É elaborada uma proposta de procedimentos de projetos de comboios fluviais adaptados às condições existentes das vias navegáveis, a partir de uma visão ampliada da necessidade de obtenção de menores custos de transporte, com níveis adequados de segurança e de respeito ao meio ambiente. Uma análise das inter-relações técnicas entre hidrovias e embarcações, assim como dos condicionantes e implicações do conceito de embarcações adaptadas às vias navegáveis, orientou a elaboração do modelo. Este foi estruturado em módulos, com o objetivo de reproduzir, um a um, os fatores mais importantes que influenciam a eficiência, a segurança e o nível de interferência ambiental do transporte de cargas por comboios. Um programa computacional foi desenvolvido como instrumento de aplicação do modelo, consolidando os procedimentos propostos para a escolha das melhores alternativas de projeto e de operação de comboios. Resultados experimentais com comboios em escala real e com modelos em tanques de provas, foram utilizados para validação dos procedimentos adotados. Dados de acidentes com comboios em várias hidrovias do mundo foram utilizados como bases para avaliações de risco. O modelo foi aplicado aos casos de transportes de soja pela hidrovia Tietê-Paraná e pelo rio Araguaia, exemplificando as formas de análise e de escolha das alternativas de soluções de projeto. Ao final, os resultados obtidos comprovaram a utilidade da adoção de um enfoque mais abrangente do processo de projeto de comboios fluviais. / It is proposed a procedure model for design of barges push-tow adapted to waterway actual conditions, with the purpose of minimize transportation costs but always making verifications of navigation safety and ambient interferences levels. An analysis of inter-relations on inland waterways and cargo ships and, also, detailed conditionings and implications of waterway adapted ships concept, was used for model elaboration. It was structured in blocks to reproduce, one to one, the most important factors that modify efficiency, safety and environmental interference levels of barges push-tow cargo transportation. A computational program was developed to consolidate the proposed model and to apply procedures to choose best design and operational alternatives. Results of full scale and towing tank tests with push-tows were used to verify the mathematical and semi-empirical models. Barges push-tows accidents data from waterways of the world was used as risk model basis. To evaluate its effectiveness, the model was applied to bulk grain transportation cases by Tietê-Paraná waterway and by Araguaia river. The results shows that the special emphasis on three factors (efficiency, safety and ambient) improves the quality of barges push-tow design process.

Barcelone, 1962, les routes de Lorenzo Soler et de Juan Piquer, issus de la génération de La Posguerra, se croisent de nouveau. Dans leur ville natale, Valence, ils avaient fréquenté le même collège huppé… et subi les mêmes souffrances, liées aux injustices de la société franquiste. Une amitié solide va naître. Juan Piquer est réalisateur. Sous son influence, Lorenzo Soler fondera une société de production cinématographique. Le 29 juillet 1963, une bombe éclate à La Puerta del Sol, au coeur de Madrid. Les deux jeunes Valenciens sont profondément choqués. Lorenzo Soler décide de produire un documentaire sur la période opaque de la pré-Guerre civile, l’ investissement des deux amis sera exemplaire. La première partie de la thèse dévoilera l’histoire du documentaire, tourné en 35 mm, reconstituée, en l’absence de copie, à partir des dossiers de censure. 1965, Juan Piquer repart travailler à Madrid. Dès 1964, le producteur s’était lancé dans la réalisation en tournant en 16 mm. Octobre 1965, la Mairie de Barcelone veut mettre en exergue sa politique du logement à l’égard des immigrants venus de l’Espagne du Sud, Lorenzo Soler est chargé de la réalisation de l’oeuvre de commande. Lors du tournage, il découvre el barraquismo, la gorge nouée, il tourne, mais l’oeuvre, une fois réalisée, sera mise sous séquestre. La décision du cinéaste se fera alors irrévocable, ses images témoigneront. La seconde partie de la thèse recouvrira la période 1965 - 1970 et traitera du parcours du précurseur d’un cinéma nouveau : « el cine [documental] independiente ». / In 1962, in Barcelona, Lorenzo Soler’s path crossed again Juan Piquer’s, by chance. Both were from the Posguerra generation. In their hometown, Valencia, they had attended the same posh college… and suffered the same experiences, because of the injustices of the Franco’s society. Their reunion marked the beginning of a close friendship. Juan Piquer was a film maker. Under his influence, Lorenzo Soler founded a movie production company. On July 29th 1963, a bomb exploded in downtown Madrid. The two young men were deeply shocked by the bomb attack. Lorenzo Soler then decided to produce a documentary on the obscure period that preceded the Civil War. The two friends’ commitment was exemplary. The first part of the thesis unveils the story of the documentary, from the study of the censure, because there is no copy of the movie, shot as a 35 mm film. In 1965, Juan Piquer went back to Madrid for work. In 1964, the producer started directing movies, using a 16 mm camera. In October 1965, Barcelona town council decided to promote its housing policy toward the southern Spain immigrants, Lorenzo Soler was in charge of a commissioned documentary. While shooting, he discovered el barraquismo, a lump in his throat, he shot, but his work was confiscated. Then the film maker’s decision became irrevocable, his work had to testify. The second part of the thesis deals with the career, from 1965 to 1970, of the precursor of a new cinema in Spain : el cine [documental] independiente.

