PhD student in applied mathematics, hydrogeology (M/F)

Job Description

Thesis Subject

In the 21st century, available water resources are likely to undergo significant changes due to various factors, including climate change, changes in land use and vegetation cover, population growth, and urbanization. As a result of alterations in the hydrological cycle, river flows and groundwater levels are declining globally, creating or exacerbating tensions around water resources that can escalate into conflicts over their use.
Our interdisciplinary group, which includes faculty researchers from three laboratories at Marie and Louis Pasteur University (LmB, Chrono-environnement, CRESE), was established in 2025 with the aim of studying social and economical strategies to prevent or resolve conflict over water resources, using established hydrogeological models and advanced mathematical tools.

This thesis proposal, at the interface between mathematics and hydrogeology, is part of this wider projet and is concerned with the study of the Volvic watershed, whose conceptual hydrogeological model was established (using GARDÉNIA, BRGM) by Hélène Celle's team. The objective of this work is to adapt or enhance the existing hydrogeological model so that the development scenarios can be used in economical or mathematical analysis.

The existing hydrogeological model establishes a relationship between basin recharge, water withdrawals, and spring discharge by separating recharge into two parts characterized by very different timescales. Rain that infiltrates the cinder cones reaches the aquifer via percolation after more than 30 years, while rain on the rest of the basin reaches the springs after only a few months. However, in this model, water withdrawals are not treated separately.

We intend to pursue two complementary approaches, which correspond to the teams' expertise. On the one hand, since the available data for the Volvic site are precise and complete (especially from 2023 onwards), it is possible to develop an augmented version of the model using the GARDÉNIA software. On the other hand, we are developing a model based on differential equations defined on a network whose nodes represent the withdrawal points. The Volvic case study, which is extremely well-defined, allows us to compare the results of the two approaches and to calibrate the PDE model.

Your Work Environment

The thesis will be co-advised by Carlotta Donadello and Hélène Celle (University Professors), with additional supervision by Julien Yves Rolland (Research Engineer) at the LmB and the Chrono-environment laboratory.
The doctoral candidate will be based at the Besançon Mathematics Laboratory (LmB) of Marie and Louis Pasteur University, within the "Partial Differential Equations" team. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the subject and the co-supervision of the thesis, the doctoral candidate will also be in regular contact with the Chrono-environment laboratory.
The Besançon Mathematics Laboratory (LmB) is a joint research unit under the supervision of Marie and Louis Pasteur University and the CNRS (UMR 6623), and, together with the Burgundy Mathematical Institute (IMB, Dijon), constitutes the Burgundy Franche-Comté Mathematics Federation (BFCM). The research conducted at the LmB covers a broad spectrum of mathematics and is carried out by five teams comprising 109 staff members (including 27 doctoral and postdoctoral researchers): numerical analysis and scientific computing, partial differential equations, functional analysis, number theory, probability, and statistics.

The Chrono-environment laboratory is a joint research unit under the supervision of Marie and Louis Pasteur University and the CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research). It is a member of the MSHE Ledoux and the OSU THETA and is associated with the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP), the French Ministry of Culture, and the CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission).

The Chrono-environment laboratory has 278 staff members (including 70 doctoral and postdoctoral researchers). The common concept uniting all these members is understanding current and past interactions between humans and the environment in order to predict and mitigate the consequences of global change.

Constraints and risks

None

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

2300 € gross monthly

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

The research professions