Water content of limestones submitted to realistic wet deposition: a CIME2 chamber simulation
Résumé
An experimental chamber (CIME2) has been specially designed to simulate wet atmospheric deposition on limestones used in
Paris cultural heritage. This instrument is a complementary tool to CIME, a previously developed chamber dedicated to the
simulation of dry atmospheric deposition on monuments and artifacts. The aim of this paper is to describe CIME2 and characterize
the wet deposits produced inside it. Mist (fog), drizzle, and rainfall are differentiated in order to document their ability to
saturate the limestones most currently used in Paris monuments: The Saint-Maximin’s limestone, the Liais of Saint-Maximin, and
the Chauvigny’s limestone are tested. The comparison between normalized and environmental petrophysical data shows that in
the wet deposition simulations, limestones are not systematically water-saturated. Moreover, the realistic experimental conditions
chosen favor a more rapid evaporation of the stone water. The quantification of the non-saturation state is a first step that has to be
taken into account to improve the geochemical models used to predict the alteration.