community show the growing complexity of a programme of this kind (Fig. 9). As
such, the PIREN-Seine has survived many institutional transformations in the field
of environmental research and is now one of the oldest continuous programmes in
this field.
5.1.4 Uses of Programme Outputs
The scientific outputs of the programme are now used in multiple ways:
• Models are used by the river authority to produce missing water quality data, to
simulate future trends of many water quality indicators (e.g. basic chemistry, fish
circulation) with different scenarios for each waterbody, as defined by the WFD.
They are also used for river management planning at the local and basin-wide
levels. Land-to-ocean models are also used as input to coastal zone models. The
PIREN-Seine’s model cascade of N, P, C and Si, from the plot scale to the ocean
and from the past 70 years to the next 50 years, has no equivalent in other basins.
• Specific studies have been done on basic water quality on the whole river
network, and chemical and microbiological impacts of Paris megalopolis, as
requested by institutional partners 30 years ago. Their outputs can now be used to
question
preventive
vs.
curative
environmental
solutions,
and
production vs. consumption strategies (e.g. for agrochemicals, cosmetics).
• The project has numerous pioneering studies on both a national and an international level. In addition to the model cascade, the following investigations are
particularly worthy of note: (1) the basin-wide coupling of surface and groundwaters within the context of climate change; (2) the detection of emerging
contaminants such as antibiotics and microplastics; (3) the basin-wide history
and circulation of persistent contaminants from sediment archives; and (4) longue
durée greenhouse gas budget for a river basin territory.
5.2 Scientific Knowledge and Action
Scientific knowledge and action are linked but in a complex way. Action can be
taken without the production of knowledge, and knowledge does not always trigger
action. Actors must be regularly informed about scientific progress in a suitable way
to generate action. Scenarios built up by scientists and their partners must be
discussed by members of the river basin committee (the deliberative level). Many
water quality issues have not been, or could not be adequately, addressed in the past
by scientists due to a lack of fundamental research (e.g. in the field of ecotoxicology
and long-term effects of low-level contamination on human health); technical means
(lack or limitation of analytical means for most micropollutants before the 1990s;
lack of GIS before the 1990s); or available databases (e.g. the historical population
database was only completed in the mid-1990s; most databases on material
410
C. Carré et al.
such, the PIREN-Seine has survived many institutional transformations in the field
of environmental research and is now one of the oldest continuous programmes in
this field.
5.1.4 Uses of Programme Outputs
The scientific outputs of the programme are now used in multiple ways:
• Models are used by the river authority to produce missing water quality data, to
simulate future trends of many water quality indicators (e.g. basic chemistry, fish
circulation) with different scenarios for each waterbody, as defined by the WFD.
They are also used for river management planning at the local and basin-wide
levels. Land-to-ocean models are also used as input to coastal zone models. The
PIREN-Seine’s model cascade of N, P, C and Si, from the plot scale to the ocean
and from the past 70 years to the next 50 years, has no equivalent in other basins.
• Specific studies have been done on basic water quality on the whole river
network, and chemical and microbiological impacts of Paris megalopolis, as
requested by institutional partners 30 years ago. Their outputs can now be used to
question
preventive
vs.
curative
environmental
solutions,
and
production vs. consumption strategies (e.g. for agrochemicals, cosmetics).
• The project has numerous pioneering studies on both a national and an international level. In addition to the model cascade, the following investigations are
particularly worthy of note: (1) the basin-wide coupling of surface and groundwaters within the context of climate change; (2) the detection of emerging
contaminants such as antibiotics and microplastics; (3) the basin-wide history
and circulation of persistent contaminants from sediment archives; and (4) longue
durée greenhouse gas budget for a river basin territory.
5.2 Scientific Knowledge and Action
Scientific knowledge and action are linked but in a complex way. Action can be
taken without the production of knowledge, and knowledge does not always trigger
action. Actors must be regularly informed about scientific progress in a suitable way
to generate action. Scenarios built up by scientists and their partners must be
discussed by members of the river basin committee (the deliberative level). Many
water quality issues have not been, or could not be adequately, addressed in the past
by scientists due to a lack of fundamental research (e.g. in the field of ecotoxicology
and long-term effects of low-level contamination on human health); technical means
(lack or limitation of analytical means for most micropollutants before the 1990s;
lack of GIS before the 1990s); or available databases (e.g. the historical population
database was only completed in the mid-1990s; most databases on material
410
C. Carré et al.