Temporality of nutrient transfers in coastal watersheds subjected to green tides ; Temporalité des transferts de nutriments dans les bassins versants à algues vertes
In Brittany (Western France), "green tides" are recurrent since the early 70s and have an important place in public debate in health, political and economic terms. In this thesis, a wide bibliographic review was performed on the export of nitrogen, and an innovative methodology has been set up to study the spatial and temporal variability of nutrient export in two coastal watersheds on an intra-annual basis and during extreme events (rainfall events, tourist periods of low water, .). Watersheds selected for the field experiments are Ic and Frémur (Côtes d'Armor). 3 types of experiments were performed on these watersheds: 1) Campaigns of grab samples by dry and wet weather (32 stations, 27 campaigns); 2) automatic sampling during floods (3 stations, 8 floods); and 3) high frequency measurement (2 stations, continuous). Conventional hydrological and physicochemical parameters, suspended solids, UV spectra and all forms of macronutrients (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus) were analyzed during these experiments. The results confirm in part a number of results of the literature. Furthermore, it highlights the relationship carbon / nitrates far little studied at different spatial and temporal scales and during rainfall events, which however seems to be crucial in understanding of nitrate export. Finally, the analysis of all forms of nutrients reveals the importance of particulate forms from soil erosion. These results raise many research questions that merit further development in order to improve knowledge on nutrient transfers in watersheds and prioritize remediation actions. The prospects of this work are both scientific and practical. At the scientific level, research efforts on the relationship carbon / nitrate and identification of the assimilable fraction of organic carbon by denitrifying organisms must be continued. Similarly, the knowledge on nutrient export must be improved through the precise identification of particulate nutrient sources during the spring floods. On a practical level, it should contribute to ...