Reprint of the ‘Atlas of the Iroise Islands and Sea Biosphere Reserve’
Following its first edition in 2022, the Atlas of the Iroise Islands and Sea Biosphere Reserve has been reissued.
This publication is the result of a major collaborative effort, led by Pierre STÉPHAN and Jérémie BOURDOULOUS, under the auspices of the CNRS and the IUEM. It brought together some sixty contributors, including natural park staff, academics, scientists and specialists from CNRS laboratories, as well as from Océanopolis, nature conservation organisations such as Bretagne Vivante, the SHOM, and the French Biodiversity Agency…
Richly illustrated, it is aimed at the general public and provides an overview of the latest knowledge across all fields, following a multidisciplinary approach. It is divided into five main sections: Geological history and sedimentary dynamics; Remarkable marine and terrestrial habitats; The water body: structure and dynamics; Iconic species; Human activities.
Friday 17 April 2026
EDSML Doctoral School Days – 25 and 26 March 2026
Every year, as part of its remit, the EDSML organises the Doctoral School Days, an opportunity for academic exchange between PhD students and the wider academic community.
On Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 March, third-year PhD students will present their work to the wider scientific community.
These presentations may take the form of an oral talk, such as ‘My Thesis in 180 Minutes’ or ‘My Thesis in a Nutshell’, or a poster presentation.
The presentations are open to all in the PNBI lecture theatre in Plouzané.
The presentation of the jury’s prizes and the audience awards will take place on Thursday 26 March at 12:00.
Welcome day for new doctoral students at the EDSML
On 25th November, around fifty people took part in the welcome day for new students starting their PhD at the Doctoral School of Marine and Coastal Sciences (EDSML) in 2025-2026.
Welcomed by the entire Doctoral School community, the aim of this day was to present the doctoral programme in terms of its regulatory aspects and to offer resources.
This welcome meeting was followed by a period of exchange and discussion. Training sessions for doctoral students of all years were offered in the afternoon. The day ended with a festive social evening, so that all doctoral students could get together in a convivial atmosphere.
The next event will take place on 25th and 26th March 2026 for the scientific days and the presentation of the work of third-year doctoral students.
MethanOcean meeting
Registration closed
Deadline for abstract submission: 01 may 2026
Oceanic Methane Interdisciplinary Meeting in Brest
Methane is the simplest organic molecule, yet it has a profound impact on Earth’s climate and represents a dynamic component of the oceanic carbon cycle. This cycle is partly shaped by interactions between the geosphere -the largest methane reservoir- and the ocean, where methane distributions are highly variable and constitute a natural source to the atmosphere.
The oceanic methane cycle is governed by processes operating across multiple spatial and temporal scales. These include large-scale geological drivers such as sediment deposition, tectonic activity, and gas hydrate dynamics, as well as fine-scale biological and chemical transformations. The latter encompasses biologically mediated methane production and consumption through multiple pathways across a wide range of environments, from anoxic sediments to the oxic water column (the so-called “methane paradox”), as well as abiotic methane production associated with hydrothermal vent systems. Rapidly evolving technologies, particularly advances in methane sensors, isotopic techniques, and omics approaches, now offer unprecedented opportunities to observe, quantify, and constrain methane dynamics in the ocean.
Advancing our understanding of the oceanic methane cycle requires a broad and truly interdisciplinary approach, integrating expertise from microbiology and ecology, geology and geophysics, geochemistry and biogeochemistry, Earth system modeling, analytical chemistry, and sensor development. To foster interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration in oceanic methane research, we propose to host a three-day scientific meeting in Brest, preceded by a one-day pedagogical event dedicated to students and early-career scientists. Registration is free and includes coffee breaks and lunch. The MethanOcean meeting is organised by:
Program
Marine methane microbial and macro-ecology: from molecules to ecosystems
Invited speaker
Dr. Gunter Wegener | MARUM
More information
This session focuses on the microbial and macrofaunal ecology in marine environments, from the molecular mechanisms of methanogenesis and methane oxidation to their impacts on chemosynthetic ecosystems in sediments and water column. We welcome contributions integrating cultivation-based experiments, omics approaches, stable isotope probing, and biogeochemical analyses to elucidate the diversity, activity, and interactions of methane-cycling micro and associated fauna. Particular emphasis will be placed on studies linking microbial processes to ecosystem-scale methane dynamics, including sediment-water exchanges and benthic-pelagic coupling. This session aims to highlight the central role of organisms in controlling methane transformations and shaping the chemical and functional properties of marine ecosystems.
