of
the dissolution channels, the main potential flowpaths within the fracture
plane, were generally associated with fracture intersections, The flow thr
ough. these channels was governed primarily by the mineralogical compositio
n of the filling material and the inner structure of the fracture voids. Sa
lt dissolution, solid-particle migration, and clay smelling were found to b
e the predominant processes controlling flow through the dissolution channe
ls, These physical changes in the structure of the filling material in the
dissolution channels accounted for the observed unstable flow behavior. Our
results suggest that models aimed at simulating water percolation through
fractures in unsaturated chalk should consider the mapping of fracture inte
rsections in addition to the commonly used mapping of fracture lineaments,
Moreover, the detailed characterization of fracture apertures may not he th
e key parameter determining fracture Row, because in such formations the fl
ow. is controlled primarily. by filling material. These materials undergo s
ignificant physical variations during wetting and drying cycles.