Marc Steinmann

• PhD
• Lecturer at University of Franche-Comté

This paper presents preliminary results from two karst systems belonging to the “Jurassic Karst” observatory in the French Jura Mountains. The sites are characterized by localized and diffuse recharge. Physicochemical monitoring was performed at the karst outlet (springs), as well as in the unsaturated zone (cave and epikarstic spring). During two...

Background and aims Rare Earth Elements (REE) are widely used to trace natural geochemical processes. They are also increasingly used by man (electronics industry, medicine, agriculture) and therefore considered as emerging pollutants. The present study documents REE mobility in non-polluted natural soil-plant systems in order to characterize their...

We present rare earth element (REE) patterns of small streams from a catchment basin in the Massif Central (France) in order to characterize the individual fractionation stages for the dissolved REE from the source to the catchment outlet. The upper part of the catchment is located on a basalt plateau, followed downstream by deep and narrow valleys...

Despite covering only 3% of the global land surface, peatlands are an active part of the Critical Zone (CZ) exchanging large water and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes with the surrounding aquifers, surface waters, and the atmosphere. While ecosystem services of peatlands (carbon and water storage, buffering of local climate) are essential to address 21...

Peatlands cover only 3 % of emerged lands, but their carbon stock represents about 30 % of the global soil organic carbon. Climate change and local anthropogenic disturbances deeply affect the hydrological functioning of peatlands. This may trigger carbon fluxes to surface waters and the atmosphere, thus leading to a positive feedback for global wa...

Most of water reservoirs are underground and therefore challenging to monitor. This is particularly the case of karst aquifers which knowledge is mostly based on sparse spatial and temporal observations. In this study, we propose a new approach, based on a supervised machine learning algorithm, the Random Forests, and continuous seismic noise recor...

Unlike surface water reservoirs, that can be easily quantified and monitored, underground conduits in karst systems are often inaccessible, hence challenging to monitor. Seismic noise analysis was proved to be a reliable tool to monitor ground water storage in a fractured rock aquifer (Lecocq et al. 2017). In underground karstic environments, seism...

Peatlands provide a large panel of socio-ecosystemic services such as biodiversity, water and carbon storage, and amenities. Hydrological and geochemical interactions between peats and their surroundings are expected to be favored in mountainous areas, which are nowadays increasingly sensitive to climate changes. In order to provide an integrated s...

To understand the variability of methane (CH4) fluxes between a temperate mid-altitude Sphagnum-dominated peatland and the atmosphere, we monitored simultaneously eddy covariance, hydrometeorological and physical parameters between April 2019 and December 2021. The site was a CH4 source for the atmosphere, with a cumulative emission of 23.9 ± 0.6 g...

Continental hydrosystems and in particular peatlands play an important role in the carbon cycle of the Critical Zone (CZ). Peatlands are important sinks for organic carbon and have therefore been extensively studied. However, peatlands are not only important for the fate of organic carbon, but they also affect the cycle of Dissolved Inorganic Carbo...

Despite its major role in the Earth’s climate regulation, the evolution of high-latitude ocean dynamics through geological time remains unclear. Around Antarctica, changes in the Southern Ocean (SO) circulation are inferred to be responsible for cooling from the late Eocene and glaciation in the early Oligocene. Here, we present a geochemical study...

In rapidly growing Southern metropoles, climatic, anthropogenic and demographic pressures, combined with centralized network deficiencies, favor individual initiatives to access freshwater e.g., illegal well settlements, pirate connection to the distribution network, rain harvesting and storage in tanks. These strategies are amplified by extreme me...

Les karsts sont autant d’aquifères hétérogènes, résultat de la dissolution des roches carbonatées. Ces aquifères constituent aujourd’hui des ressources en eau stratégiques pour les différents usages. Ils sont en même temps très sensibles aux pressions anthropiques et aux changements climatiques en cours. Pour répondre à cette préoccupation sociétal...

Groundwater (GW) inputs potentially modify the hydrological cycle of peatlands and associated downstream ecosystems in karstic regions. However, the interplay between ground and surface water is complex and depends on climatic conditions and land-use. Suspected in the Jura Mountains since decades, we present here a study on the ecological role of k...

From water rock-interaction to methanogenesis: How climate induced raise of groundwater inputs might favor CH4 fluxes in the mid latitude/altitude Frasne peatland, Jura Mountains, France. Abstract Peatlands are socio-ecosystems that constitute an inherent part of the Critical Zone in which water quality and quantity are key components of biogeochem...

Peatlands and associated ecosystem services are sensitive to climate changes and anthropogenic pressures such as drainage. This study illustrates these effects on the Forbonnet bog (7 ha), belonging to the Frasne peatland complex (~300 ha, French Jura Mountain) and shows how they can inform about the ecohydrological functioning of peatlands. The so...