Schifffahrt stellt weltweit eine der wichtigsten Nutzungen der Flüsse und Seen dar, die zukünftig weiter zu nimmt. Sie schädigt Ufer durch Wellenschlag erheblich. Die Effekte von Schiffswellen auf benthische Wirbellose sind aber bisher kaum bekannt, obwohl diese eine zentrale Rolle im litoralen Nahrungsnetz spielen. Daher untersuchte ich 1) die direkten Effekte von Schiffswellen auf benthische Wirbellose, 2) die resultierenden Auswirkungen auf trophische Interaktionen und 3) das Wachstum und die Fitness von Wirbellosen, sowie 4) die langfristigen Änderungen der litoralen Wirbellosenzönosen. Labor- und Feldversuche zeigten, dass mit zunehmender wellengenerierter Sohlschubspannung mehr Individuen verdriftet wurden. Die Verdriftung wurde jedoch durch eine hohe strukturelle Habitatkomplexität gemindert, da diese die Wellenenergie stärker dissipierte und den Wirbellosen bessere Festhaltemöglichkeiten bot. Die Verdriftung der Wirbellosen bewirkte ein höheres Prädationsrisiko durch spindelförmige Fische, während hochrückige Fische die Ingestion bei Wellenexposition reduzierten. Wellenschlag verringerte auch das Wachstum und die Fitness nativer Wirbellosenarten, indem die Ingestion verringert oder der Energieverbrauch erhöht wurde, wohingegen Neozoen nicht beeinträchtigt wurden. Der kumulative Effekt von Schiffswellen veränderte die Artenzusammensetzung benthischer Zönosen sehr. Die Abundanz nativer Wirbelloser und die Artenzahl waren an exponierten Ufern geringer, während die Abundanz invasiver Arten zunahm. Folglich beeinträchtigen Schiffswellen benthische Wirbellose auf der Ebene der Individuen, Arten, Zönosen, sowie tropischer Interaktionen, und können so die ökologische Struktur und Funktion des gesamten Litorals beeinflussen. Durch Schutz komplexer Habitate wie Wurzeln und dichte Schilfbestände, sowie durch Wellenschlagsreduzierung durch größere Mindestabstände zum Ufer und angepasste Fahrtgeschwindigkeit, können die Auswirkungen von Schiffswellen gemindert werden. / Inland navigation is a major human use of rivers and lakes worldwide which is expected to increase in the future. It significantly affects shore habitats by ship-induced waves. In contrast to the importance of such pressures, the effects of these hydrodynamic disturbances on benthic invertebrates in the littoral zones are poorly understood, even that invertebrates are a central element of littoral food webs. Hence, I investigated 1) the direct and immediate effects of ship-waves on benthic invertebrates, 2) their subsequent effects on trophic interactions and 3) on the growth and fitness of invertebrates, and finally 4) the long-term effects on the community composition. Laboratory and field experiments showed increasing detachment of invertebrates with higher wave-induced shear stress. Detachment was significantly mitigated by higher structural complexity of the habitats, as complex habitats dissipate wave energy and provide better fixing possibilities. Moreover dislodgement of invertebrates led to a higher risk of being preyed upon by fusiform fish, while deep bodied fish reduced feeding under waves. Waves also reduced growth and fitness of native invertebrates via reduced feeding or increased energy costs, while non-native invertebrates were not affected. The cumulative impact of ship-waves alters the community composition of benthic invertebrates. The abundance of native invertebrates and total species richness was lower at exposed sites, while non-native invertebrates increased in abundance. Thus, ship-waves affect benthic invertebrates on the individual, species, and community levels, as well as the interaction of trophic levels, and hence will alter the ecological structure and function of whole littoral zones. Adverse effects of ship-waves may be mitigated by protecting structural complex habitats such as tree roots and dense reed belts, and by minimizing wave generation by increasing minimum sailing distance to shore or by adjusting vessel speed.

