| Among the contaminants introduced into the environment, the artificial radionuclides appear particularly important to take into account because of their chemical toxicity and/or of their radiotoxicity. Some radionuclides present a high affinity with particles so that the study of the sediment dynamics is a useful preliminary to the study of their dispersion on the open sea. This thesis is focused on the fate of sediments in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean) and in particular on the impact of the Rhone River, which is the main source of particulate matter in the Gulf of Lions. In order to study the sediment transport mechanisms on various space and time scales, this thesis is based on mathematical modelling. The hydro-sedimentary model set up in the Gulf... |
