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The rating curve is the most frequently used methodology for continuous river flow measurement. However, to establish a reliable rating curve is difficult, takes time, and is often impossible when the measurement cross-section is unstable. To overcome this difficulty, the use of a modified form of the Manning equation is suggested to express flow rate as a function of hydraulic radius and longitudinal water surface slope rather than of water level alone, as is the case with the classical stagedischarge relationship. This formulation permits one to integrate the development of the river bed geometry and the hydraulic characteristics of the reach explicitly within the rating curve, in a simple way. The procedure is used and evaluated on the Leysse River in Chambéry, France. The results demonstrate the validity and potential of this approach, particularly for extrapolation, when the hydraulic and geometric characteristics are evolving.

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This paper examines the environmental and socio-economic consequences of hydraulic infrastructural changes along the Senegal River valley and estuary. During the 1980s, two dams were built along the valley floor to facilitate hydro-electrical production and regular water supply for crop irrigation. In 2003, a breach was dug across Barbary Spit to alleviate flooding in the nearby Saint-Louis city. Although these structures helped regulate the river flow, they also resulted in a series of unforeseen impacts. The study examines these, after on-site measurements (topometry, water salinity, piezometry), analysis of hydrological data, field observations, and surveys with dam managers, state regional directions and local stakeholders. It stresses the urgency of elaborating models of hydraulic management to limit the negative consequences of the hydraulic constructions. These models should consider the variety of water uses in the middle valley and delta, and also the water safety and quality (salinity) downriver from Diama Dam.

Lavaka represent a typical erosional landform in Madagascar. The chronology of their formation remains, however, under discussion. Our research focuses on the Ankarokaroka lavaka, a spectacular landform located in NW Madagascar (Ankarafantsika natural reserve), which is characterized by the presence of sandy units of regional extension at its top. The two main units correspond to white and red sands, and are closely associated with specific vegetations (dry dense forest for the white sands, savannah grasslands for the red sands). We applied a geochronological approach based on Optically Stimulated Luminescence (for the coversands) associated to radiocarbon dating performed on archaeological remains found at the contact between the sands and the lavaka. The combination of this approach with field work and sedimentological analyses makes it possible to show that the sands experienced a complex history, both in terms of sedimentation and post-sedimentary pedogenesis (podzolisation of the white sands, rubefaction of the red sands). The numerical ages furthermore indicate that the Ankarokaroka lavaka formed between 18.5±2.3 ka ago and the 14th century AD. The present study demonstrates that this lavaka has a climatic origin, and highlights the potential of OSL to date sediments associated with Madagascar lavaka

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La problématique de recherche est fondée sur la mise en lumière d'une incision récente du fleuve Niger dans sa partie supérieure (en amont de Ségou), contrairement à l'opinion généralement exprimée, y compris par les services techniques concernés par la gestion du bassin, d'un ensablement effectif. L'hypothèse est étayée par les résultats de mesures topométriques diachroniques (levés de profils transversaux du lit mineur, cartes bathymétriques du réservoir de barrage de Sélingué) et par l'examen de l'évolution de la courbe de tarage de la station hydrométrique de Koulikoro, l'une des plus anciennes d'Afrique de l'Ouest. Une tendance à l'incision est manifeste depuis le début des années 1980, dont la raison est essentiellement anthropique, liée à l'extraction de matériaux pour l'industrie du bâtiment à Bamako. A ces prélèvements se conjugue la faiblesse des apports longitudinaux. Le déséquilibre sédimentaire a des conséquences socio-économiques immédiates

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