Les sécheresses des années 1970 accentuées dans les années 1980 et les aménagements hydroagricoles ont eu pour conséquence une certaine dégradation des ressources naturelles du delta intérieur du fleuve Niger (DIN). Cette dégradation des ressources naturelles associées à la pression croissante de la population sur le milieu a conduit à une gestion conflictuelle de ces ressources. De plus, le système d’exploitation actuel des ressources et le fonctionnement hydrologique font du DIN un écosystème complexe à gérer. Dans ces travaux, nous adoptons une approche intégrée et pluridisciplinaire pour aborder la problématique de gestion des ressources du DIN. L’approche mobilise l’hydrologie, la sociologie, l’agronomie et l’économie. L’analyse des données hydrologiques a permis de mettre en évidence une différence significative entre les dates de passage des maximums des fleuves Niger et Bani qui alimentent le DIN. Cette différence impacte les calendriers des principaux systèmes de production contribuant ainsi à exacerber les conflits. Les stratégies de gestion élaborées avec les parties prenantes, allient des pratiques de sécurisation et de maîtrise de l’eau, d’intensification, de régénération des ressources, de renforcement des capacités et des incitations économiques. Par ailleurs, dans un contexte de variabilité climatique accrue, nous avons analysé les perceptions d’un échantillon de pêcheurs, d’éleveurs et de cultivateurs sur la prévision du climat et sur l’intérêt des prévisions climatiques et des crues. Il ressort que les besoins en information climatique des usagers d’une plaine inondable comme le DIN se rapportent surtout aux dates de début de saison, de passage des maximums de crue, de la date d’arrivée des crues et des hauteurs maximales de crue. L’intérêt économique simulé de l’information climatique pour un système agraire de riziculture inondée présente un gain moyen de 10%. Par contre le coût des éventuelles erreurs de prévision serait particulièrement élevé pour les producteurs avec un déficit moyen sur le revenu de 24%. / The droughts of the 1970s intensified in the 1980s and the development of irrigation schemes upstream of the Inner Niger Delta in Mali (IND) have resulted in the degradation of natural resources. This degradation of natural resources associated with the increasing population pressure on the environment has led to a more conflictive management of these resources. In addition, the current operating system of resources and the hydrological functioning of the IND make the management of the ecosystem more complex.In this work, we adopt an integrated and multidisciplinary approach to address the IND resource management issues. The approach mobilizes hydrology, sociology, agronomy and economy.The analysis of hydrological data has highlighted a significant difference between the maximum passing dates of the two rivers that supply the IND. This difference impacts the schedules of the main production systems thus contributing to exacerbate conflict. The management strategies developed with stakeholders combine the practices of security and water control, intensification, resource regeneration, capacity building and economic incentives. Moreover, in a context of increased climate variability, we analyzed the perceptions of a sample of fishermen, herders and farmers on climate prediction and their interest of climate and flood forecasts.. It appears that the need for climate information of floodplain users as IND relate mainly to the onset date of rainy season, flood maximum passaging date, the arrival of floods and flood peak heights.The simulated economic value of climate information for an agrarian system of flooded rice obtains an average gain of 10%. As against the cost of possible prediction errors is particularly high for producers with an average deficit on income of 24%.