Peatland hydrology forms, together with vegetation cover and carbon dynamics, a sensitive interconnected three-pillar system, which furnishes essential ecosystem services from the local (specific biodiversity, interaction with the watershed) to the global scale (carbon and fresh water storage). The present study focuses on the hydrological function...

Due to their heterogeneity and inaccessibility, karst aquifers are poorly understood along with their functioning, complex structure and behavior in response to flood events. Conventional methods such as piezometers or other underground equipment give only punctual observations that are not very representative of the functioning of the aquifer at t...

Peatlands are habitats for a range of fragile flora and fauna species. Their eco-physicochemical characteristics make them as outstanding global carbon and water storage systems. These ecosystems occupy 3% of the worldwide emerged land surface but represent 30% of the global organic soil carbon and 10% of the global fresh water volumes. In such sys...

In the framework of climate changes, peatland ecosystems are compartments of the Critical Zone of growing importance for greenhouse gas (GHG) exchanges with the atmosphere. Peatlands contain about 30 % of the total organic soil carbon worldwide (IPCC, 2019). Interactions of GHG between atmosphere and peatland are potentially controlled by organic m...

Etant donnée que la variabilité des apports en eau impacte la conservation des stocks de C (Laggoun-Défarge et Muller, 2008; Joosten et Clarke,. 2002). Le changement climatique met en danger ces stocks, la compréhension et la prédiction de ses effets est un enjeu capital dans le cadre d'une politique du bilan carbone. Une modélisation simple et ap...

Rare Earth Elements (REE) mainly belong to the lanthanides group (Lanthan to Lutetium). They are absolutely indispensable in every modern technology, with an extremely strategic significance, since regular mining is restricted to very few places (China) worldwide. Innovative procedures in solving these problems, e.g. "phytomining" or “phytoextracti...

Core Ideas SNO KARST is dedicated to the study of karst functioning. Hydrodynamics and geochemistry are measured at springs and in karst compartments. Process sampling was set up at nine sites in various climatic contexts. Continuous monitoring concerns timescales from 10 to >50 yr. New tools and findings are due to the complementarity of gathered...

Core Ideas OZCAR is a network of sites studying the critical zone. OZCAR covers various disciplines. OZCAR will help disciplines to work together for a better representation and modeling of the critical zone. The French critical zone initiative, called OZCAR (Observatoires de la Zone Critique–Application et Recherche or Critical Zone Observatories...

free link on the full paper download till 11 July 2018: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1X5OUB8ccga3t . The communication reports on occurrence and fluxes of 18 priority and emerging concern compounds listed in European Union Water Framework Directive and a Watch List (trace metals (Cd, Pb and Ni), nonylphenols, octylphenols, 8 polyaromatic hydrocar...

The origin of suspended matter and colloids in karst aquifers during storm events is not well understood in spite of their potentially important role in the transport of poorly soluble inorganic, organic, and microbiological pollutants. This work aims to characterize the fluxes of trace metals related to dissolved and suspended matter during a stor...

Les formations carbonatées karstifiées occupent des surfaces très importantes sur tous les continents, à l'affleurement comme sous couverture : 10 % des surfaces émergées mondiales, notamment en Extrême-Orient, Chi-ne-Vietnam-Thaïlande, Amérique du Nord et Centrale, 30 à 70 % du pourtour méditerranéen, 22 % de la superficie de 18 pays européens, 33...

The aim of this study is to present a framework that provides new ways to characterize the spatio-temporal variability of lateral exchanges for water flow and solute transport in a karst conduit network during flood events, treating both the diffusive wave equation and the advection–diffusion equation with the same mathematical approach, assuming u...

The paper is focused on surface water of the Seversky Donets River Basin in Eastern Ukraine which undergoes significant anthropogenic pressure due to municipal and industrial wastewater discharge, polluted runoff from both urban and agricultural areas, leakages at oil-gas extraction sites located in the region.

The Fertans karst system is a field site of the hydrogeological observatory “Jurassic Karst” in the French Jura Mountains. The site is located within karstified upper Oxfordian limestones. Two monitoring stations were installed for simultaneous monitoring of a spring, draining a fracture, and a borehole within the microfractured limestone giving ac...

The aim of this study is to present a framework giving new keys to characterize the spatio-temporal variability of lateral exchanges for flows and fluxes in a karst conduit network during flood events. An inverse model using an analytical solution of the diffusive wave model is applied on data from two successive gauging stations to simulate exchan...

