The host microbiome (mainly bacteria) is essential for host immune function, metabolism, and digestion. Alterations in these microbes, known as dysbiosis, generally results in adverse effects to the host, including diseases. Dysbiosis can be induced from exposures to various anthropogenic contaminants including constituents of municipal wastewater treatment effluents (MWWEs), namely, pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, and excess nutrients. Despite MWWEs being one of the largest dischargers to aquatic ecosystems, impacts of these contaminants on exposed organism microbiomes, especially in aquatic insects, is unclear. In addition, some aquatic contaminants may transfer to riparian habitats through predation on emergent insects that were exposed to contaminants as larvae, and subsequently alter microbiomes of terrestrial predators. Our study evaluated whether MWWEs altered microbiomes of freshwater larval and adult insects and their riparian spider predators using effluent-associated bacteria and stable nitrogen isotopes (δ15N) to confirm effluent exposure. We analyzed microbiome compositions through sequencing of the V3-V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene and analyzed food web dynamics with stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes. We found that insects and spiders were enriched in δ15N at one site downstream of wastewater outfalls, indicating exposure to effluents and transfer of nutrients to terrestrial ecosystems. Microbiomes of most larval and adult insects were altered downstream of wastewater outfalls and had lower relative abundances of endosymbiont bacteria, shifts in bacterial diversities, increases in abundances of effluent-associated bacteria, and downregulation of some biosynthesis pathways than those collected at upstream sites. However, spider microbiomes had little evidence of dysbiosis, and were distinct from those of adult insects, despite a close association in their isotopic signatures. Overall, this study provides evidence of biological impacts from MWWEs to exposed insects and suggests that changes in microbial communities of invertebrates may be used as an effective indicator of effluent exposure as part of monitoring frameworks. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Municipal wastewater treatment facilities release contaminants into aquatic ecosystems that may affect the health of exposed organisms, including their microbiome, which contains bacteria essential for host digestion and immune function. Alterations in microbiomes of contaminant-exposed aquatic insects are poorly characterized and such effects may be transferred to terrestrial ecosystems through emergent insects. This study evaluated microbiomes and food web dynamics of freshwater insects and riparian spiders upstream and downstream of wastewater treatment facilities in the Bow River, AB. Results indicate that microbiomes of some downstream aquatic insects had lower relative abundances of endosymbiont bacteria, shifts in bacterial diversities, and increases in abundances of effluent-associated bacteria than those collected at upstream sites, but no such changes were observed in the spider predators. This study improves our understanding of how freshwater insect microbiomes are altered by municipal wastewater effluents and suggests that directly effluent-exposed organisms are more at risk of dysbiosis.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) constitute an important class of indoor air contaminants and they may cause adverse health effects for occupants in buildings. Indoor generated contaminants may be transferred between the supply and exhaust air streams of the building’s Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning (HVAC) system when air-to-air energy recovery devices are used. The run-around membrane energy exchanger (RAMEE) is a novel exchanger, which uses aqueous magnesium chloride (MgCl2) salt solution (34-35 wt%) as a liquid desiccant to transfer heat and moisture between remote supply and exhaust air streams. In the RAMEE, a gas-phase porous membrane is placed between the air stream and the liquid desiccant stream in each exchanger and the membrane prevents the salt solution from entering the air stream but still allows the transfer of water vapor through the semi-permeable membrane. In the RAMEE, VOCs may transfer between the exhaust and supply air streams due to (i) air leakage or (ii) due to dissolution of VOCs into the liquid desiccant in the exhaust exchanger and their subsequent evaporation into the air stream of the supply exchanger. These two transfer mechanisms were tested in the laboratory using two counter-cross-flow RAMEE prototypes (Prototype #4 and Prototype #6). Tests were conducted at different air and desiccant flow rates at AHRI standard summer and winter operating conditions. Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) was used as a tracer gas to test air leakage and toluene (C7H8) and formaldehyde (HCHO) were used to test VOC dissolution and transfer. From an external source, a known concentration of VOC was injected into the exhaust air inlet stream and the transfer fraction of VOC to the supply air stream was calculated. This transfer fraction or Exhaust Air Transfer Ratio (EATR) defined by ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 84 (2012) at steady state conditions was used to quantify and compare the transfer fraction of contaminants in both prototypes. The uncertainty in the transfer fraction was calculated and all the uncertainty bounds were calculated for 95% confidence interval. The transfer fraction of sulfur hexafluoride was 0.02 +/- 3.6% for both prototypes tested, which means that the air leakage between the air streams is negligible. The transfer of toluene, which has a low solubility in water, was less than the uncertainty in the measurement. EATR* values for toluene were 2.3-3.4% and the uncertainties were 3.4-3.6%. The transfer of formaldehyde between the exhaust and the supply air streams was the highest and the EATR* values just exceeded the uncertainties in the EATR* measurement. The highest EATR* values for the transfer of formaldehyde in Prototype #4 and Prototype #6 were 6.4 +/- 3.6% and 5.3 +/- 3.6%, respectively. At steady state, the measured EATR* values for both prototypes were insensitive to changes in the air flow rate, the liquid desiccant flow rate, the latent effectiveness and the environmental conditions but time delays to reach steady state were significant. These results imply that there is a negligible transfer of contaminants due to air leakage between the air streams, a negligible transfer of low water soluble VOCs (such as toluene), but possibly a small detectable transfer of very water soluble VOCs (such as formaldehyde) between the exhaust and supply air streams of the RAMEE.

