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Coastal and Continental Morphodynamics laboratory


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The "Coastal and Continental Morphodynamics" laboratory (M2C) is a Joint Research Unit (UMR 6143) created in 1996, under the supervision of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), the university of Caen Normandie (UNICAEN) and the university of Rouen Normandy (URN). The staff of the laboratory includes 86 persons: 37 researchers, 21 engineers and technicians, 28 PhD students. The research of the M2C laboratory focuses on the characterization and modeling of natural processes dynamics in different compartments along the LAND-SEA continuum, at different scales of time and space. The research is organized into 5 themes:
  • Watershed
  • Estuary
  • Coastal

 

This research is carried out with an interdisciplinary approach integrating researchers specialized in mechanics, geosciences, oceanography, hydrology, microbiology and ecology of organisms. Our research combines in-situ measurements with numerous dedicated equipment, experimental approaches and numerical moodeling.

Number of records

1 238

 


Evolution of records

 

Last publications

The Central English Channel troughs correspond to elongated incisions up to 250 m-deep, at several locations at the bottom of this sea corridor. Depending on their location, they are usually interpreted as part of the submerged quaternary paleovalley network or as resulting from megaflood events. Shedding light on these features, their age, and the processes underlying their development is key for understanding their significance in terms of event geology. The interpretation of a dense grid of high-resolution marine seismic data acquired in the Bay of Seine area reveals that the extensive Quaternary paleovalley and trough network commonly as associated to the "Channel River" system is actually subdivided into at least two superimposed and unrelated incised networks. The overlying network corresponds to fluvial incisions developing during low sea-level conditions of Pleistocene time and connects to the present day fluvial network. The underlying network corresponds to the troughs and appears as a complex, deeper, relatively discontinuous and isolated network. This older network shows unexpected local incision depth up to c.350-400 m-deep and complex sedimentary infill involving several sedimentary processes and environments from fluvial to tidal and shallow-marine. We discuss these observations and their implications for understanding the origin, age and development of the troughs all over the English Channel, from the Dangeard Troughs in the Dover Strait to the Hurd Deep at the western end. We also raise questions about the significance of these large incised features in terms of source-to-sink system of northwestern Europe.

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Chemical contamination is a common threat to biota thriving in estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Of particular importance is that trace metals tend to accumulate and exert deleterious effects on small invertebrates such as zooplankton, which are essential trophic links between phytoplankton and higher-level consumers in aquatic food webs. Beyond the direct effects of the contamination, we hypothesized that metal exposure could also affect the zooplankton microbiota, which in turn might further impair host fitness. To assess this assumption, copepods (Eurytemora affinis) were sampled in the oligo-mesohaline zone of the Seine estuary and exposed to dissolved copper (25 µg.L−1) over a 72-hour time period. The copepod response to copper treatment was assessed by determining transcriptomic changes in E. affinis and the alteration of its microbiota. Unexpectedly, very few genes were differentially expressed in the copper-treated copepods compared to the controls for both male and female samples, while a clear dichotomy between sex was highlighted with 80% of the genes showing sex-biased expression. In contrast, copper increased the taxonomic diversity of the microbiota and resulted in substantial compositional changes at both the phyla and genus levels. Phylogenetic reconstruction of the microbiota further suggested that copper mitigated the phylogenetic relatedness of taxa at the basal tree structure of the phylogeny, whereas it strengthened it at the terminal branches. Increased terminal phylogenetic clustering in the copper-treated copepods coincided with higher proportions of bacterial genera previously identified as copper resistant (e.g., Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Alkanindiges, Colwellia) and a higher relative abundance of the copAox gene encoding a periplasmic inducible multi-copper oxidase. The enrichment in micro-organisms likely to perform copper sequestration and/or enzymatic transformation processes, underlines the need to consider the microbial component during evaluation of the vulnerability of zooplankton to metallic stress.

