Suivi expérimental des profils hydriques et des déplacements verticaux dans des sols argileux sujets au phénomène de retrait-gonflement

Les nombreux sinistres survenus en 2003 et attribués au retrait-gonflement des argiles ont mis en évidence les difficultés à caractériser clairement les périodes de sécheresse exceptionnelle à l’origine de ces désordres. Ce constat a motivé le lancement de plusieurs projets de recherche appliquée, auxquels participe activement le BRGM, et qui visent à identifier plus précisément les mécanismes de déclenchement de ce phénomène naturel. Dans ce cadre ont été instrumentés, à la demande du ministère en charge de l’environnement, deux sites expérimentaux, l’un à Mormoiron (Vaucluse) depuis décembre 2004, l’autre près de Poitiers (Vienne) depuis fin 2005. Sur chacun de ces sites ont été implantés en forage des capteurs capacitifs (de type Humitub) pour le suivi à différentes profondeurs et en continu des variations d’humidité du sol, ainsi que des extensomètres pour enregistrer les mouvements verticaux du sol jusqu’à 1,5 m de profondeur. Les premiers résultats confirment que des variations saisonnières importantes de teneur en eau se produisent dans les premiers mètres de sol, en corrélation étroite avec les conditions météorologiques, et que des mouvements rapides de gonflement et de tassement sont observés près de la surface, avec des amplitudes pouvant atteindre 2 cm en quelques mois. Des modélisations numériques effectuées avec l’aide du logiciel MACRO, qui intègre les écoulements préférentiels caractéristiques des sols argileux, permettent de simuler, à partir des données météorologiques depuis 1964, les variations de teneur en eau sur les deux sites et pour différents types de couverts végétaux, ce qui met en évidence les déficits hydriques cumulés observés lors des principales périodes à l’origine de sinistres par retrait-gonflement

Report with comparison of statistical and physically-deterministic methods of trend assessment and extrapolation in terms of data-requirements, costs and accuracy

AquaTerra - Integrated Modelling of the river-sediment-soil-groundwater system; advanced tools for the management of catchment areas and river basins in the context of global chang

The FOOTPRINT software tools: pesticide risk assessment and management in the EU at different spatial scales.

Original paper can be found at: http://www.ask-eu.com/default.asp?Menue=149&AnbieterID=586 [Full text of this paper is not available in the UHRA]In the EU-project FOOTPRINT three pesticide risk assessment and management tools were developed, for use at different spatial scales. The three FOOTPRINT tools share the same underlying science, based on the consistent identification of environmental characteristics driving the fate of agriculturally applied pesticides and their interpretation to parameterise state of the art modelling applications thus providing an integrated solution to pesticide risk assessment and management in the EU

Report with results of groundwater flow and reactive transport modelling at selected test locations in Dutch part of the Meuse basin, the Brévilles' catchment and the Geer catchment

AquaTerra - Integrated Modelling of the river-sediment-soil-groundwater system; advanced tools for the management of catchment areas and river basins in the context of global chang

Report which describes the physically-deterministic determination and extrapolation of time trends at selected test locations in Dutch part of the Meuse Basin, the Brévilles' catchment and the Geer catchment

AquaTerra - Integrated Modelling of the river-sediment-soil-groundwater system; advanced tools for the management of catchment areas and river basins in the context of global chang

Impact of irrigation with treated low quality water on the heavy metal contents of a soil-crop system in Serbia

Water availability for irrigation is a limiting factor for agriculture in Mediterranean countries. An upcoming strategy for increasing water supply is to use treated wastewater for irrigation. A principal drawback of irrigating with wastewater is the potential heavy metal accumulation in soil and foodstuff. Accumulation of heavy metals in soil and potato plants (Solanum tuberosum L) irrigated with treated low quality surface water was studied in a three years experiment. The low quality surface water used for irrigation experiments contained a significant proportion of urban sewage and was spiked with selected heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb) and arsenic before treatment for years 2 and 3. The experiments were carried out during the growing seasons of 2006, 2007 and 2008 on a humogley soil of a commercial vegetable farm, 10 km north of Belgrade, Serbia. The growing seasons started in April/May and finished in August. Irrigation water was treated using (1) a conventional sand filter treatment, and (2) a sand filter combined with a specific filter for heavy metal removal treatment. Irrigation water composition was highly variable and cases both of enrichment and depletion of the measured inorganic trace elements were observed in the treated water, compared to the low quality feed water. In spite of this variability of the irrigation water composition, the soil contents in inorganic elements at the end of the three irrigation years are similar to the initial state. After the third harvest, no impact of the irrigation water on potato quality could be detected except for total sugar and sugar in total solids. Statistical tests (ANOVA) were performed to assess similarities between the different set of samples. The principal conclusion of this investigation is that, when appropriately treated, low quality feed waters with high heavy metal contents can be used for irrigation over several years without significant degradation of soil and produces. Even though, long-term cumulative effects in other pedologic and hydroclimatic settings, irrigation and cropping conditions cannot be excluded

Impact of irrigation with treated low quality water on the heavy metal contents of a soil-crop system in Serbia

Water availability for irrigation is a limiting factor for agriculture in Mediterranean countries. An upcoming strategy for increasing water supply is to use treated wastewater for irrigation. A principal drawback of irrigating with wastewater is the potential heavy metal accumulation in soil and foodstuff. Accumulation of heavy metals in soil and potato plants (Solanum tuberosum L.) irrigated with treated low quality surface water was studied in a three years experiment. The low quality surface water used for irrigation experiments contained a significant proportion of urban sewage and was spiked with selected heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb) and arsenic before treatment for years 2 and 3. The experiments were carried out during the growing seasons of 2006, 2007 and 2008 on a humogley soil of a commercial vegetable farm, 10 km north of Belgrade, Serbia. The growing seasons started in April/May and finished in August. Irrigation water was treated using (1) a conventional sand filter treatment, and (2) a sand filter combined with a specific filter for heavy metal removal treatment. Irrigation water composition was highly variable and cases both of enrichment and depletion of the measured inorganic trace elements were observed in the treated water, compared to the low quality feed water. In spite of this variability of the irrigation water composition, the soil contents in inorganic elements at the end of the three irrigation years are similar to the initial state. After the third harvest, no impact of the irrigation water on potato quality could be detected except for total sugar and sugar in total solids. Statistical tests (ANOVA) were performed to assess similarities between the different set of samples. The principal conclusion of this investigation is that, when appropriately treated, low quality feed waters with high heavy metal contents can be used for irrigation over several years without significant degradation of soil and produces. Even though, long-term cumulative effects in other pedologic and hydroclimatic settings, irrigation and cropping conditions cannot be excluded.Irrigation, potatoes Solanum tuberosum L. Treated wastewaters Heavy metals Serbia

Draft overview paper on trend analysis in groundwater summarizing the main results of TREND2 in relation to the new Groundwater Directive

AquaTerra - Integrated Modelling of the river-sediment-soil-groundwater system; advanced tools for the management of catchment areas and river basins in the context of global chang