Background, aim, and scope Catch decline of freshwater fish has been recorded in several countries. Among the possible causes, habitat change is discussed. This article focuses on potentially increased levels of fine sediments going to rivers and their effects on gravel-spawning brown trout. Indications of increased erosion rates are evident from land-use change in agriculture, changes in forest management practices, and from climate change. The latter induces an increase in air and river water temperatures, reduction in permafrost, changes in snow dynamics and an increase in heavy rain events. As a result, an increase in river sediment is likely. Suspended sediment may affect fish health and behaviour directly. Furthermore, sediment loads may clog gravel beds impeding fish such as brown trout from spawning and reducing recruitment rates. To assess the potential impact on fine sediments, knowledge of brown trout reproductive needs and the effects of sediment on brown trout health were evaluated. Approach We critically reviewed the literature and included results from ongoing studies to answer the following questions, focusing on recent decades and rivers in alpine countries. Have climate change and land-use change increased erosion and sediment loads in rivers? Do we have indications of an increase in riverbed clogging? Are there indications of direct or indirect effects on brown trout from increased suspended sediment concentrations in rivers or from an increase in riverbed clogging? Results Rising air temperatures have led to more intensive precipitation in winter months, earlier snow melt in spring, and rising snow lines and hence to increased erosion. Intensification of land use has supported erosion in lowland and pre-alpine areas in the second half of the twentieth century. In the Alps, however, reforestation of abandoned land at high altitudes might reduce the erosion risk while intensification on the lower, more easily accessible slopes increases erosion risk. Data from laboratory experiments show that suspended sediments affect the health and behaviour of fish when available in high amounts. Point measurements in large rivers indicate no common lethal threat and suspended sediment is rarely measured continuously in small rivers. However, effects on fish can be expected under environmentally relevant conditions. River bed clogging impairs the reproductive performance of gravel-spawning fish. Discussion Overall, higher erosion and increased levels of fine sediment going into rivers are expected in future. Additionally, sediment loads in rivers are suspected to have considerably impaired gravel bed structure and brown trout spawning is impeded. Timing of discharge is put forward and is now more likely to affect brown trout spawning than in previous decades. Conclusions Reports on riverbed clogging from changes in erosion and fine sediment deposition patterns, caused by climate change and land-use change are rare. This review identifies both a risk of increases in climate erosive forces and fine sediment loads in rivers of alpine countries. Increased river discharge and sediment loads in winter and early spring could be especially harmful for brown trout reproduction and development of young life stages. Recently published studies indicate a decline in trout reproduction from riverbed clogging in many rivers in lowlands and alpine regions. However, the multitude of factors in natural complex ecosystems makes it difficult to address a single causative factor. Recommendations and perspectives Further investigations into the consequences of climate change and land-use change on river systems are needed. Small rivers, of high importance for the recruitment of gravel-spawning fish, are often neglected. Studies on river bed clogging are rare and the few existing studies are not comparable. Thus, there is a strong need for the development of methods to assess sediment input and river bed clogging. As well, studies on the effects to fish from suspended sediments and consequences of gravel beds clogging under natural conditions are urgently needed.

Chlordecone was applied between 1972 and 1993 in banana fields of the French West Indies. This resulted in long-term pollution of soils and contamination of waters, aquatic biota, and crops. To assess pollution level and duration according to soil type, WISORCH, a leaching model based on first-order desorption kinetics, was developed and run. Its input parameters are soil organic carbon content (SOC) and SOC/water partitioning coefficient (Koc). It accounts for current chlordecone soil contents and drainage water concentrations. The model was valid for andosol, which indicates that neither physicochemical nor microbial degradation occurred. Dilution by previous deep tillages makes soil scrapping unrealistic.Lixiviation appeared the main way to reduce pollution. Besides the SOC and rainfall increases, Koc increased from nitisol to ferralsol and then andosol while lixiviation efficiency decreased. Consequently, pollution is bound to last for several decades for nitisol, centuries for ferralsol, and half a millennium for andosol.