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This study investigates the valorization of dredged sediments containing high and low organic matter (OM) content with alkali-activated ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and conventional hydraulic binders (HB). The objective is to develop a sustainable material with the necessary qualities for road construction. Research is conducted on dredged sediments from the French port of Cherbourg (CHER-ALL sediments) and the dam in the Maurienne Valley of France (MOR-ALL sediments), with high and low levels of OM content, respectively. After the determination of physico-chemical and mineralogical characteristics, high organic CHER-ALL sediments were first valorized using conventional HB and then co-valorized using low carbon footprint alkaline activated byproducts (AAB). The alkali activation of the byproduct (GGBS) was performed with a chemical activator named NeoliX. AAB and HB were utilized to treat the dredged sediments to compare their mechanical performances as well as environmental impacts. In terms of mechanical performance, the obtained results revealed that AAB outperformed traditional HB, and concerning the environmental impacts, byproducts have no carbon footprint except for their transportation. As a consequence, AAB has also been utilized to co-valorize the sediments from the Maurienne dam (MOR-ALL sediments) as well. AAB co-valorization of these two sediments (CHER-ALL and MOR-ALL) with varying degrees of OM content facilitates an understanding of the effects of OM concentration on mechanical properties. The high OM content of the CHER-ALL sediment (>17%), regardless of the proposed mixing with traditional HB, proved to impede the valorization, since the 28-day UCS did not exceed 1 MPa. The CBR as well as ultimate tensile strength (UTS) testing confirms the reported trends from the UCS experiments. In addition, the presence of a high OM concentration significantly decreased the mechanical properties of dredging sediments co-valorized with AAB. However, depending on the mass percentage of sediment (wt%) in the mix design, it was achievable to attain the required minimum strength value of 1 MPa with 30% and 70% of CHER-ALL and MOR-ALL sediments, respectively. Even if the OM content of sediments is high, alkaline activation can be employed to co-valorize them, as demonstrated by these encouraging results. The quantity of sediment to be co-valorized is depend upon their OM content.

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Sediments are complex heterogeneous matrices allowing to some extent the recording of past environmental conditions by integrating sediment characteristics, contamination and the microbial community assembly. In aquatic environments, abiotic environmental filtering is considered the primary deterministic mechanism shaping microbial communities in sediments. However, the number and relative contributions of geochemical and physical factors associated with biotic parameters (reservoir of microorganisms) complicate our understanding of community assembly dynamics. In this study, the sampling of a sedimentary archive in a site alternately subjected to contrasting inputs from the Eure and the Seine Rivers allowed us to study the response of microbial communities to changes in depositional environment over time. The coupling of the quantification and sequencing of the gene encoding the 16S rRNA with analyses of grain size, organic matter and major and trace metal contents demonstrated that microbial communities reflected contrasting sedimentary inputs over time. Total organic carbon (TOC) was the main factor influencing microbial biomass, while the quantity and quality of organic matter (R400, RC/TOC), major elements (i.e. Al, Fe, Ti) and trace metals (i.e. Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr, Ni, As, Co, Ag, Sb) shaped the structure of the microbial community. Besides the effect of geochemical factors, a specific microbial signature was associated with the contrasting sedimentary sources, highlighting the importance of the microbial reservoir in the assembly of microbial communities. Indeed, the main genera identified in the facies influenced by the Eure River were affiliated with the phyla Desulfobacterota (Syntrophus, Syntrophorhabdus, Smithella, Desulfatiglans), Firmicutes (Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1), Proteobacteria (Crenothrix), Verrucomicrobiota (Luteolibacter), while the contributions of the Seine River were characterised by some halophilic genera Salirhabdus (Firmicutes), Haliangium (Myxococcota) SCGC-AB-539-J10 (Chloroflexi). This study sheds light on the overall processes determining the assembly of microbial communities in sediments and the importance of associating geochemical factors with reservoirs of microorganisms inherited from sediment sources.

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The flow velocity over mobile sandy dunes subjected to unidirectional current was investigated using a UB-Lab 2C, an acoustic velocity profiler newly developed by UBERTONE. A space-localized wavelet approach was used in order to detect the temporal evolution of the main dune’s wavelength. The acoustic tool has provided promising results concerning the flow and sediment dynamics over migrating dunes.