Marine geology and geophysics: from deep structures to surface processes
Invited speaker
Dr. Aurélien GAY | Univ. Montpellier
More information
Assessing the significance of marine gas sources to the global methane budget relies on the upscaling of local observations supported by the regional understanding of the geological and geomechanical factors controlling the accumulation and migration of free gas in the subsurface. This session aims at covering these interrelated topics with particular emphasis on quantitative ground modelling and numerical simulation of gas charging and flow. Contributions dealing with advances in geophysical methods for the detection and quantification of free gas in sediment and in the water column are welcome as well as field scale analyses of coupled flow and geomechanics.
Biogeochemistry across geosphere-ocean interface
Invited speaker
Dr. Eoghan Reeves | UiB
More information
The geosphere contains the largest methane reservoirs, produced through microbial, thermogenic, and/or abiotic processes. We welcome studies aimed at distinguishing and quantifying the various methane production pathways in the subsurface, from abiotic to biotic processes, as well as processes that can occur at interfaces (such as mixing, diffusion, and degradation) during migration through the geosphere and eventual release into the ocean. These investigations are essential for constraining methane dynamics and assessing their impacts on oceanic systems.
Methane production processes in oxic waters and sea-to-air fluxes
Invited speaker
Dr. Mina Bizic | TU Berlin
More information
The global flux of oceanic methane to the atmosphere is unsurprisingly dominated by highly-productive shallow coastal environments, where methane is the product of methanogenesis in anoxic conditions. But methane oversaturation is also observed in most oxic ocean surface waters, including well-mixed coastal waters, a phenomenon known as the ‘ocean methane paradox’ (OMP). This session welcomes contributions on the comprehension of methane anomalies in the oceanic euphotic layer and on the estimation of sea-to-air fluxes in offshore environments via in situ measurements and/or modelling. The aim is not only to uncover the dynamics and processes driving the oceanic methane cycle but also to determine how the oceanographic community can contribute to the evaluation of methane fluxes through e.g. systematic measurements of methane during oceanographic cruises or the development of long-term high frequency observatories.
Advances in methane measurement: novel methods and technologies
Invited speaker
Arne Estelmann | IOW
More information
Advances in technology and innovative approaches for methane analysis are providing new insights into the biogeochemical cycle of methane. This session invites contributions on cutting-edge tools, including sensors, as well as emerging analytical methods such as clumped isotopes. It will showcase improvements in spatial and temporal measurement resolution, reductions in analytical bias and uncertainty, intercomparisons, and the integration of these techniques into multidisciplinary frameworks.
Pedagogical day
8 june 2026
A one-day event dedicated to students and early-career researchers, offering a multidisciplinary overview of key processes and tools related to oceanic methane. The programme will combine introductory lectures on methane sources, transformations, and fluxes with methodological presentations and practical perspectives, spanning geochemistry, microbiology, chemical oceanography, and instrumentation.
Local organisation committee
Cédric Boulart – LEMAR
Antoine Crémière – Geo-Ocean
Sébastien Garziglia – Geo-Ocean
Thomas Giunta – Geo-Ocean
Laurent Toffin – BEEP
With the support of
Welcome to Brittany
The MéthanOcéan conference will take place at IUEM and PNBI from 8 to 11 June 2026 at the Brest-Iroise Technology Park in Plouzané.