Les travaux de cette thèse ont pour but de développer un prototype d’éco-pilote, nommé EcoNav, permettant d’optimiser la vitesse d’un bateau afin de réduire sa consommation de carburant. EcoNav est composé de plusieurs modules dont : un modèle hydraulique 2D simulant l’écoulement hydrodynamique (vitesse du courant et hauteur d’eau) le long du trajet du bateau; - un modèle de résistance à l’avancement servant à alimenter un modèle de prédiction de la consommation de carburant; - un algorithme d’optimisation permettant de trouver le profil optimal de vitesse. Afin de pouvoir estimer la consommation de carburant, un modèle numérique de la résistance à l’avancement en milieu confiné a été développé durant la première partie de cette thèse. Ce modèle numérique 3D simule l’écoulement du fluide autour du bateau et permet de calculer les forces agissant sur sa coque. La résolution des équations RANS est couplée avec un algorithme de quasi-Newton afin de trouver la position d’équilibre du bateau et calculer son enfoncement. Cette méthode est validée en comparant les résultats numériques avec des résultats expérimentaux issus d’essais en bassin de traction. L’influence de l’enfoncement sur la résistance à l’avancement et la précision de la méthode est étudiée en comparant les résultats numériques obtenus avec et sans enfoncement. La précision des modèles empiriques de prédiction de la résistance à l’avancement est également comparée à celle du modèle numérique. Enfin, le modèle numérique est utilisé afin de déterminer si le confinement en largeur ou en profondeur ont une influence identique sur l’augmentation de résistance à l’avancement. Les résultats de cette étude permettent d’établir si le confinement de la voie d’eau peut être caractérisé à l’aide d’un paramètre unique (coefficient de blocage par exemple) ou bien deux paramètres permettant de distinguer le confinement latéral et vertical. Dans la seconde partie de cette thèse, les méthodes numériques utilisées pour le modèle d’éco-pilote sont décrites et comparées afin de sélectionner celles qui sont le plus adaptées à chaque module. EcoNav est ensuite utilisé afin de modéliser un cas réel : celui du bateau automoteur Oural navigant sur la Seine entre Chatou et Poses (153 km). La consommation optimisée est comparée à la consommation non optimisée, calculée à partir des vitesses AIS observées sur le tronçon étudié. L’influence de la trajectoire du bateau et de son temps de parcours sur sa consommation sont également étudiés. Les résultats de ces investigations ont montré qu’optimiser la vitesse du bateau permet d’obtenir une réduction de la consommation de carburant de l’ordre de 8 % et qu’optimiser la trajectoire du bateau ainsi que prendre en compte des informations en temps réel (disponibilité des écluses, trafic sur le fleuve) peuvent permettre de réaliser des économies de carburant supplémentaires. / An eco-driving prototype, named EcoNav, is developed with the aim of optimizing a vessel speed in order to reduce fuel consumption for a given itinerary. EcoNav is organized in several modules : - a 2D hydraulic model simulating the flow conditions (current speed and water depth) along the itinerary; - a ship resistance model calculating the thrust necessary to counteract the hydrodynamic forces ; - a fuel consumption model calculating the fuel consumption corresponding to the thrust input; - a non linear optimization algorithm calculating the optimal speed profile. In order to evaluate the fuel consumption of an inland vessel, a ship resistance numerical model is developed in the first part of this PhD. This 3D numerical model simulates the flow around an inland self-propelled vessel and evaluates the hydrodynamic forces acting on the hull. A RANS solver is coupled with a quasi-Newton approach to find the equilibrium position and calculate ship sinkage. This method is validated by comparing the results of numerical simulations to towing tank tests. The numerical results with and without sinkage are also compared to study the influence of sinkage on ship resistance and on the accuracy of the method. Additionally, some empirical models are investigated and compared with the accuracy of the numerical method. Finally, the numerical model is used to determine if channel with and water depth restriction contribute to the same amount of ship resistance increase for the same level of restriction. The results of that investigation give insight to whether channel restriction can be characterized by a unique parameter (for instance the blockage ratio) or two parameters to distinguish water depth and channel with effects. In the second part of this PhD, the numerical methods used in the speed optimization model are described and validated. The speed optimization model is then used to simulate a real case: the itinerary of the self-propelled ship Oural on river Seine, between Chatou and Poses (153 km). The optimized fuel consumption is compared with the non-optimized fuel consumption, based on AIS speed profile retrieved on this itinerary. The effects of the ship trajectory and travel duration on fuel consumption are also investigated. The results of those investigations showed that optimizing the ship speed lead to an average fuel saving of 8 % and that using an optimal track and including real time information such as lock availability and river traffic can lead to additional fuel savings.

