Signals of floods driven processes recorded in channel-like structures near the grand Rhone river mouth

Titre du congrès :38th CIESM Ville du congrès :Istanbul Date du congrès :09/04/2007

The study of sedimentary processes in the Gulf of Lions has been the topic of various works and is dealt today in the frame of several programs, like ORME (Mediterranean Regional Observatory of Environment), PNEC (Coastal Environment National Program) or EU-ROSTRATAFORM (UE-5th PCRD). However, the fate of river-borne sediments supplied during river floods is still poorly understood. Several major river-flow events occured on the Rhone River in 1994, 2002, 2003. In the area close to the mouth, channel-like structures were investigated in order to assess their role in the sediment transport during flow events based upon analysis of granulometric parameters as well as 210Pb and 137Cs vertical profiles.