Monitoring the quality of water in the Doubs river (France)

The water quality measurements carried out in 1981 at six stations on the lower Doubs were exploited for the development of a dissolved oxygen model. A length of the river of 170 km was considered, comprising the towns of Baume-les-Dames, Besançon and Dole. With a time step of three hours, the model reconstitutes the evolution of 8 water quality parameters and phytoplankton biomass for the years 1981 and 1982. By means of this model, we evaluate on a semesterial scale (May-October) the magnitude of the different terms of the dissolved oxygen balance; which shows the major role played by phytoplankton biomass. A predictive application of the rnodel is given: it indicates possible trends in the dissolved oxygen profiles for the Doubs supposing the realization of the Rhine-Rhone large tonnage project