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The Moroccan coasts are occasionally inundated by storm surges and tsunamis. Local historical archives recorded some of these events, such as the storm surge of 1913 CE and the tsunami of 1755 CE. The latter remains the most destructive event the country has ever faced, with major human and economic losses recorded mainly between the two cities of Tangier and Safi. The privileged way to prevent any hazard related to these events is to study their past occurrences and impacts. However, historical evidences about these natural hazards are often very scarce to determine their return periods and evaluate their intensities. The scientific community increasingly uses sedimentary archives from coastal environments, since they offer a viable complement to historical archives. Several studies using this approach have been conducted on the Moroccan coast in recent years; however, until now, there has been no review dealing with these studies, which is the main objective of this paper. Twenty sites with traces of coastal inundation deposits have been inventoried during this work, and most of them are located along the Atlantic coast. The Mediterranean side remains poorly studied despite the presence of tsunami and storm surge risks. The review draws attention also to the absence of chronological data for most of the coastal inundation deposits recognized up to now along the Moroccan coasts, which is a major issue that prevents the determination of the return period of these events.

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The Hall-Vinen-Bekharevich-Khalatnikov (HVBK) model is widely used to numerically study quantum turbulence in superfluid helium. Based on the two-fluid model of Tisza and Landau, the HVBK model describes the normal (viscous) and superfluid (inviscid) components of the flow using two Navier-Stokes type equations, coupled through a mutual friction force term. This feature makes the HVBK model very appealing in applying statistical tools used in classical turbulence to study properties of quantum turbulence. A large body of literature used low-order statistics (spectra, or second-order structure functions in real space) to unravel exchanges between the two fluids at several levels. The novelty in this study is to use a theoretical approach based on first principles to derive transport equations for the third-order moments for each component of velocity. New equations involve the fourth-order moments, which are classical probes for internal intermittency at any scale, revealing the probability of rare and strong fluctuations. Budget equations are assessed through Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of the HVBK flow based on accurate pseudo-spectral methods. We simulate a forced homogeneous isotropic turbulent flow with Reynolds number of the normal fluid (based on Taylor's microscale) close to 100. Values from 0.1 to 10 are considered for the ratio between the normal and superfluid densities. For these flows, an inertial range is not discernible and the Restricted Scaling Range (RSR) approach is used to take into account the Finite Reynolds Number (FRN) effect. We analyse the importance of each term in budget equations and emphasize their role in energy exchange between normal and superfluid components. Some interesting features are observed: i) transport and pressure-related terms are dominant, similarly to single-fluid turbulence; ii) the mathematical signature of the FRN effect is weak in the transport of the third-order moment, despite the low value of the Reynolds number; iii) for the normal fluid at very low temperatures, the mutual friction annihilates the effects of viscosity within the RSR. The flatness of the velocity derivatives is finally studied through the transport equations and their limit for very small scales, and it is shown to gradually increase for lower and lower temperatures, for both the normal fluid and the superfluid. This similarity highlights the strong locking of the two fluids. The flatness factors are also found in reasonable agreement with classical turbulence.

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The present study analyses the spatio-temporal structuration of the molluscan fauna from four tidal channels of the Gulf of Gabès. A total of 26 stations were sampled at four seasons from March 2016 to January 2017, leading to the identification of 2695 individuals and 57 species. The species richness and abundances are higher in autumn than in other seasons. The fauna is dominated by seven species, three gastropods [Cerithium scabridum Philippi, 1848, Bittium reticulatum (da Costa, 1778) and Tricolia speciosa (Megerle von Mühfleld, 1824)] and four bivalves [Abra alba (W. Wood, 1802), Loripes orbiculatus Poli, 1791, Varicorbula gibba (Olivi, 1792) and Peronaea planata (Linnaeus, 1758)], which are characteristic of habitats with detritus accumulation and seagrass meadows. These dominant species are commonly recorded in lagoons and coastal shallow waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The structure of the molluscan fauna is linked to the location of tidal channels in the Gulf of Gabès. Abundances are lower in the Mimoun channel than in the other channels, especially the Maltine channel which shows a great accumulation of organic matter and high abundances of molluscs. Low abundances are found in high-energy hydrodynamic zones with gravel sediment; conversely, the presence of macrophytes (mainly in seagrass meadows) increases molluscan diversity. Comparisons with other sites in the shallow waters of the Tunisian coast and lagoons show that the taxonomic diversity of molluscs of the tidal channels of the Gulf of Gabès is equivalent to that reported elsewhere, but the abundance per m2 is among the lowest levels recorded here. Moreover, most of the dominant species found in the Gulf of Gabès tidal channel are reported as dominant in other studies covering the Mediterranean Sea. A distance-based redundancy analysis shows that depth, sediment type and the presence of marine phanerogams and filter-feeder bivalves on fine sands and gravels account for the structure of mollusc assemblages associated with each channel.