O objetivo deste trabalho é utilizar parcela do potencial da Internet como ferramenta de apoio ao desenvolvimento do processo de ensino-aprendizagem, através do emprego efetivo de alguns de seus recursos e posterior avaliação dos resultados obtidos em disciplina específica da Engenharia de Transportes. Para introduzir e avaliar a abordagem aqui proposta foi selecionada a disciplina STT403 - Aeroportos, Portos e Vias Navegáveis, oferecida pelo Departamento de Transportes da Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos, da Universidade de São Paulo, que é ministrada dentro do curso de graduação em Engenharia Civil. A parte da disciplina relativa a Portos e Vias Navegáveis, que tem cunho predominantemente informativo, foi adaptada para um método de ensino a distância, neste caso semipresencial, ou seja, as aulas expositivas tradicionais não foram suprimidas. Na abordagem aqui proposta as aulas foram ministradas em sala de aula e um material confeccionado pelos alunos com auxílio do professor foi disponibilizado na Internet, para que posteriormente os demais alunos pudessem consultá-lo. As dúvidas daí resultantes foram sanadas tanto em sala de aula como em consulta direta ao docente. Além das pesquisas realizadas pelos alunos, testes, bibliotecas, agenda e o desempenho individual de cada aluno também foram colocados à disposição no ambiente computacional para auxiliá-los na construção do conhecimento. A adaptação da disciplina a este novo método de ensino foi feita com o ambiente WebCT, sistema de gerenciamento de educação a distância, que pode ser utilizado pelos professores da USP para disponibilizarem seus cursos e/ou disciplinas na Internet há alguns anos. Esta ferramenta, que foi concebida por uma universidade canadense para melhorar o processo de ensino-aprendizagem, possui rotinas desenvolvidas especificamente para estimular a interação entre professor-aluno e entre os próprios alunos. Os resultados observados se constituem em fortes evidências de que a educação a distância, baseada na Internet, pode vir a ser uma estratégia efetiva na oferta de cursos para estudantes de engenharia, engenheiros e profissionais da área tecnológica, em larga escala e sem comprometimento da qualidade. A avaliação dos resultados obtidos permite afirmar, no mínimo: que o índice de satisfação com o curso por parte dos alunos com relação aos aspectos analisados pode ser considerado razoável e que a abordagem proposta parece promissora. / The aim of this work is to explore a fraction of the Internet potential as a supporting tool for the improvement of the learning process of a specific course in the Transportation Engineering field. This is accomplished through the application, in a regular course, of selected Internet resources and subsequent evaluation of the obtained results. The course, named Airports, Ports, and Inland Waterways, is part of the Civil Engineering core curriculum at the São Carlos School of Engineering - University of São Paulo. The teaching approach used for exploring Internet resources in the part of the course that deals with Ports and Inland Waterways did not eliminate the traditional classroom weekly meeting with the students, but took advantage of it to improve the process of distance education. In the approach proposed here, the students were organized in groups and asked to build a reference material with the aid of the lecturer in charge of the course. That material was later made available to the entire class through Internet, so that everyone could study it and evaluate it as well. The doubts arising from it could be discussed either in the classroom or directly with the lecturer. In addition to the results of the research carried out by the students, the environment built in Internet offered several other tools to support the learning process, such as: tests, libraries, agenda, and a management tool designed to track the individual performance of every student. The adaptation of the course to Internet has been done in a WebCT environment. That tool, which is a management system for distance education available for use at the University of São Paulo, has been designed by a Canadian university with the objective of stimulating the interactions among students themselves and with the course lecturer. The observed results seem to provide a strong evidence that Internet-based distance education might become an effective strategy for offering courses to Engineering students and professionals, and also to professionals of other technological areas. It can be a large-scale process without compromising the quality of the courses. Two points can be stressed, based on the evaluation of the results obtained with the application conducted here: the satisfaction level of the students with the course was not bad, and the proposed approach seems to be promising.

