Optional EU S1

Water is at the heart of multiple and conflicting issues, visions, and interests. The articulation of these different elements raises the question of integrated water resources management (IWRM) and regulation (particularly through public policy), the balance between collective and private values, and decision-making processes concerning collective issues—in short, governance. Decentralization, water and sanitation services, basin management, the European Framework Directive, and financial circuits illustrate, in particular, different facets of governance.

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This course unit should enable students to acquire in-depth knowledge of how aquatic ecosystems function and to identify threats and vulnerabilities in the face of local pressures and climate change.

It will also enable students to 1) learn about the specific characteristics of benthic ecosystems and the ecological roles of their components, 2) acquire in-depth knowledge of how aquatic ecosystems function, 3) acquire knowledge about the impact of chemical and biological contaminants (toxic and pathogenic microalgae), climate change, and anthropization on aquatic ecosystems and their functioning, including socio-economic repercussions. This EU will develop marine environment and marine animal health monitoring networks by addressing mortality issues.

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The content of the EU is organized into three parts:

1) Water cycle and water balance
• Main reservoirs
• Mechanisms of the water cycle
• Water circulation: from the global scale to the watershed scale
• Humans: their influence on the water cycle

2) The atmospheric phase of the water cycle – Hydrology
• The watershed
• Atmospheric circulation and precipitation
• Evapotranspiration
• Infiltration
• Runoff

3) The underground phase of the water cycle – Hydrogeology
• Porous media and their hydrodynamic properties
• Different types of aquifers
• Piezometric levels and maps

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The "Ocean, Atmosphere, Climate" module presents the fundamental principles of atmospheric dynamics and ocean dynamics, and provides a critical and well-documented perspective on climate change. The course is based on the analysis of official documents describing global change, documented lessons on key issues, and applications to case studies in different global contexts.

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This course is divided into two parts, one covering surface water and atmospheric water, and the other covering groundwater. This course builds on the Water Cycle course from Semester 1 and lays the essential foundations for the specific courses on hydrodynamics and physical hydrology that will be taught in Semester 2. It is therefore a transitional course between fundamental knowledge of the water cycle and specific knowledge of the study and characterization of surface and groundwater resources.

Theoretical courses combined with integrated tutorials are supplemented by practical work in the classroom on computers and hydrogeological maps.

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