Le développement des activités humaines, notamment industrielles, depuis le 19ième siècle a engendré une contamination massive de l’atmosphère à la rivière, en passant par la biosphère et les sols. Si les contaminations ont fortement diminué depuis la fin des années 1960, elles persistent notamment en milieu urbain, où se concentrent un grand nombre d’activités humaines. Afin de pouvoir gérer au mieux la pollution, il est nécessaire de comprendre la dynamique de transfert des contaminants, ainsi que leurs sources, à l’échelle du continuum atmosphère – sol – rivière. Cette étude a donc pour objectif d’évaluer les variations temporelles et spatiales de deux types de contaminants historiques, les hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques (HAP) et certains éléments traces (ET), à l’échelle du bassin versant de l’Orge (950 km2), présentant une urbanisation croissante d’amont en aval. Plusieurs approches ont été utilisées pour tracer les transferts de particules en rivière (radionucléides ⁷Be, ²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs), et déterminer les sources de Pb (isotopes du Pb), et les sources de HAP (rapports de molécules).Les résultats ont mis en évidence un impact important des zones urbaines sur la qualité de la rivière Orge en aval du bassin : contamination importante en métaux (Cu, Zn, Sb, Pb) et en HAP de la phase particulaire, et des niveaux élevés en SO42⁻, Na⁺ et Cl⁻, Cu, Zn et Pb dans la phase dissoute. Le traçage des sédiments par les radionucléides a permis d’observer un apport de particules provenant du ruissellement urbain en aval, et d’identifier les particules de route (ou Road Deposited Sediment) comme source principale. Les signatures isotopiques du Pb ainsi que les signatures en HAP permettent de confirmer que le ruissellement urbain est le principal vecteur de contamination. Les estimations des flux d’ET et HAP annuels et saisonniers entrants (retombées atmosphériques) et sortants (exportés par la rivière) ont mis en évidence une accumulation globale à l’échelle du bassin, qui comporte déjà un stock important de contaminants dans ses sols. Cette étude montre ainsi l’importance d’étudier la Zone Critique dans son ensemble afin d’évaluer la dynamique des contaminations au sein et entre ses différents compartiments, et met en évidence l’efficacité du couplage de plusieurs approches afin de comprendre le système entier. Ces résultats pourraient à terme permettre l’établissement d’un modèle de transfert de contaminations au sein d’un bassin urbain. / The development of human societies since the 19th century has led to deleterious impacts on the Critical Zone (from atmosphere to river, including biosphere and soils). Despite the decrease of pollutions since the late 1960’s, contaminations remain especially in urban environment, concentrating human activities. To better manage this pollution, it is necessary to understand the dynamics and pathways of contaminants through the atmosphere – soil – river continuum. The goal of this study in thus to evaluate the temporal and spatial variations of two contaminants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and trace elements (TE)) in the Orge River catchment (900 km2, France) being under increasing urban pressure from up to downstream. Several fingerprinting approaches were used to trace sediment dynamics in the river (radionuclides: ⁷Be, ²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs), to identify lead sources (lead isotopes) and PAH sources (PAH molecular ratios). The results demonstrated the strong influence of downstream urban areas on the river quality, with an increasing contamination for Cu, Zn, Sb, Pb and PAH in the particulate phase, and for SO42⁻, Na⁺ et Cl⁻, Cu, Zn and Pb in the dissolved phase. The sediment fingerprinting using radionuclides revealed a significant input of particles originating from urban areas and transferred through urban runoff, and identified road deposited sediments as the major source of contaminated particles downstream. Source tracking of Pb and PAH confirmed urban runoff as the main pathway of river contamination. In addition, annual and seasonal PAH and TE fluxes were estimated respectively for the atmospheric inputs, and riverine exports and revealed a global accumulation of contaminant over the catchment, already containing a significant stock of pollutants in its soils. Finally, this study highlights the need to integrate the Critical Zone and the potential of coupling multiples tracking approaches to properly evaluate the contaminant dynamics. These results may be used to establish a model of contaminants transfer in urban catchments.