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The present study aims at reconstructing mid-to late Holocene paleoenvironmental evolution of the Tahaddart lower estuary (NW of Morocco) and to find possible sedimentary evidence of past marine submersion events (storm surges and tsunamis). This is achieved through the study of four sedimentary cores and by using a multiproxy approach that combines sedimentological, geochemical and foraminiferal analyses. Radioisotope measurements of 210Pbex, 137Cs and 14C were used to provide a chronological framework of the studied cores. The results show that the Tahaddart lower estuary has evolved from a bay-like environment characterized by very shelly sandy facies (i.e., marine phase) between ∼6800 and ∼625 cal BP, to an estuarine system after ∼625 cal BP, with a dominance of fine-grained sediments (i.e., estuarine phase). We further identified several sedimentary deposits that we interpret as possible marine submersion events. Two events were identified in the marine phase at ∼3800 cal BP and ∼2700 cal BP, in coherence with previously documented marine high-energy deposits located on the Atlantic Iberian coast. In the estuarine phase of the cores, two other events were detected and dated at ∼625 cal BP and ∼200 cal BP. The latter coincides with the 1755 CE Lisbon tsunami (195 cal BP).

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Groundwater level (GWL) simulations allow the generation of reconstructions for exploring the past temporal variability of groundwater resources or provide the means for generating projections under climate change on decadal scales. In this context, analyzing GWLs affected by low-frequency variations is crucial. In this study, we assess the capabilities of three deep learning (DL) models (long short-term memory (LSTM), gated recurrent unit (GRU), and bidirectional LSTM (BiLSTM)) in simulating three types of GWLs affected by varying low-frequency behavior: inertial (dominated by low-frequency), annual (dominated by annual cyclicity) and mixed (in which both annual and low-frequency variations have high amplitude). We also tested if maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform pre-processing (MODWT) of input variables helps to better identify the frequency content most relevant for the models (MODWT-DL models). Only external variables (i.e., precipitation, air temperature as raw data, and effective precipitation (EP)) were used as input. Results indicate that for inertial-type GWLs, MODWT-DL models with raw data were notably more accurate than standalone models. However, DL models performed well for annual-type GWLs, while using EP as input, with MODWT-DL models exhibiting only minor improvements. Using raw data as input improved MODWT-DL models compared to standalone models; nevertheless, all models using EP performed better for annual-type GWLs. For mixed-type GWLs, while using EP as input, MODWT-DL models performed well, with substantial improvements over standalone models. Using raw data as input, improvement of MODWT-DL models is marginal compared to that of standalone models; nevertheless, they perform better than standalone models with EP. The Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) approach used to interpret models highlighted that they preferentially learned from low-frequency in precipitation data to achieve the best simulations for inertial and mixed GWLs. This study showed that MODWT-based input pre-processing is highly suitable to better simulate low-frequency varying GWLs.

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International collaboration (co-authors)

 

 

M2C lab. in Caen

Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière
Université de Caen Normandie (Campus 1)
24 rue des Tilleuls
14000 Caen Cedex

M2C lab. in Rouen

Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière
Université de Rouen Normandie (bâtiment Blondel Nord)
Place Emile Blondel
76821 Mont-Saint-Aignan Cedex