This thesis examines visionary directors David Lynch and Panos Cosmatos aesthetics in the films Inland Empire and Beyond the Black Rainbow. Two films with surrealistic aspects that are using a form of degraded aesthetics to achieve a certain kind of cinematography that is rarely seen in the industry. We examine what tools are being used to achieve the effect with theories concerning defamiliarization, the uncanny and uncanny valley. Aspects of cinematography in these films are working together to create effects that are both defamiliarized and uncanny.

O objetivo deste trabalho é utilizar parcela do potencial da Internet como ferramenta de apoio ao desenvolvimento do processo de ensino-aprendizagem, através do emprego efetivo de alguns de seus recursos e posterior avaliação dos resultados obtidos em disciplina específica da Engenharia de Transportes. Para introduzir e avaliar a abordagem aqui proposta foi selecionada a disciplina STT403 - Aeroportos, Portos e Vias Navegáveis, oferecida pelo Departamento de Transportes da Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos, da Universidade de São Paulo, que é ministrada dentro do curso de graduação em Engenharia Civil. A parte da disciplina relativa a Portos e Vias Navegáveis, que tem cunho predominantemente informativo, foi adaptada para um método de ensino a distância, neste caso semipresencial, ou seja, as aulas expositivas tradicionais não foram suprimidas. Na abordagem aqui proposta as aulas foram ministradas em sala de aula e um material confeccionado pelos alunos com auxílio do professor foi disponibilizado na Internet, para que posteriormente os demais alunos pudessem consultá-lo. As dúvidas daí resultantes foram sanadas tanto em sala de aula como em consulta direta ao docente. Além das pesquisas realizadas pelos alunos, testes, bibliotecas, agenda e o desempenho individual de cada aluno também foram colocados à disposição no ambiente computacional para auxiliá-los na construção do conhecimento. A adaptação da disciplina a este novo método de ensino foi feita com o ambiente WebCT, sistema de gerenciamento de educação a distância, que pode ser utilizado pelos professores da USP para disponibilizarem seus cursos e/ou disciplinas na Internet há alguns anos. Esta ferramenta, que foi concebida por uma universidade canadense para melhorar o processo de ensino-aprendizagem, possui rotinas desenvolvidas especificamente para estimular a interação entre professor-aluno e entre os próprios alunos. Os resultados observados se constituem em fortes evidências de que a educação a distância, baseada na Internet, pode vir a ser uma estratégia efetiva na oferta de cursos para estudantes de engenharia, engenheiros e profissionais da área tecnológica, em larga escala e sem comprometimento da qualidade. A avaliação dos resultados obtidos permite afirmar, no mínimo: que o índice de satisfação com o curso por parte dos alunos com relação aos aspectos analisados pode ser considerado razoável e que a abordagem proposta parece promissora. / The aim of this work is to explore a fraction of the Internet potential as a supporting tool for the improvement of the learning process of a specific course in the Transportation Engineering field. This is accomplished through the application, in a regular course, of selected Internet resources and subsequent evaluation of the obtained results. The course, named Airports, Ports, and Inland Waterways, is part of the Civil Engineering core curriculum at the São Carlos School of Engineering - University of São Paulo. The teaching approach used for exploring Internet resources in the part of the course that deals with Ports and Inland Waterways did not eliminate the traditional classroom weekly meeting with the students, but took advantage of it to improve the process of distance education. In the approach proposed here, the students were organized in groups and asked to build a reference material with the aid of the lecturer in charge of the course. That material was later made available to the entire class through Internet, so that everyone could study it and evaluate it as well. The doubts arising from it could be discussed either in the classroom or directly with the lecturer. In addition to the results of the research carried out by the students, the environment built in Internet offered several other tools to support the learning process, such as: tests, libraries, agenda, and a management tool designed to track the individual performance of every student. The adaptation of the course to Internet has been done in a WebCT environment. That tool, which is a management system for distance education available for use at the University of São Paulo, has been designed by a Canadian university with the objective of stimulating the interactions among students themselves and with the course lecturer. The observed results seem to provide a strong evidence that Internet-based distance education might become an effective strategy for offering courses to Engineering students and professionals, and also to professionals of other technological areas. It can be a large-scale process without compromising the quality of the courses. Two points can be stressed, based on the evaluation of the results obtained with the application conducted here: the satisfaction level of the students with the course was not bad, and the proposed approach seems to be promising.