L'utilisation de pesticides sur les surfaces agricoles conduit à une contamination généralisée des eaux de surface et de subsurface en France. Dans l'attente d'une évolution profonde des pratiques agricoles et d'une baisse durable de l'utilisation des pesticides, il est intéressant de chercher à limiter des transferts des zones agricoles aux zones aquatiques. Pour mieux agir sur les voies de transfert, il est nécessaire d'approfondir les connaissances des processus en jeu et de leurs interactions éventuelles et de tirer au mieux partie des observations du terrain.L'objectif de cette thèse est l'intégration de processus de transferts réactif dans le modèle hydrologique à base physique CATHY (CATchment HYdrology), capable de simuler en 3 dimensions les écoulements de l'eau de façon couplée surface-subsurface et le transport advectif dans des situations variablement saturées. En subsurface, les processus d'adsorption linéaire et de dégradation du premier ordre sont implémentés. Un module de mélange des solutés entre la lame ruisselante et la première couche de sol est ajouté, qui permet de simuler la remobilisation des solutés de la subsurface dans le ruissellement. Le couplage surface-subsurface des écoulement est très efficace dans ce modèle, et le couplage du transport de soluté adoptant la même stratégie a été amélioré pour mieux respecter la conservation de la masse.Le modèle est en premier lieu testé sur des données issues d'expérimentations de transfert de subsurface sur une maquette de laboratoire à petite échelle (2 m de long, o.5 m de large, 1 m de profondeur). Les résultats sont confrontés aux chroniques de flux massiques observées et une analyse de sensibilité de type Morris est menée. Le modèle est capable de reproduire de façon satisfaisante les observations, et très satisfaisante après une légère calibration. Les conductivités à saturation horizontale et verticale, la porosité et le paramètre $n$ de la courbe de rétention influencent de façon non négligeable les résultats hydrodynamiques et de transfert de soluté. Dans un second temps, le modèle est évalué sur les données issus d'un versant viticole réel (0.6 ha) dans un contexte orageux avec de fortes interactions surface-subsurface. Une analyse de sensibilité globale est menée, et met en valeur les mêmes paramètres que la méthode de Morris. Les interactions entre les paramètres influencent fortement la variabilité des sorties hydrodynamiques et de transfert. La conservation de la masse est très correctement assurée malgré la complexité de la simulation.Le modèle auquel on aboutit correspond bien aux objectifs de départ, sa validation est solide, même si elle n'est rigoureusement valable que dans les contextes précis où elle a été réalisée. On a montré que le modèle était robuste et capable de reproduire des données observées. D'autres processus manquent encore pour représenter toutes les voies de transfert à l'échelle du versant, notamment la représentation du transfert préférentiel en subsurface et du transport sédimentaire en surface. / Pesticide use on agricultural surfaces leads to a broad surface and subsurface water contamination in France. Awaiting a deep agricultural practices evolution and a sustained fall of the pesticide use, it is of interest to limit transfers form agricultural fields to rivers. In order to constrain those transfers, a deepen knowledge of processes at stake and their potential interactions is necessary, as well as taking full advantages of fields observations.The aim of this PhD is the reactive transfer processes integration in the Hydrological physically-based model CATHY (CATchment HYdrology) which simulates surface-subsurface coupled water flow and advectiv solute transport in three dimensions and in variably saturated situations. Linear adsorption and first order decay are implemented in subsurface. A mixing modules is added, and evens the concentration between surface runoff and subsurface first layer. This module simulates the solute mobilisation from soil to surface runoff. The water flow surface-subsurface coupling procedure is very accurate in CATHY, and the transport coupling procedure is improve in order to respect the mass conservation.The model is first evaluated on subsurface transfer laboratory experimentation data at a small scale (2 m long, o.5 m wide, 1 m deep). Results are compared to mass flux evolution in time and a Morris sensitivity analysis is conducted. The model is able to acceptably reproduce observation, and properly after a slight calibration. Horizontal and vertical saturated conductivities, porosity and the $n$ parameter of retention curve significantly influence hydrodynamics and solute transport. As a second step, the model is evaluated on data from a field wine hillslope on an intense rain event, therefore in a context with a lot of surface-subsurface interactions. A global sensitivity analysis is conducted and highlights same parameters as the Morris method. Interactions between parameters highly influence the variability of hydrodynamic and solute transfer outputs. Mass conservation is accurate despite the complexity of the context.The resulting model meets the objectives, its evaluation is strong even if its theoretically only valid in the precise context in which the evaluations where conducted. The model is robust and able to reproduce observed data. Some complementary processes are still missing in the model to properly represent transfer ways at the hillslope scale, such as subsurface preferential transfers and surface sedimentary transport.

La mauvaise qualité de l'air intérieur a été classée parmi les cinq principaux risques environnementaux sur la santé publique (EPA, 2013). La ventilation est une solution bien connue pour réduire la variété de contaminants qui pourraient être trouvés à l'intérieur de bâtiments résidentiels. Cependant, comme l'air propre est un facteur essentiel pour une vie saine et un bâtiment sain, une faible consommation d'énergie est essentielle pour une planète saine. Pour ces raisons, différentes recherches scientifiques sont menées pour l'amélioration des performances des systèmes de ventilation afin de créer un équilibre entre la distribution de l'air et la qualité de l'air intérieur d’un côté et le confort thermique et l'efficacité énergétique d’un autre côté. Un des systèmes de ventilation existants est la ventilation mécanique par insufflation (VMI). Son principe consiste à introduire mécaniquement de l’air neuf depuis l’extérieur, après l’avoir filtré et préchauffé. Les systèmes existant à ce jour en France introduisent l’air via un ou deux points d’insufflation (situés généralement au centre de l’habitation). Quant à l'évacuation de l’air vicié, celui-ci est véhiculé par les sorties naturelles installées dans chaque pièce de la maison. L’objectif de ce travail est tout d’abord d’étudier les performances de la ventilation par insufflation dans un environnement réel puis de trouver des pistes d’amélioration qui permettront d’atteindre une meilleure qualité de l’air intérieur. En se basant sur deux études préliminaires présentées par le chapitre II, on a installé un système à insufflation répartie (un point d’insufflation/pièce de vie) dans une maison réelle où l’on a mené des expérimentations. Des scénarios d’émission de polluant ont été effectués à l’aide de la technique de gaz traceur. L’étude a montré que, malgré un débit de ventilation global du système VMI inférieur à celui du système de référence (ventilation mécanique par extraction hygroréglable B), la VMI fournit des résultats satisfaisants. En outre, elle aide à lutter contre le confinement des chambres et à réduire à l'intérieur, les concentrations des particules provenant des sources extérieures. Une étude numérique est réalisée en utilisant un modèle aéraulique et de transfert de masse multizone. Les résultats ont montré un bon accord avec l'expérience et sont prometteurs pour l’avenir ; une étude paramétrique permettant d'améliorer la performance de la VMI vient parachever ce travail. / Poor indoor air quality has been ranked among the top five environmental risks on public health (EPA, 2013). The ventilation is a well-recognized solution for reducing the variety of contaminants that could be found inside residential buildings. However, as well as clean air is an essential factor for a healthy life and a healthy building, low energy consumption is significant for a healthy planet. For these reasons, scientific research are conducted to improve the performance of ventilation systems in order to obtain a balance in the controversial relationship between the air distribution and indoor air quality on the one hand and the thermal comfort and energy efficiency on the other hand. One of the existing ventilation systems is the Supply-Only Ventilation (SOV), known also as positive input ventilation (PIV). It functions by mechanically introducing fresh, filtered and preheated air into the center of the building. So far, the existing systems in France introduce air through one or two supply points (usually located in the center of the house). As for the evacuation, steal air goes out through natural vents installed in each room of the house. The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of this system in terms of indoor air quality in a real environment and to find improvement field that will help in increasing the indoor air quality. Based on preliminary studies and on the airflow path principle required by French regulation, we decided to investigate a Multi Supply-Only Ventilation system (M-SOV). The idea is to have an insufflation point in the bedrooms and living room, while the free air outlets are located in the utility rooms (kitchen, bathroom and toilets). Different emission scenarios are experimentally simulated using tracer gas methods. The study shows that even though the flow rate of this system is lower than the extract only ventilation system (EOV), it provides satisfactory results. In addition, it helps fight against the confinement room and reduce the indoor particles concentrations originated from outdoor sources. A numerical study using a multizone airflow and contaminant transport model is performed. The numerical results show a good agreement with that of the experimental ones. Moreover, they are promising for the future parametric study in order to improve the SOV performance.