Research Chair in Urban Hydrogeology
Adapting to life within the Earth’s carrying capacity is one of humanity’s most important challenges. Increasing pressures on the planet’s ability to sustain life bring important opportunities to explore changes in global ecosystems, evaluate mitigation and adaptation measures, and examine changing values and cultures.
Between climate change and anthropogenic forcing, pressures on water resources are continually increasing throughout the world. The growing population is increasingly concentrated in cities, where soil artificialisation and urban development of all kinds are modifying the local water cycle. However, knowledge of the hydrological cycle in urban areas is currently poorly developed. Water resources are drawn without taking into account the natural capacities of the watersheds to recharge the underground and surface reservoirs used. Water flows between the various reservoirs are difficult to quantify and changes in local cycles, whether natural or anthropogenic, are now at the heart of the problems for sustainable management of the resource.
The objectives of this chair are:
- Improve knowledge of the urban water cycle and in particular the renewal rates of the water resource
- Quantify the sustainability/perpetuity of the urban water resource
- Facilitate the protection of this resource
To meet these objectives, many projects are being developed in close partnership with municipalities and local stakeholders who must manage the water resource. Innovative methodological developments combining physical and geochemical approaches, training of students specialized in the many fields of hydrogeology, and raising the awareness of stakeholders and populations are the three main axes of the approach developed within the framework of this chair.