Brest is a city of 400,000 inhabitants, both a tourist destination and a residential area. There are many hotels in Brest, ranging from 1 to 4 stars, with prices from €50 to €150 per night. Student accommodation is also available in the centre of Brest, 10 minutes by tram from Brest Arena. The city and its suburbs offer many attractive facilities and points of interest, such as Océanopolis, the Ateliers des Capucins linked to the city centre by France’s first urban cable car, and the Conservatoire botanique National de Brest. The city was recently classified as a ‘City of Art and History’. Innovative and open to the world, Brest stands out from other French cities for its links with the marine environment and its cutting-edge marine science and technology sector. It was from the port of Brest that great explorers such as La Pérouse, Kerguelen and Bougainville set sail to discover new worlds. Brest has a TGV station in the city centre and an international airport close to the city centre, with a shuttle bus and tram service. Brest Bretagne International Airport offers a few international flights and a wide choice of flights via Paris (Orly or Charles de Gaulle).
Important dates
Deadline for abstract submission : 1er Mai 2026
DIA II, an Art and Science project
The Art & Science DIA II project was born out of a collaboration between two researchers from LEMAR – Brivaela MORICEAU and Maeva GESSON – and a biology student they supervised, Ambre VALLET, who went on to become a choreographer and founder of the EKLA company. Together, they devised a show aimed at raising public awareness of the crucial importance of diatoms in the ecosystem, even though they are invisible to us in our daily lives.
The show, entitled ‘Diatoms: Our Invisible Indispensables’, is EKLÀ’s first creation. Its development drew on the talent and creativity of a choreographer, three dancers, a set designer, two composers and two glass artists. This immersive choreographic work brings together dancers and scientists around sculptures made of glass, paper and fabric, celebrating the beauty of life and the power of collective action, mirroring the role of diatoms in carbon capture. Dance, understood here as an unconventional medium, poeticises, translates and metaphorises certain concepts, leaving a lasting impression on the audience. By creating an emotional connection and introducing the general public to the beauty of diatoms, this creation aims to inspire everyone to take action to protect the oceans and living organisms. The ARDCO and CLIMARCTIC projects contribute directly to the creation of the show: scientists play an active role in advising, validating and participating in the performance.
After a first performance at Océanopolis during the Fête de la Science, the project is looking for ways to continue its artistic research and return to the stage.
CEPA7 in Brest: animal ecophysiology at the heart of environmental issues
The 7th Congress of Animal Ecophysiology (CEPA7) was held at the IUEM from 28 to 30 October 2025, bringing together nearly a hundred scientists, engineers, teacher-researchers and students from nine countries. All discussed the same question: how do organisms cope with global change?
Over three days, the congress offered a comprehensive overview of modern ecophysiology, combining experimental, field and modelling approaches and exploring a wide variety of model species: from oysters, mussels, abalones and clams to fish, amphibians, reptiles, insects, birds and mammals. This richness reflects a dynamic, intergenerational and collaborative community, keen to link fundamental mechanisms and applied issues for species management and conservation.
Discussions highlighted the plasticity of physiological responses to temperature, hypoxia, pollutants and infectious agents, as well as the complexity of intergenerational effects and multiple stresses that shape the adaptation of organisms. Several presentations illustrated the contribution of new technologies, such as sensors, on-board respirometry, transcriptomics and imaging, which now make it possible to track animal responses from the cellular level to behaviour in situ.
Beyond the presentations, CEPA7 was above all a time for sharing, learning and transmission, with strong involvement from students and young researchers, confirming the vitality and cohesion of a rapidly expanding community. Everyone left with the same conviction: ecophysiology is an essential lever for understanding, anticipating and supporting changes in natural and anthropised environments.
The European AGEO project wins two prizes at the REGIOSTARS Awards 2025
The European AGEO project, funded by the Interreg Atlantic programme of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and in which UBO participated through the OSIRISC Integrated Coastal Risk Observatory and the Litto’Risques partnership (Finistère Department, UBO, Cerema), won two awards at the prestigious REGIOSTARS Awards 2025 on Wednesday 15 October 2025: the ‘Green Europe’ award and the public award.
