Prof. Couture

I am Full Professor of Chemistry at Université Laval, where I lead the Aquatic Geochemistry Group. My expertise centres on the environmental chemistry of trace elements (such as arsenic, selenium, and rare earth elements), on sediment–water interactions, and on the response of water quality, especially in lakes, to environmental change.

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Much of my current work addresses how Arctic rivers and lakes respond to increasing human activity in the North. It builds on three approaches: trace-clean field work, analytical chemistry, and numerical modelling. I also provide expert advice on trace metal contamination, water quality and climate impacts, and teach inorganic chemistry, environmental chemistry and geochemical modelling at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Scientific approach  My work relies on a range of methods. I integrate high-resolution field campaigns in remote northern environments (High Arctic, subarctic Québec, boreal Scandinavia), controlled laboratory experiments, and process-based numerical models to understand how lakes and rivers respond to contamination, eutrophication, browning, and climate warming. This combination of observational, experimental, and computational approaches positions my group at the interface of fundamental geochemistry and pressing water quality challenges. A full list of publications is available here.

Group values  Research in my group is student-led: each project is shaped around the scientific question, but also around the strengths and interests of the person carrying it. I believe that fieldwork in remote environments is uniquely formative, as it builds autonomy, judgment, and resilience that no classroom can replicate. This philosophy is reflected in our consistently high rate of competitive scholarships and in the career paths of our alumni.

My background  I held the Sentinel North Research Chair in Aquatic Geochemistry (2018–2024), served as Deputy Director of the Takuvik International Laboratory (CNRS–ULaval–Sorbonne Université, 2020–2025), and am Associate Editor of Limnology and Oceanography. Before joining Laval, I led the Section for Catchment Processes at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA, Norway) and held a research faculty position at the University of Waterloo, following a PhD in Water Sciences at Université du Québec, a postdoctoral training at the Georgia Institute of Technology (USA), and a Marie-Curie fellowship at CEREGE (CNRS, Fran). I am a member of the Centre for Northern Studies (CEN) and the Ordre des chimistes du Québec.

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CV

Employment

2023-now Full Professor
Department of chemistry
Université Laval, Canada

2018-2023 Associate Professor
Department of chemistry
Université Laval, Canada

2017 Section Leader
Section for Catchment Processes
NIVA, Norway.

2013-2016 Researcher
Section for Catchment Processes
NIVA, Norway

2012-2013 Research Assistant Professor
University of Waterloo, Canada.

Professional activities


2026 Goldschmidt Theme Chair
Earth Surface Processes and Response to Climate Change

2025-now Visiting Professor
Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of British Columbia, Canada

2024-now  Associate Editor
Limnology and Oceanography (L&O)

2021-now Visiting Researcher
Instituto Superior Técnico
University of Lisbon, Portugal

2020-2025 Deputy Director
Takuvik International Laboratory
CNRS-ULaval

2019-2020 Special Graduate Faculty
University of Maine, United-States

2018-2024 Sentinel North Research Chair
Aquatic Geochemistry of Northern Aquatic Environments

2015-2018 Visiting Researcher
INRS-Eau, Terre & Environnement, Canada

2013-2018 Research Associate Professor
University of Waterloo, Canada

Invited Talk
  1. University of British Columbia, Kelowna, Canada, March 2025
  2. Sorbonne Université, Paris, France, Juin 2023.
  3. University of Lisbon, Instituto Superior Technico, Lisbon, Portugal, Novembre 2022.
  4. CNRS, Institut national des sciences de l'Univers, Paris, France, December 2021.
  5. Université du Québec à Montréal, Limnonology seminar series, Montréal, Canada, September 2021.
  6. American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Diego, USA, August 2019.
  7. Institut nordique du Québec, Musée de la Civilisation, Québec, Canada, Mai 2019.
  8. Université de Montréal, Départment de Biologie, Montréal, Canada, November 2018.
  9. Université Laval, Département de Chimie, Québec, Canada, June 2017.
  10. Université du Québec, INRS-Eau, Terre et Environnement, Québec, Canada, June 2017.
  11. Vannforsk, Vannforskning i Norge, Oslo, Norway, November 2016.
  12. Stockholm University, Environmental Science, Stockholm, Sweden, May 2016.
  13. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, England, June 2015.
  14. University of Toronto, Physical and Environmental Sciences, Toronto, Canada, April 2015.
  15. University of Tübingen, Integrated Hydrosystem Modelling, Tübingen, Germany, December 2014.
  16. University of Waterloo, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Waterloo, Canada, November 2014.
  17. Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Oslo, Norway, November 2012.
  18. University of Waterloo, Groundwater research symposium, Waterloo, Canada, October 2012.
  19. Western University. Civil and Environmental Engineering, London, Canada, September 2012.
  20. Laurier University, Water Institute, Waterloo, Canada, August 2012.
  21. University of Waterloo, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Canada, March 2011.
  22. Trent University, Worsfold Water Quality Centre, Peterborough, Canada, October 2010.
  23. CEREGE, CNRS and Université Aix-Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, France, March 2010.
  24. Institut de physique du globe-IPGP, Paris, France, January 2010.
  25. Lancaster University, Environmental Sciences, Lancaster, United Kingdom, October 2008.
  26. IFREMER Centre de Nantes, French Mussel Watch Program, Nantes, France, November 2007.

Teaching

Undergraduate courses: 
CHM-1005 Inorganic Chemistry
CHM-2150 Environmental Chemistry
Graduate courses:
CHM-7059 Modelling chemical equilibrium in natural waters
CHM-7008 Biogeochemical cycles

Education


2011 FRQNT Postdoctoral fellow
Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Supervisor: Philippe Van Cappellen

2010 Marie-Curie Early Stage Researcher
CNRS, Centre des géosciences environnementales (CEREGE), France
Supervisor: Jérôme Rose

2005-2010 PhD Water Sciences
INRS-Eau, Terre & Environnement
Supervisors: Charles Gobeil & André Tessier

2001-2004 BSc Chemistry
Université Laval

Scientific publications 


Publication list 
Google Scholar
ORCID

Scientific Societies

Geochemical Society (GS)
Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO)