Groundwater is a major source of water supply, and aquifers form major storage reservoirs as well as water conveyance systems, worldwide. The viability of groundwater as a source of water to the world's population is threatened by overexploitation and contamination. The rational management of water resource systems requires an understanding of their response to existing and planned schemes of exploitation, pollution prevention and/or remediation. Such understanding requires the collection of data to help characterize the system and monitor its response to existing and future stresses. It also requires incorporating such data in models of system makeup, water flow and contaminant transport. As the collection of subsurface characterization and monitoring data is costly, it is imperative that the design of corresponding data collection schemes is cost-effective. A major benefit of new data is its potential to help improve one's understanding of the system, in large part through a reduction in model predictive uncertainty and corresponding risk of failure. Traditionally, value-of-information or data-worth analyses have relied on a single conceptual-mathematical model of site hydrology with prescribed parameters. Yet there is a growing recognition that ignoring model and parameter uncertainties render model predictions prone to statistical bias and underestimation of uncertainty. This has led to a recent emphasis on conducting hydrologic analyses and rendering corresponding predictions by means of multiple models. We develop a theoretical framework of data worth analysis considering model uncertainty, parameter uncertainty and potential sample value uncertainty. The framework entails Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) with emphasis on its Maximum Likelihood version (MLBMA). An efficient stochastic optimization method, called Differential Evolution Method (DEM), is explored to aid in the design of optimal sampling schemes aiming at maximizing data worth. A synthetic case entailing generated log hydraulic conductivity random fields is used to illustrate the procedure. The proposed data worth analysis framework is applied to field pneumatic permeability data collected from unsaturated fractured tuff at the Apache Leap Research Site (ALRS) near Superior, Arizona.

Le contexte économique actuel montre que la représentation et l'analyse des données dans l'espace 3D croît de plus en plus dans les Systèmes d'Information Géographique (SIG). Le nombre d'applications SIG est en constante augmentation dans de nombreux secteurs d'activités comme par exemple la Défense, l'Aménagement du Territoire ou  la Sécurité Civile. Cependant, nous voyons l'émergence d'une forte demande pour l'analyse 3D dans les SIG. Ces développements nécessitent une standardisation des structures de données et d'échanges. Cette démarche est réalisée par l'Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) et l'organisation internationale de normalisation (ISO). Une norme récente (ISO 19107:2003) décrit les objets complexes à prendre en compte et les traitements qu’il est possible de leur appliquer. Elle cherche à mettre en place l’interopérabilité des échanges et des analyses de données géométriques et topologiques dans les SIG. Actuellement aucune implémentation informatique complète de cette norme n’a été encore réalisée, compte tenu de son niveau d'abstraction. Une version simplifiée a toutefois été développée pour des objets uniquement 2D (ISO 19137:2007). Ce travail de thèse propose la modélisation et l’analyse d'objets complexes dans un espace tridimensionnel, et les traitements associés pour réaliser une première bibliothèque de fonctionnalités conforme à la norme ISO 19107. De plus, cette norme est actuellement portée en révision au sein du consortium OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium, www.opengeospatial.org) avec une nécessité de correction et d’évolution. Les travaux menés jusqu'à présent ont permis d’apporter une contribution pertinente avec l'ajout de nouvelles primitives géométriques, l'harmonisation de primitives par l'usage de courbes et surfaces paramétriques rationnelles. Les travaux sur cette norme ont permis également l’élaboration d'une application au sein de la société GEOMATYS, rendant possible la modélisation et l'analyse 3D d'un trafic aérien reposant sur des données SIG. / In the current economic context, the representation and the analysis of 3D data is growing more and more in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The number of GIS applications is constantly increasing in many industries, such as Defense, Regional Development and Civil Security. However, we can point out the emergence of an important request for 3D analysis in GIS. These developments require a standardization of data and exchange structures. This is carried out by Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO). A recent standard (ISO 19107:2003) describes the complex objects to be taken into consideration and the associated treatments that can be used. It aims to develop interoperable exchange and analysis of geometric and topological data in GIS. Currently, no complete implementation on a computer of this standard has been done yet, regarding the level of abstraction sought. However, a simplified version was exclusively developed for 2D objects (ISO 19137:2007). This thesis proposes the modeling and the analysis of complex objects in three dimensional space, with their associated treatments. The objective is to create a first library whose the features are conform to ISO19107. Moreover, this standard is currently under review within the OGC Consortium (Open Geospatial Consortium) with a need for correction and evolution. The work done until now have enabled us to make a meaningful contribution with the addition of new geometrical primitives, the harmonization of primitives through the use of rational parametric curves and surfaces. The works on this standard also allowed the development of an application within the GEOMATYS company, making possible the 3D modeling and analysis for traffic simulation based on GIS data.