In-situ Characterization of Large Aquifer Systems

This course unit is designed to enable students to acquire the skills necessary for collecting hydrometric data (in the broadest sense) in the field and to apply those skills to various types of case studies, with the goal of carrying out an engineering or research project in hydrogeology.

This learning unit consists of two parts:

• A first week spent entirely in the field in the Pyrénées-Orientales department;
• A second week spent in the classroom, dedicated to compiling, analyzing, and interpreting the data collected in the field.

During the^first week, the first three days are devoted to acquiring various technical skills in hydrometry (in the broad sense) in the field, so that students can then take the lead during the last two days, when they will work on a case study to be solved in project groups. They will then be divided among two experimental sites where the projects will be carried out. The topics will be presented in greater detail at the beginning of the internship so that the pre-defined groups can propose an experimental protocol to be conducted on-site, enabling them to solve their problem. The supervising team will approve the proposed protocols the day before the experiments begin.

During the^second week, students will analyze the data they collected during their fieldwork project and divide up the various analyses and interpretations of that data among themselves in order to prepare a presentation and a report that integrates and summarizes all of these results, which will be used to evaluate their work.

The course is divided into two phases: an initial phase involving data collection at various experimental sites during the fieldwork week in the Pyrenees, and a second phase involving the processing and interpretation of this data by project groups during the week following the return from the fieldwork. The work carried out by each project group will thus include:

- a field training phase (field reconnaissance, measurement techniques, instrumentation, data collection) for each of the techniques covered (gauge readings, piezometry, hydrodynamic and hydrochemical measurements, chemical and microbiological water quality, etc.)

- a project planning phase to be carried out in groups based on a case study selected by the teaching team (teamwork to develop the experimental protocol and implement it in the field, as well as to analyze and interpret the results)

- a presentation phase for the case study conducted within each project group (technical report on the activities carried out and the results obtained in the field + technical appendices + oral defense)

The fieldwork phase is multidisciplinary (all students must master all of the measurement techniques covered).

"How Hydrosystems Work" (M1 S1)

“M1 Field Internship in Geology and Hydrogeology” (M1, Semester 1)

"Hydrogeophysics" (M1 S1)

"Water Quality and Microbiology" (M1, Semester 2)

"Applied Hydrochemistry" (M1, Semester 2)

"Subsurface Hydrodynamics" (M1 S2)

"Applied Hydrodynamics and Hydraulics (M1 S2)"

The work will be assessed primarily on a group basis, but will also include an individual assessment (performance sheets covering the experimental techniques used). The work will be evaluated based on a written submission (report plus digital technical appendices containing raw and interpreted data from the various experimental sites) and a group presentation.

- Acquire skills in operational hydrogeology and other environmental monitoring techniques;

- Be able to independently perform various types of in situ measurements in a variety of settings;

- Evaluate, analyze, and assess the field measurements that have been taken;

- Working as part of a team (collaboration, organization, communication).