نبذة مختصرة : International audience ; The English Channel, and specifically the Baie de Seine, is one of the maritime areas hosting the most human activities in Europe. The ECUSED project focuses on the cumulative impact of marine aggregate extraction activities ("Granulats Marins du Havre" concession) and dumping of dredged sediment by the Normand harbours ("Grands Ports Maritimes") for the maintenance of navigation channels (MACHU site), which are concentrated at the outlet of the Seine estuary. To achieve this goal, we used an innovative methodology (ELCOVA) on 114 surface sediments samples according to a regular grid of 2 stations per km². Samples were separated by sieving into 16 particle size fractions and elemental geochemical analyses were carried out on the separated granulometric fractions using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The present work focuses on identifying the movements of the various grain sizes naturally present at the site. The mineral considered is glauconite, an alumino-silicate, traced in the elemental analysis by arsenic. The study zone reveals a complex history in terms of granulometry, geography and time. We identify two sources of material, underwater erosion, river input, transports on the seabed and in suspension and a dynamic equilibrium sedimentary state. An essential point of the results obtained is that each granulometric fraction has its own history. Grains belonging to the same sediment sample do not come from the same sources, have not been transported in the same direction, and have not been deposited at the same time under the same energy conditions. It is possible to find grains of the same size and mineralogy from different sources in the same surface sample. This directly challenges the view of sedimentologists on sedimentation.
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