REAL COLLOBRIER The oldest French observatory on Mediterranean hydrology

The observatory of the Réal Collobrier basins was set up in 1967 to improve the knowledge of particular hydrological phenomena in the Mediterranean area. Located in forest and rural areas on metamorphic soils of the Massif des Maures in the Var, it is a landmark of regional hydro-climatology. This laboratory is used to develop research on improving the knowledge of Mediterranean hydrology, with a monitoring of rainfall (currently 17 raingauges) and flow (7 water level recorders) on a 70 km² basin, since more than 50 years. Since 2015 the watershed has integrated the SOERE RBV and IR OZCAR. New measuring instruments have been set up (multi-parameter probes, meteorological station, water temperature, automatic sampler, etc.). Scientific objectives around the observatory include the study of flash floods, availability of water resources, study of the interaction between vegetation and the water cycle, knowledge of spatial variability of hydrometeorological processes. These interdisciplinary research axes call for hydrology, soil physics, geomorphology, hydrogeology and biochemistry contribute to the improvement of knowledge, the development of tools and methods in the field of rainfall and climatology, and also to the improvement of the understanding and the modelling of the flows. ---- L'observatoire des bassins de Réal Collobrier a été créé en 1967 pour améliorer la connaissance de phénomènes hydrologiques particuliers en Méditerranée. Situé en forêt et en milieu rural sur les sols métamorphiques du Massif des Maures dans le Var, il est un repère de l'hydro-climatologie régionale. Ce laboratoire permet de développer la recherche sur l'amélioration des connaissances en hydrologie méditerranéenne, avec un suivi des précipitations (actuellement 17 pluviomètres) et des débits (7 enregistreurs de niveau d'eau) sur un bassin de 70 km², depuis plus de 50 ans. Depuis 2015, le bassin versant a intégré le SOERE RBV et l'IR OZCAR.