Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : A coupled three-dimensional physical-biogeochemical model was developed in order to simulate the ecological functioning of the Rio de la Plata estuary and plume. The biogeochemical model reproduces the nitrogen cycle between five compartments: dissolved inorganic nitrogen, phytoplankton, zooplankton, detritus and dissolved organic nitrogen. The coupling is tested in seasonal climatological configurations and for the particular year 1999. The circulation is forced with Parana and Uruguay rivers discharges, NCEP wind and tide. The biogeochemical model includes loads of inorganic and organic nitrogen from both rivers. The model reproduces the correct tidal amplitudes in the estuary, as well as the most outstanding features of the observed horizontal and vertical structures of the salinity plume. Simulated surface chlorophyll a concentrations exhibit maximum values all year long seaward of the turbidity front, between the 0.5 and 15 isohalines, in agreement with SeaWiFS images of the area. The model simulates well the low primary production in the light-limited highly turbid tidal river (20 gC/m(2)/yr), the high production area in the frontal zone where it can reach 500 gC/m(2)/yr, and the nutrient-limited production in the outer estuary and inner shelf (300 gC/m(2)/yr), with realistic values in each case. According to the 1999 model simulation, the tidal river is the location of organic nitrogen remineralization with a consequent increase of the inorganic pool. At the entrance of the frontal zone, inorganic nitrogen represents about 75% of the whole nitrogen pool, it is reduced to 50% at its sea end-member. The outer estuary has the same sink role for inorganic nitrogen, suggesting that organic nitrogen is the major form exported to the shelf.
Continental Shelf Research (0278-4343) (Elsevier), 2005-03 , Vol. 25 , N. 5-6 , P. 629-653

Droits : 2004 Elsevier Ltd.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2005/publication-334.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.csr.2004.10.003
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/334/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer-Verlag
Résumé : International audience
High-resolution borehole strainmeters are usually installed in tectonically active regions in order to detect slow-slip events, and to estimate slow transients related to earthquake swarms. However, they are also sensitive to other numerous influences, internal or external. Furthermore, the quality of their coupling to the rock through cementation, and the mechanical properties of the rock mass around them, have a critical influence on their records. Many of the existing strainmeters present such problems, and the correction for these effects often remains a challenge. In this paper, we present the analysis of the records of a high-resolution borehole dilatometer (Sacks–Evertson), located in the seismically active rift of Corinth (Greece) (station TRZ in the Trizonia island). We show that the instrument suffers from an only partial-solid coupling, and that the nearby sea tides have a direct (through elastic response) and indirect (through pore-pressure diffusion) effect on the dilatation signal, which adds up to the solid tidal strain source. We propose a methodology that allows, in a first step, to better separate the internal (solid tide) from the external (air pressure, sea level) influences, by calculating a frequency-dependent transfer function outside the range of the tidal periods. We then extrapolate this function, in particular at the tidal periods. In a second step, the resulting variation with frequency of the coupling coefficients with sea level led us to estimate the proportion of instrument not solidly cemented to rock (thus in contact with water pore pressure), which is about 90 % of the total height. Despite the small proportion of solid coupling, the sensor resolution remains very good up to a few tens of hours of a time period, thanks to the confining effects of the rocks on the local pore pressure. These results allow us to correct for the external effects, and reduce the associated variance by 80–90 % (in the period range of minutes to days). The empirical correction of the sea level effect could be explained using a simple Boussinesq’s approximation and 1D pore-pressure diffusion model, which contributed to better constraint of some of the poro-elastic parameters in the vicinity of the instrument. After correction, the solid tidal signal at the 24-h period is almost anti-correlated with those of the theoretical solid tide. This surprising result is consistent with a similar anti-correlation observed for the longest period surface waves (200 s) comparing the TRZ dilatometer signals to the strain measured by a nearby borehole strainmeter (MOK, 15 km). This could be related to the presence of a shallow fault close to the instrument, which would creep in response to seismic wave-related stress.
ISSN: 0033-4533

hal-01122853
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01122853
DOI : 10.1007/s00024-013-0742-2

