PHD Student (M/F) in sediment transport modeling

Job Description

Thesis Subject

Title of the thesis:
Sediment transport in peri-urban areas: a combined approach using numerical modeling and environmental metrology

Key words:
simulation, modeling, partial differential equations, hydraulics, inverse problem, sediment transport, peri-urban catchment

Description:

Overland flow of rainwater carries soil particles, causing erosion. In a context of global disruption of climate and increasing soil sealing, this erosion poses a significant threat to both soil fertility and groundwater filtration, as well as to aquatic environments due to the transfer and accumulation of contaminants adsorbed onto eroded particles.

Adopting an interdisciplinary approach combining applied mathematics and geosciences, this thesis aims to develop a mathematical model that will be validated through an iterative process of field data and numerical modeling. This will improve our understanding of the pathways and rates of transport of solutes and particles at the catchment scale. Integrated into a runoff simulation software, this mathematical model will then be coupled with geochemical results, enabling the tracing of contaminants and the identification of their origin.

The thesis will be based on the supervisors' previous work, which includes field measurements (Simonneau et al., 2020 ; Veselská et al., 2025) and the development of mathematical model capable of accurately representing the hydrological characteristics of the catchment area and runoff simulation software (FullSWOF). Initially, the PhD student will work on developing a particle transport model. This will involve examining the variety of equations used by different research communities in the literature and formulating an expression that could encompass these various approaches, in line with Nouhou Bako et al. (2021). To this end, the PhD student will receive interdisciplinary supervision to help him or her understand the phenomena and scales at play. The next step will be to program this model into the FullSWOF software and to carry out numerical simulations, followed by comparisons with field measurements. He or she will also take part in field surveys to examine the catchment area and observe how particles behave in the stream and pond. In the second stage, the PhD student will examine the particles themselves in greater detail, focusing in particular on the information derived from their geochemical properties. He/she will then examine coupling the transport model with geochemical results from studies in the literature, as has been done in Bey-Zekkoub et al. (2025). The developed code will enable contaminants to be traced. Finally, using an inverse problem approach, the model will also make it possible to identify sources of contamination within a catchment area.

Bibliography:
Bey-Zekkoub, M., Tassi, P., Lucas, C., Chhim, N., 2025. Modeling solute transport in rivers: Analytical and numerical solutions, Environmental Modelling & Software 193, 106580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2025.106580
Delestre, O., Rousseau, M., Razafison, U., Laguerre, C., Darboux, F., Lucas, C. FullSWOF_2D software, swhid : swh:1:dir:02691fe401a90350812494fa0b53af5f37da9148, https://www.idpoisson.fr/fullswof https://hal.science/hal-02809055
Nouhou Bako, A., Lucas, C., Darboux, F., James, F., Gaveau, N., 2021. A unifying model framework for soil erosion, river bedload and chemical transport, Journal of Hydrology X. 12, 100082. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hydroa.2021.100082
Simonneau, A., Simonneau, J., & Hatton, M., 2020. GranulomEtric pAssive Capture of dissOlved matter & Sediment (GEACOS). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3676364
Veselská, V., Kašlík, J., Baragaño, D., Simonneau, A., Thiebault, T., Petr, M., Filip, J., Moquet, J.-S., Ratié, G., 2025. Synergistic pharmaceutical interactions with nanoscale iron nitrides and natural organic matter. The Chemical Engineering Journal 523, 168285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.168285

Required skills: applied mathematics (PDE and numérical methods) with a strong interest in geosciences.

Your Work Environment

Thesis supervisor: Carine Lucas (associate professor, Institut Denis Poisson, Université d'Orléans)
Co-supervisors: Anaëlle Simonneau (associate professor, Institut des Sciences de la Terre d'Orléans, Université d'Orléans) and Frédéric Darboux (Research scientist, Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement, INRAE Grenoble)

The PhD student will be required to work regularly at the ISTO laboratory (also in Orléans).

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

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