Background, aim and scope Marine and coastal sediments can accumulate substantial concentrations of metals and hydrocarbons, yet the consequences of this contamination for exposed biota in situ can be difficult to establish. Here, we examine the hypothesis that exposure to contaminated sediments can lead to detrimental effects in sedimentdwelling species. The combination of chemical and biological assessment allows the identification of the impact of chemical contamination, and their use as assessment tools is becoming increasingly important. Materials and methods The study was applied to marine sediments from the Bay of Algeciras (S Spain) impacted by multiple, low-level contaminant inputs, and the Galician Coast (NW Spain), historically impacted by an oil spill (Prestige 2002), with two reference sites selected in UK and Spain. The common lugworm Arenicola marina was exposed in the laboratory for 14 days to the marine sediments, and a suite of biomarkers of sublethal toxicity was combined with analytical chemistry to test for relationships between sediment contamination and effect. Results Moderate to strong correlations between organics, metals, and biological responses were observed, with DNA damage as measured using the Comet assay forming the largest contribution toward the observed differences (p<0.05). The responses of worms from sites experiencing different contamination loads were clearly distinguishable. Discussion We show how a combination of multibiomarkers with analytical chemistry can be used to investigate the toxicity of marine sediments, enabling the differentiation of sites showing different types of contamination. There are clear relationships in sublethal assays that can be related to the putative mode of toxicity of the contaminants. Conclusions The use of A. marina in this way provides a sensitive, holistic approach to sediment toxicity assessment, enabling comparisons between oil-polluted sites to be quantified.

[Departement_IRSTEA]Ecotechnologies [TR1_IRSTEA]TED [Axe_IRSTEA]TED-SOWASTE | National audience | This papers aims at presenting the various lining and drainage structures including geosynthetics that can be encountered in mining applications like heap leach pads, tailing storage facilities and waste rock storage facilities. The question of design and durability of drainage and lining systems is then discussed as regards the impact of the large loads that can be encountered in mining applications. Then liquid and gas transfers are discussed together with the attenuation of metals in GCLs. | Cet article permet, après une présentation de différentes structures à base de géosynthétiques rencontrées dans les installations minières ,aires de lixiviation, zones de stockage de résidus de lixiviation,ainsi que stockages de stériles, de discuter des structures d'étanchéité et de drainage mises en place dans ces structures. On aborde ensuite la problématique du dimensionnement et de la durabilité des systèmes drainants et d'étanchéité sous les fortes contraintes mécaniques typiquement rencontrées dans les installations minières. Puis on discute les transferts liquides et gazeux ainsi que l'atténuation des métaux dans les géosynthétiques bentonitiques.

[Departement_IRSTEA]Eaux [TR1_IRSTEA]RIVAGE | National audience | The paper presents parts of the recent guide of recommendations "Mountain reservoirs". It makes a synthesis of a feedback on the behaviour and the pathology of geomembrane lining systems and gives the strong recommendations of the guide relative to these systems, in particular onto the structure support, the drainage inherent to the DEG and the covering structure. A general description of the guide ends the article. | L'article présente, à travers le récent guide de recommandations « Retenues d'altitude », la synthèse d'un retour d'expérience sur le comportement et la pathologie des dispositifs d'étanchéité par géomembrane (DEG) en altitude. Il donne les recommandations fortes du guide relatives à ces dispositifs, en particulier sur la structure support, le drainage inhérent au DEG et la structure de recouvrement. Un descriptif général du guide termine l'article.

National audience | Given the good performance of geosynthetic material for drainage, it seems interesting to use these products to replace part or all of the drainage layer commonly used in landfill cells (silicate materials). The calculation showed that the replacement of a granular layer of 0.50 m by a drainage geosynthetic product is not always as easy as it seems: the maximum water head legally acceptable decreases with the thickness of the studied equivalent solution, which limits its ability to flow. ARCADIS and SITA DECTRA present here a case study on the Romagne-sous-Montfaucon landfill site for which a hybrid (solid granular + geosynthetic) was called. | Compte tenu des bonnes performances des géosynthétiques de drainage, il semble intéressant d'utiliser ces produits pour remplacer tout ou partie du massif drainant généralement utilisé en fond de casier d'installations de stockage de déchets. Le calcul montre que le remplacement d'une couche granulaire de 0,50 m par un géosynthétique de drainage n'est pas toujours aussi aisé qu'il y paraît : la charge maximale réglementairement acceptable diminue avec l'épaisseur du dispositif équivalent considéré, ce qui limite sa capacité de débit. Arcadis et Sita Dectra présentent ici une étude de cas sur le site de Romagne-sous-Montfaucon pour lequel un dispositif hybride (massif granulaire + géosynthétique) a été préconisé.