1994, PhD ETH Zürich No. 10668, in German

Karst aquifers are highly vulnerable due to localized recharge and preferential flows through transmissive conduits. To preserve the groundwater resource of such hydrosystems, a better understanding of the hydrodynamics and the transport processes along the conduit network is required. The aim of this work was to characterize the hydrogeological re...

This paper presents preliminary results from two karst systems belonging to the “Jurassic Karst” observatory in the French Jura Mountains. The sites are characterized by localized and diffuse recharge. Physicochemical monitoring was performed at the karst outlet (springs), as well as in the unsaturated zone (cave and epikarstic spring). During two...

This study characterises the sediment dredged from a lagooning system composed of a settling pond and three lagoons that receive leachates from a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill in France. Organic carbon, carbonate, iron oxyhydroxides, copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) concentrations were measured in the sediment collected from upstream to downstream...

River waters have been shown to be systematically enriched in the heavy molybdenum (Mo) isotopes when compared to typical granites and basalts, which generally possess Mo isotopic compositions (d 98=95 Mo) of around 0&. This inconsistency has been used to argue against weathering of crustal rocks as the cause for heavy riverine d 98=95 Mo signature...

Metalliferous deposits are ubiquitous in marine sediments and play a major role in the elemental cycles of iron, manganese, and other trace elements. The metalliferous sediments studied here were sampled near a basaltic seamount named “Dorado”, on the eastern flank of the East Pacific Rise, west of Nicoya Peninsula (Costa Rica). Based on heat flow...

The combination of the Sr, Nd and Pb isotope systems, recognized as tracers of sources, with the Ca isotope system, known to reveal biology-related fractionations, allowed us to test the reliability of spruce (Picea abies) growth rings as environmental archives through time (from 1916 to 1983) in a forest ecosystem affected by acid atmospheric depo...

The distribution of rare earth elements (REE) was studied in streams of the Armorican Massif and the Massif Central (France). The water chemistry of both watersheds was dominated by silicate weathering. The REE distribution patterns of stream water showed, from the source to the catchment outlet, a fractionation of the upper continental crust norma...

Organic and/or inorganic colloids play a major role in the mobilization and speciation of trace elements in river waters. Environmental physicochemical parameters (pH, Eh, T, ionic strength…) are the controlling factors of colloidal mobilization. Ultrafiltration experiments using small ultracentrifugal filter devices were performed at different por...

Rock alteration occurs within the critical zone at the interface between atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. It is a major process within the global bio-geochemical cycle and contributes also to the evolution of landscapes. Chemical weathering dissolves partially or completely bedrock minerals to form weathering profiles, and dissol...

The marine isotope inventory strongly depends on fractionation processes during continental rock weathering and subsequent river transport. Concerning molybdenum (Mo), the riverine contribution accounts for the largest part of the marine budget [e.g. 1]. Models of oceanic Mo cycling thus stongly depend on understanding continental processes causing...

Basaltic dykes in salt rocks can be used in two different ways as natural analogues for high level radioactive waste (HLW) in a salt repository: In the first approach the basalts serve as analogues for the corrosion behavior of HiLW glass products during millions of years because of many similarities in their physical and chemical properties.

Leaf litter contains not only important quantities of elements derived from decomposition of organic matter, but also atmospheric compounds. This is illustrated by Sr and Nd isotope data from soils of the Strengbach catchment, which show that soil litter contains more than 50% of atmospheric Sr and Nd. Downward migrating soil water becomes strongly...

This habilitation thesis is entitled "tracing of exchange and transfer processes in surface geochemistry by rare earth elements (REE) and radiogenic isotopes". It presents a summary of my research realized since 1995 as post-doctoral fellow at the "Centre de Géochimie de la Surface" in Strasbourg and since 1998 as lecturer ("Maître de conférences")...

Metalliferous deposits are described from the eastern flank of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) offshore Costa Rica, close to a basaltic seamount called “Dorado high”. Based on heat-flow data and porewater profiles, the site is an area of active low-temperature hydrothermal discharge. We focus on the mineralogical and chemical analysis from a 124 cm lon...

Ce mémoire présente une vue d'ensemble de mes travaux de recherche, réalisés depuis 1995 en tant que post-doctorant au Centre de Géochimie de la Surface de Strasbourg et depuis 1998 en tant que Maître de Conférences à l'université de Franche-Comté de Besançon. Dans toutes ces études, je me suis intéressé aux échanges et transferts chimiques dans le...

Previous studies on waters of a streamlet in the Vosges Mountains (Eastern France) have shown that strontium and rare earth elements (REE) mainly originate from preferential dissolution of apatite during weathering. However, stream water REE patterns normalized to apatite are still depleted in the light REE (LREE, La–Sm) pointing to the presence of...

