IRP INDIA FRANCE

https://india.cnrs.fr/lia/
International Research Projects are virtual laboratories which lay the bases of cooperation around a joint scientific project between one to three French teams and one to three teams abroad.

Project Title:

Effects of River-Aquifer exchanges on riverine ecosystem resilience to global change: Comparative approach of the Ganga and Rhône River basin networks.

Kick-off:
May 6th, 2021
 
Duration:
60 months

Coordinators:
  • Dr. Hervé Piegay (France), UMR5600 EVS, ENS de Lyon
  • Dr. Shishir Gaur (India), Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi
Vice-coordinators:
  • Dr. Christophe Douady (France), University of Lyon 1, UMR 5023 LEHNA
  • Dr. Anurag Ohri (India), Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi
Project summary:

The effects of geomorphology and R-A and HZ exchanges on river temperature heterogeneity, water quality and ecosystem health of some reaches of the Rivers Ganga and Rhône networks will be examined, analyzed and compared using field monitoring, remote sensing and mathematical modelling in order to understand and gather information on the river ecosystem resilience to global change. The research will be interdisciplinary, involving ecologists, hydrogeologists and geomorphologists to cover the technical skills to characterize the phenomena and understand the different processes involved. Moreover, we propose to compare French and Indian river reaches, testing some methods of characterization already developed on some sites to others to better assess methodological robustness and generalization potential. Approaches will also combine a set of nested geographical scales, from the entire hydrographic network of the Ganga and Rhône down to detailed reach scales for conducting field efforts and modelling.

Three main objectives/sections are then shared:
  • Better understand the range of thermal patterns within large scale hydrographic networks, considering comparatively the Ganga and the Rhône basins,
  • Develop models of R-A and HZ exchanges, temperature responses and contaminants (chemical and microbiological) transfers at the reach scale,
  • Assess/identify biodiversity changes according to changing temperatures (warm vs. cold spots) and in relation with global health issues, including the spread of invasive or hazardous species impacting ecosystem or human health, and water quality improvement.
Study areas:

We propose to study 2 main hydrographic basins comparatively: the Rhône and the Ganga and 2 of their main reaches/branches; the Ganga River between Varanasi and Prayagraj and the lower Ain River. R-A exchanges are very dominant process in both Rivers and their study is very important for understanding the water budgeting and future water scenarios in the nearby area. The Ain River is one of the main interdisciplinary site of the EUR H2O’Lyon (a site-atelier of the ZABR) where interactions between physical processes and ecological functioning is already fairly well advanced.
The reach of the Ain River will then serve as a school system and allow us to benefit from Indian expertise. The Varanasi site is the first step in the generalization of our results and an opportunity for the dissemination of knowledge. This site is challenging because it is highly polluted and is one of the main cultural and religious sites of India directly related to the river. Initial research effort is also engaged on thermal aspects combining thermal remote sensing data and field measures.