Camille Vautier successfully defended her PhD thesis at Université de Rennes 1 on Monday December 16. Ms. Vautier visited the Ecohydrology Research Group in July 2019 as an International Visiting Graduate Student in order to discuss her research on the water quality impacts of agricultural nitrogen legacies. Her PhD thesis entitled “Caractérisation des facteurs contrôlant les concentrations en nitrates dans l’aquifère à partir de mesures en ruisseau” focuses on the predictive modeling of the reactive transport of nitrate through a weathered and fractured bedrock aquifer in an agriculture-intensive area in Brittany, France. A major goal is to link in-stream nitrate concentrations to aquifer trajectories of nitrate that, in turn, depend on the nitrogen loading to the landscape, the groundwater residence time distribution, and the spatial distribution of denitrification rates. The modeling work is supported by data collected from groundwater wells and spring-fed streams. Philippe Van Cappellen was one of the external examiners (rapporteur) of Ms. Vautier’s thesis, and a member of the jury during the defense. Congratulations Camille!
Monday, December 16, 2019