Previous studies on waters of a streamlet in the Vosges mountains (eastern France) have shown that Sr and rare earth elements (REE) principally originate from apatite dissolution during weathering. However, stream water REE patterns normalized to apatite are still depleted in light REE (LREE, La–Sm) pointing to the presence of an additional LREE de...

We present dissolved load (< 0.45 mu m) rare earth element (REE) patterns of small streams from a catchment basin in the Massif Central in order to characterize the individual fractionation stages for the dissolved REE from the source to the catchment outlet. The upper part of the catchment is located on a basalt plateau, followed downstream by dee...

Fluid-sediment interaction at ridge flank permits the formation of metalliferous deposits that play a role in the scavenging of Fe, Mn and other trace elements. Several sites of active hydrothermal flow have been found on the eastern flank of Juan de Fuca Ridge (Retroflux) and along the Costa Rica margin (Ticoflux). These sites are typically locate...

The flooding of two mine pit lakes (Lake St. Louis and Lake Fouthiaux) situated in the Blanzy–Montceau-les-Mines coal basin (Massif Central, France) has been under close scrutiny for 5 a. The aim was to understand: (i) what sources can influence the lake water geochemistry; (ii) what is the role of lake stratification on water chemistry; (iii) how...

We present rare earth element (REE) data of basalt and salt samples from central Germany where basaltic dykes of Tertiary age crosscut Upper Permian rock and potash salt. The glassy rims of the dykes can be considered as a natural analogue for the corrosion of nuclear waste glass in a salt repository, whereas the REE data from the salt can serve as...

The internal fluid circulation of the Tahiti barrier reef has been studied with Sr isotopes and pore water chemistry. The study is based on 15 sample series recovered over 2 years from a 150-m deep core drilled through the entire barrier reef down to the volcanic basement.Temperature data suggest that the interstitial fluids originate from seawater...

Chloritoid occurs in Middle Cretaceous shales (Bündnerschiefer) of the Tomül nappe in the Safien valley. Compositional and textural data of chloritoid are compared with nearby occurrences at Curaglia/Mutschnengia (sedimentary cover of the Gotthard nappe) and at Kunkels Pass (Helvetic Autochthonous). At the Tomül nappe profile, the observed mineral...

Neodymium and Sr isotopic compositions and the rare earth elements (REE) distribution patterns have been determined in salts adjacent to a basaltic dyke along 2 parallel horizontal profiles. The salts, originally consisting of carnallite (KMgCl3 · 6H2O), have been transformed during basalt intrusion mainly into halite (NaCl) and sylvite (KCl) by fl...

The North Penninic basin was a subbasin in the northern part of the Mesozoic Tethys ocean. Its significance within the framework of this ocean is controversial because it is not clear whether it was underlain by thinned continental or oceanic crust. Remnants of the eastern North Penninic basin are preserved in the Alps of eastern Switzerland (Griso...

The corrosion of basaltic dykes from central Germany which intruded during the Tertiary into rock and potash salts of Upper Permian age (Zechstein) has been studied. The corrosion behavior of these glassy basalts can serve as a natural analogue for the long-term corrosion expected for nuclear waste glasses in a salt repository. Our data demonstrate...

Rare earth element (REE) distribution patterns have been determined in a salt profile adjacent to a basaltic intrusion. The REE concentrations in the salts are in the ppb range, which required an enrichment prior to ICP-MS analysis. The results document a strong REE fractionation with increasing distance from the basalt contact which could be due t...

The aim of this study is to characterize the evolution of the rare earth elements (REE) in non-mature streams from small catchment areas in the Vosges mountains downstream to more mature plain rivers including the river Rhine. The dissolved load REE distribution patterns of the low-pH Vosges streams are very different from those of high-pH plain ri...

The aim of this study is to characterize the processes and phases which control migration and retention of rare earth elements (REE) in a heavy metal contaminated soil. In addition to concentration data, we used Pb, Sr and Nd isotopic compositions in order to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic trace metals and to characterize the phases...

The Nd isotopic composition of Atlantic and Tethys seawater, as deduced from marine phosphorites, varied considerably during the past 180 Ma. The early Tethys and Central Atlantic seawater from 180 to 160 Ma ago (Early-Middle Jurassic) had a Nd isotopic signature identical to that of the Pacific (εNd ≈ −6) suggesting that Pacific seawater entered t...

Strontium and neodymium isotope, as well as rare earth element (REE) analyses from the Lemme-Carrosio section confirm previously published data and extend the time span for the reconstruction of the paleoceanic evolution of the Tethys Ocean from the latest Oligocene to the early Miocene. Comparisons of 87Sr/86Sr values from the Lemme-Carrosio secti...