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Advances in groundwater storage monitoring are crucial for water resource management and hydrological processes understanding. The evaluation of water storage changes (WSC) often involve point measurements (observation wells, moisture probes, etc.), which may be inappropriate in heterogeneous media. Over the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in the use of gravimetry for hydrological studies. In the framework of the GHYRAF (Gravity and Hydrology inAfrica) project, 3 yr of repeated absolute gravity measurements using a FG5-type gravimeter have been undertaken at Nalohou, a Sudanian site in northern Benin. Hydrological data are collected within the long-term observing system AMMA-Catch. Once corrected for solid earth tides, ocean loading, air pressure effects, polar motion contribution and non-local hydrology, seasonal gravity variations reach up to 11 μGal, equivalent to a WSC of 260-mm thick infinite layer of water. Absolute temporal gravity data are compared to WSC deduced from neutron probe and water-table variations through a direct modelling approach. First, we use neutronic measurements available for the whole vertical profile where WSC occur (the vadose zone and a shallow unconfined aquifer). The RMSD between observed and modelled gravity variations is 1.61 μGal, which falls within the error bars of the absolute gravity data. Second, to acknowledge for the spatial variability of aquifer properties, we use a 2-D model for specific yield (Sy) derived from resistivity mapping and Magnetic Resonance Soundings (MRS). The latter provides a water content (θMRS) known to be higher than the specific yield. Hence, we scaled the 2-D model of θMRS with a single factor (α). WSC are calculated from water-table monitoring in the aquifer layer and neutronic measurements in the vadose layer. The value of α is obtained with aMonte-Carlo sampling approach, minimizing the RMSD between modelled and observed gravity variations. This leads to α = Sy/θMRS = 0.63 ± 0.15, close to what is found in the literature on the basis of pumping tests experiments, with a RMSD value of 0.94 μGal. This hydrogeophysical experiment is a first step towards the use of time-lapse gravity data as an integrative tool to monitor interannual WSC even in complicated subsurface distribution.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-00821181
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00821181
DOI : 10.1093/gji/ggt146

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We present GravProcess, a set of MATLAB routines to process gravity data from complex campaign surveys and calculate the associated gravity field. Data reduction, analysis, and representation are done using the MATLAB Graphical User Interface Tool, which can be installed on most systems and platforms. Data processing is divided into several steps: (1) Integration of gravity data, station location, and gravity line connection input files; (2) Gravity data reduction applying solid-Earth tide and instrumental drift corrections and, depending on the required processing level, air pressure and oceanic tidal corrections; (3) Automatic network adjustment and alignment to absolute base stations; (4) Free air and terrain corrections to calculate gravity values and anomalies, and to estimate the associated errors. The final step is dedicated to post-processing and includes graphical representations of data and an output text file, which can be used by Geographic Information System software. An example of this processing chain applied to a recent survey in northern Morocco is given and compared with previous available results.
ISSN: 0098-3004

hal-01217120
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01217120
DOI : 10.1016/j.cageo.2015.04.005

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
Résumé : Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 325, designed to investigate the fossil reefs on the shelf edge of the Great Barrier Reef, was the fourth expedition to utilize a mission-specific platform and was conducted by the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) Science Operator (ESO). The objectives of Expedition 325 were to establish the course of sea level change, define sea-surface temperature variations, and analyze the impact of these environmental changes on reef growth and geometry for the region over the period of 20-10 ka. To meet these objectives, a succession of fossil reef structures preserved on the shelf edge seaward of the modern barrier reef were cored from a dynamically positioned vessel in February-April 2010. A total of 34 boreholes across 17 sites were cored in depths ranging from 42.27 to 167.14 meters below sea level (lowest astronomical tide taken from corrected EM300 multibeam bathymetry data). Borehole logging operations in four boreholes provided continuous geophysical information about the drilled strata. The cores were described during the Onshore Science Party (OSP) at the IODP Bremen Core Repository (Germany) in July 2010, where minimum and some standard measurements were made. Preliminary postcruise dating of core catcher samples and initial observations of the cores made during the OSP confirm that coral reef material ranging in age from >30,000 to 9,000 calendar years before present (years before 1950 AD) was recovered during Expedition 325. Further postcruise research on samples taken during the OSP is expected to fulfill the objectives of the expedition.
ISSN: 1930-1014