The purpose of this study was to assess social worker perspectives on challenges that foster youth encounter in attaining adequate educations. Social workers need to be able to identify the best services and resources that will help this population continue their educational advancement.

Inland salt lakes in Western Australia have been used by the mining industry for the disposal of excess water generated during the mining process. However, the impact of these operations on the salt lakes is poorly understood. This is mainly due to the lack of information on the biota and chemistry for the lakes. The main aim of this project was to develop a classification system for inland salt lakes of Western Australia based on abiotic and biotic factors such as sediment and water quality, invertebrates and algae to determine lakes with unique or significant features. Water and sediments collected from the salt lakes were generally characterised by an alkaline pH, high salinity and the majority of lakes being dominated by sodium and chloride. Concentrations of some metals were also high, particularly in surface water. A high degree of variation in water and sediment quality was demonstrated both within and between the study lakes. In addition, these parameters were shown to be influenced by geography, geology, stage of the hydrocycle within which the lake was sampled and the occurrence of dewatering discharge. Biota in the salt lakes must be able to cope in a harsh environment, adjusting to temporary water regime, high temperature, and high salinity. As such, the species richness of these systems is generally low. Diatoms (a group of algae) and invertebrates were investigated among the biota. A total of 56 diatom species were recorded from 24 lakes. The most common species were Amphora coffeaeformis, Hantzschia aff. baltica and Navicula aff. incertata. These species were shown to have broad tolerances to environmental variations. Sediment chemistry explained variations in diatom community structure, with zinc, moisture content and cobalt having the greatest and negative influence. / In terms of invertebrates, a total of 101 invertebrate taxa were recorded from 13 lakes in this study. Crustacea dominated and the greatest number of taxa was from the genus Parartemia. There were some differences in invertebrate community structure between lakes, most likely reflecting the high degree of speciation, and poor dispersal mechanisms of certain key species. Community structure was influenced by water quality, with phosphorus, bicarbonate and magnesium contributing to the variations in community structure. Among the 43 lakes chosen for this study a total of 17 lakes had received, or are currently receiving dewatering discharge. Sites receiving dewatering discharge generally reported higher concentrations of salts, nutrients and some metals in both water and sediments compared to natural lakes. Species richness of biota such as diatoms and invertebrates was lower at the lakes receiving dewatering discharge. However, the impact was generally localized within the pooled area of dewatering discharge. Also, despite these impacts, there appears to be signs of amelioration by flushing events. Currently there are no guidelines for water and sediment chemistry for inland salt lakes in Western Australia. Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) guidelines are the most relevant available. Concentrations of cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc in surface water of the natural inland salt lakes were shown to exceed ANZECC guideline values. / Comparison with the relevant ANZECC sediment guidelines showed that they were applicable to the salt lakes, with the exception of nickel and chromium which were naturally high in the salt lake sediments. Classification of data using multivariate analysis was done for both dry and wet phases of the hydroperiod. Six groups were delineated for the sediment and diatom data, and four groups were defined for the water quality and invertebrate data. It was common for sites from particular lakes to fall in more than one group as a result of the variability in these systems. There are a number of practical applications of this system for the mining industry and it may be used as a predictive tool for determining the impact of dewatering discharge and highlighting unique salt lakes within the Goldfields of Western Australia.