National audience | Solid Waste landfilling is a common application of Geosynthetics in geo-environmental engineering. Non-hazardous waste Landfills are responsible for Methane emissions, a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) with high Global Warming Potential naturally present in the biogas. An evaluation of Greenhouse Gas emissions from landfills depending on the way they are operated and on the cap cover characteristics (semi-permeable, impermeable) is presented. Energy recovery from biogas is also discussed. The sensitivity of the environmental performance of landfills on the cover characteristics as well as on the biogas collection and recovery system is highlighted. | Le stockage de déchets est une des applications communes des géosynthétiques en génie de l'environnement. Les installations de stockage de déchets non dangereux (ISDND) occasionnent des émissions de biogaz, ce dernier étant composé de méthane, un puissant gaz à effet de serre (GES). Un bilan des émissions de GES d'une installation de stockage de déchets non dangereux est proposé selon différents scénarios de gestion et les types de couvertures employées (semi-perméable, imperméable). La valorisation énergétique du biogaz est également abordée. L'étude fait apparaître la sensibilité des performances environnementales des ISDND au type de couverture et à la performance du système de traitement du biogaz.

[Departement_IRSTEA]Ecotechnologies [TR1_IRSTEA]TED [Axe_IRSTEA]TED-SOWASTE | National audience | The objective of the Equivalence Guide is to define rules of good practice with respect to equivalent solutions for landfill mineral barriers. The guide refers primarily to non-hazardous waste landfills. The guide, which was first drafted in 2002, was updated in 2008, by a working group composed of the main organisations working on landfill mineral barriers in France. The update also benefited from feedback from professional partners (consultants, landfill operators, geosynthetic suppliers...). This paper summarizes the main changes with respect to the previous version. | Le « Guide Équivalence » a pour objectif de définir des règles de bonne pratique en matière de recherche de solutions « équivalentes » en étanchéité passive d'installation de stockage de déchets. Les principaux sites concernés par ce guide sont les installations de stockage de déchets non dangereux (ISDND). Ce guide, dont la première version date de 2002, a été réactualisé par un groupe de travail constitué des principaux organismes intervenant sur la thématique des barrières minérales d'ISD en France. Cette réactualisation a également bénéficié d'un retour d'expérience recueilli auprès de la profession (bureaux d'étude, exploitants, fournisseurs de géosynthétiques ). Cet article fait une synthèse des principales modifications par rapport à la version antérieure.

National audience | To face the estival tourist multitude in Corsica, it is necessary to store drinking water in great quantity during more than 6 months and this on the level of communes whose financial capacities are reduced. Original and economic techniques presented here were developed by the OEHC. The communication presents the technological developments and the reduction of the costs, thanks to the use of géomembranes and floating covers able to store and protect water during more than 6 months without giving taste to water. The results on the long-term evolution of the floating PVC covers are given. This type of solution returns ten times less expansive than a of the same tank capacity with bottom in géomembrane and concrete cover. | Pour faire face à l'affluence touristique estivale en Corse, il est nécessaire de stocker l'eau potable en grande quantité pendant plus de six mois et ceci au niveau de communes dont les capacités financières sont réduites. Des techniques originales et économiques présentées ici ont été développées par l'Office d'équipement hydraulique de la Corse. L'article présente l'évolution de la technique et la réduction des coûts, grâce à l'emploi de géomembranes et de couvertures flottantes capables de stocker et protéger l'eau pendant plus de six mois sans donner de goût à l'eau. Les résultats sur l'évolution à long terme des couvertures flottantes en PVC sont donnés. Ce type de solution revient dix fois moins chère qu'un réservoir de même capacité avec fond en géomembrane et couverture en béton.

National audience | Objectives of the Saint-Brès landfill capping are waterproofing, water drainage and earth retaining. Slopes on cover reach 66% with length superior to 10 m. Geosynthetic solution is composed from bottom to top of a protective geotextile, a drainage geocomposite industrially associated to a textured 8/10 mm polyethylene film to increase the stability of the system and a earth retaining geogrid. Geocomposite has been designed with Lymphéa® software to drain a rain of 266 mm/day. A polyethylene film was welded on site to increase the waterproofing of the capping. | La réalisation de la couverture du centre de stockage de déchets ménages et assimilés (CSDMA) de Saint-Brès a pour objectifs l'imperméabilisation, le drainage des eaux de pluies et la retenue de la terre végétale. La couverture possède des talus pentés à 66 % avec des rampants supérieurs à 10 m. Le complexe géosynthétique est composé de bas en haut par un géotextile antipoinçonnant, un géocomposite de drainage associé en usine à un film polyéthylène 8/10 mm texturée en sous-face pour augmenter la stabilité du dispositif et une géogrille de retenue des terres. Le géocomposite a été dimensionné hydrauliquement avec le logiciel Lymphéa® pour drainer une pluie de 266 mm/jour. Le film du géocomposite a été soudé sur site pour garantir une imperméabilisation optimale de la couverture.