hal-00855800
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00855800

Éditeur(s) : Université de Bretagne Occidentale
Résumé : The negative impact of the man on the environment unquestionably increases. The coastal environment as a whole is the maritime environment which is the most exposed to man-made eutrophication. For instance, nitrate loads to coastal waters off Brittany (France) have increased 10 times (from 3 to s 30mg L-1NO3) during the four last decades. Eutrophication of this coastal zone is now a recurrent problem, more and more worrying. This eutrophication exhibits two main forms : " green tides ", which are caused by local proliferations and stranding of green macro-algae (particularly the Ulva species) in nitrogen-enriched areas ; phytoplanktonic blooms, which are responsible for coloured water events, toxic species can be present (Pseudo-Nitzschia, Alexandrium, Dinophysis), and induce banning of shellfish consumption. The objectives of this study are to assess the respective role of various rivers (especially the Loire and the Vilaine) in the eutrophication of the Brittany shelf ecosystem and test the impact of nitrogen enrichment in the triggering of Pseudo-Nitzchia toxicity. For these purposes, a coupled hydrodynamical/ biogeochemical 3D model has been developed and validated against past measured time-series and satellite images. After a brief analysis of primary production over the Brittany shelf under different conditions, we show a description of the real time adaptation of this model. Daily results are currently presented in real time on www.previmer.org web site. The inability of the model to correctly simulate near shore phytoplankton is worsened in this model by the fact that the turbidity field used is a climatological one, made by satellite images averaged on a decadal basis. First, near shore pixels of satellite images are scarcely reliable, secondly a climatological mean cannot represent the sudden bursts or drops of the real turbidity, highly dependent on the actual sea-state : this can explain also why the model at this moment fails to reproduce a sudden bloom occurring in a short period of sunny and calm weather. The simulated Pseudo-Nitzschia biomass and induced risk of toxicity in the water column cannot really be validated offshore, because monitoring measurements are available only near the coast, and deal only with toxicity in benthic filter feeders. To get temporarily rid of that problem, an interesting improvement would be to add to the operational model the bio-accumulation of toxin in the shellfishes : simulated concentrations in shellfish fresh would become directly comparable with usual measurements of the monitoring networks. Our model points out the important impact of Loire river loads on the primary production on the western and southern Brittany. This result is crucial for administrations in charge of reducing the terrestrial loadings responsible for eutrophication, because it can delay reduction programs on small tributaries until the main input from the Loire has been significantly reduced. A question arises, about the reliability of the haline stratification in the model, because the horizontal extent of the Loire plume will be enhanced by a stronger stratification.
L'eutrophisation des milieux marins côtiers, de plus en plus importante, représente un des impacts majeurs des activités humaines sur l'environnement. Les phénomènes d'eutrophisation sont en constante augmentation ; ces dernières décennies ont vu le nombre de sites touchés augmenter de par le monde. La bande côtière bretonne est particulièrement concernée par ce phénomène. L'eutrophisation s'y manifeste de deux façons : "Des phénomènes de marée vertes, très localisées, qui sont provoqués par la croissance excessive et l'échouage de macro-algues du genre Ulva dans ces zones riches en azote ; Des blooms de phytoplancton à l'origine des phénomènes d'eaux colorées, qui peuvent aussi provoquer des interdictions de consommation de coquillages lorsque les espèces mises en jeu sont toxiques (Pseudo-Nitzschia, Alexandrium, Dinophysis). L'objectif de ce travail est multiple : il vise à mettre en évidence et à comprendre l'impact et le rôle des apports en nutriments sur la production primaire et l'eutrophisation des milieux côtiers. Ce travail a aussi pour ambition l'identification et la compréhension des causes des phénomènes d'eutrophisation et permettre ainsi d'apporter des solutions ou des pistes d'amélioration. En n, il a aussi un objectif de prévision à court terme de l'état biologique sur la zone. Pour atteindre ces objectifs, un modèle en temps réel a été mis en oeuvre. Les résultats de simulations numériques et de mesures satellitaires sont présentés sur internet : www.previmer.org. L'outil principal de ce travail est un modèle couplé physique/biogéochimie. La partie hydrodynamique est fournie par le code Mars3D (3D hydrodynamical Model for Application at Regional Scale) développé à IFREMER. Au code hydrodynamique Mars3D est couplé le modèle des cycles de l'azote, du phosphore et du silicium d'IFREMER. Le modèle couplé permet de simuler en 3 dimensions et de manière dynamique les courants, le brassage horizontal et vertical, les champs de température et de salinité, mais aussi les principaux cycles de nutriments, reproduisant ainsi les conditions déterminantes de la production primaire. La croissance des algues est modélisée, et nous permet de voir l'influence des panaches de dilution des principales rivières bretonnes sur leur croissance. Les diffcultés du modèle à correctement simuler les concentrations en phytoplancton près des zones côtières, sont probablement dues à l'utilisation d'une climatologie de concentration en matière en suspension fondée sur des données satellitaires. Tout d'abord, les pixels côtiers des images satellitaires sont entachés d'erreurs, ensuite une climatologie n'est pas capable de représenter les apports soudains des fleuves lors des crues. Cela peut expliquer l'incapacité du modèle a représenter certains blooms liés à des périodes ensoleilées et calmes. A ce modèle de base nous avons ajouté un genre spécifique de phytoplancton : le genre Pseudo-Nitzschia. Certaines espèces de Pseudo-Nitzschia sont réputées toxiques. En effet, ce phytoplancton a la capacité de synthétiser une toxine : l'acide domoïque. Cette toxine est responsable du syndrome ASP (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning). Le modèle reproduit globalement les mêmes zones de toxicité que les mesures du REPHY, et donne des résultats encourageants. L'étude montre que la Loire influence une large partie de la bande côtière bretonne ; son panache remonte jusqu'au nord de la mer d'Iroise, et contribue pour une grande part à l'enrichissement du sud et de l'ouest de la Bretagne. Le traçage de l'azote en provenance de la Loire au sein des cycles biogéochimiques nous a permis de quantifier cet enrichissement.

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00015/12603/9481.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00015/12603/