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High temporal resolution sampling of runoff (15 samples/4 h) and river water (24 samples/24 h) was performed during a major rainstorm (41 mm/4 h) in the Bordeaux Metropole, after a dry and high vehicle-density period. Runoff was sampled at the outlet of one collector draining Northern Bordeaux Highway (NBH; 80,000–93,000 vehicles/day) and river water in the downstream Jalle River. The studied metals, including priority and emergent (Rare Earth Elements [REEs]) contaminants, showed major temporal and spatial variations in the dissolved and particulate concentrations. Hierarchical cluster analyses distinguished metal groups, reflecting different: (i) sources (i.e., automotive traffic: Zn–Cu–Ce and wastewater treatment plant: Cd–Ag–Gd) and/or (ii) processes (i.e., groundwater dilution by rainwater and sorption processes). The contribution of the particulate fraction to total metal fluxes was predominant in the NBH collector (except for Sr and Mo) and highly variable in the Jalle River, where the highest particulate metal loads were due to the export of road dusts exported by the NBH collector. Metal fluxes from the NBH collector represented highly variable fractions of daily fluxes into the Gironde Estuary at the outlet of the Jalle River, depending on elements and partitioning. The resulting relative contributions ranged from: 5% (Sr) to 40% (Cu) for dissolved phases and 30% (As) to 88% (Cu) for particulate phases. The first 40 min of the event accounted for 65% of the suspended particulate matter flux (and associated particulate metals) exported by the NBH collector, whereas the respective water flux contribution was 35%. This finding clearly demonstrates the importance of monitoring the first minutes of rainy events when establishing mass balances in urban systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The closure and shear behaviors of 3D self-affine rock joints are simulated by the Discrete Element Method using PFC3D. First, a methodology to produce rough self-affine rock joints using DEM is presented then eight self-affine rough joints, having low and high values of roughness exponent, self-affine correlation length, and height variance, are considered. After the calibration of the elastic and fracture behaviors of an elementary volume formed from spherical discrete elements bonded by elastic beams, the numerical rock joints are submitted to closure tests at 14 and 21 MPa followed by a shear test at constant velocity and under constant normal load. Each DEM joint is tested using three different mechanical models: rigid, ideally elastic and elastic-fracturing. The use of these three models allows highlighting the distinct influences of the morphology, the joint stiffness and the micro-fracturing on the closure and shear behaviors of the joints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methodologies have been developed to establish realistic water-table maps using geostatistical methods: ordinary kriging (OK), cokriging (CoK), collocated cokriging (CoCoK), and kriging with external drift (KED). In fact, in a hilly terrain, when piezometric data are sparsely distributed over large areas, the water-table maps obtained by these methods provide exact water levels at monitoring wells but fail to represent the groundwater flow system, manifested through an interpolated water table above the topography. A methodology is developed in order to rebuild water-table maps for urban areas at the city scale. The interpolation methodology is presented and applied in a case study where water levels are monitored at a set of 47 points for a part urban domain covering 25.6 km close to Bordeaux city, France. To select the best method, a geographic information system was used to visualize surfaces reconstructed with each method. A cross-validation was carried out to evaluate the predictive performances of each kriging method. KED proves to be the most accurate and yields a better description of the local fluctuations induced by the topography (natural occurrence of ridges and valleys). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of a new geostatistical approach to generate bathymetric surface models from point measurement converted into continuous contour surfaces of reservoir bottoms in Uzbekistan. Sedimentation of reservoirs raises engineering, environmental and economical issues for the communities around the world in areas affected by a strong water deficit. Because of Uzbekistan's arid climatic conditions, and uneven spatial and temporal water resources distribution, responsive and innovative water availability assessment surveys of all major water reservoirs are required. Bathymetric surveying is a traditional method that is carried out for the estimation of reservoir volumes and surface areas of the corresponding reservoir stages in order to assess the water availability. Volume and surface area differences derived from multiple surveys of a reservoir provide storage loss estimates over time due to sedimentation. However, two main factors, such as intensive field data measurement and post data-processing, often limit the frequency of these surveys. Alternatively, innovative depth measurement technologies coupled with contouring and surface mapping programs provide automated reservoir volume and surface area calculations. This significantly reduces time, workload and financial burdens for reservoir sedimentation projects. This research proposes the use of geostatistical approach to assess the reservoir sedimentation in the Akdarya reservoir of Uzbekistan. The geostatistical approach includes (semi-) variogram analysis and interpolation (kriging and simulations-turning bands) techniques predicting values at unsampled locations for generating digital bathymetric surface models of reservoir bottom conditions in order to calculate the volume and surface area at a given water elevation. The simulation enables to have range of reservoir volumes and surface areas with the same probability, in comparison to the kriging and traditional methods. This gives a real estimation of the resource availability for water operators to manage natural resources and hydraulic infrastructure in a sustainable manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]