AGEO brings together scientists, local communities and policy makers in a platform for issuing alerts, receiving information on events and educational content on geological risks in Atlantic regions, and helps to protect European citizens against risk scenarios such as landslides, seismic activity, flooding and coastal erosion. At the heart of this project, the OSIRISC-Litto’Risques observatory in Finistère played a major role as a pilot for coastal erosion and marine submersion risks.
“This is a wonderful reward for the Litto’Risques partnership and for the OSIRISC observatory, for all the work we are doing together, researchers and coastal risk management stakeholders (technicians, elected officials, government departments), on developing long-term observation capabilities, sharing expertise and raising awareness. And it shows the real interest, beyond the borders of Brittany, in the original collaborative approach implemented in this project to meet the challenges of adapting to global changes at the regional level. The whole team is very proud of this recognition.”
More information : https://www-iuem.univ-brest.fr/ageo-finalist-of-the-regiostars-awards-2025-support-osirisc-and-vote/?lang=en
AGEO finalist of the REGIOSTARS Awards 2025: support OSIRISC and vote!
The European AGEO project, in which the University of Western Brittany (UBO) participated through the Integrated Coastal Risk Observatory OSIRISC, has been selected by the European Commission as a finalist for the prestigious REGIOSTARS Awards 2025. This award, a true mark of excellence, recognises the most innovative and impactful European projects each year. AGEO is competing in the Green Europe category and also hopes to win the public prize.
AGEO brings together scientists, local communities and policy makers in a platform that issues alerts, provides information on events and educational content on geological risks in Atlantic regions, and helps protect European citizens from risk scenarios such as landslides, seismic activity, flooding and coastal erosion. At the heart of this project, the OSIRISC observatory, based in Brittany, has played a major role as a pilot for coastal erosion and marine submersion risks.
👉 Public voting is open until 15 October 2025.
Every vote counts to support AGEO’s visibility and OSIRISC’s leading role in protecting Brittany’s coastline.
Cast your vote on the European Commission’s official website
OSIRISC, an integrated coastal risk observatory and pilot project for the European AGEO initiative, is developing an innovative and collaborative approach to analyse the vulnerability trajectories of coastal areas. Based on three pillars — an integrated approach, co-construction of tools and collaborative observation with local authorities — it collects and analyses data on erosion and marine submersion, the issues at stake, the means of managing these risks and the associated social representations. This information is presented in the form of indicators accessible via interactive mapping platforms (OSI, MADDOG). Established in 2019 in Finistère, OSIRISC is now expanding to other areas of Brittany thanks to regional and European support, with the ambition of inspiring other observatories. At the same time, it supports local authorities in coastal risk management, provides scientific expertise and contributes to raising awareness and skills among local stakeholders.
l’aire marine éducative de Bréhat
Podcast : l’aire marine éducative de Bréhat
L’île de Bréhat, dans les Côtes-d’Armor en Bretagne, est un petit archipel de 90 îlots, dont l’île principale s’étire sur trois kilomètres et demi. Environ 450 personnes vivent ici à l’année ce qui permet à la commune de maintenir une petite école publique.
Les élèves de primaire, guidés par leur maîtresse Maud Galand, se sont lancés dans un projet d’Aire Marine Éducative, ou AME. Accompagnés de deux biologistes du LEMAR– Luis TITO DE MORAIS, ancien directeur du laboratoire, et Gauthier SCHAAL, maître de conférences – ils se sont initiés à l’observation de la faune et de la flore de l’estran, cet espace entre terre et mer qui se découvre à marée basse.
Afin de valoriser leurs découvertes, les enfants ont choisi d’éditer un petit livret sur la biodiversité de l’île et de réaliser un podcast avec l’aide de Sébastien HERVÉ du service graphisme et production multimedia de l’IUEM.
Au fil de ce podcast, vous entendrez leurs voix, leurs découvertes, leur regard curieux et engagé sur ce petit morceau de littoral qu’ils apprennent à connaître et à protéger.
Bonne écoute !
Ce podcast a été imaginé par les enfants de la classe de primaire de l’école de Bréhat en juin 2015 et leur maitresse Maud Galand. Ils ont été assistés par Luis Tito de Morais, Gauthier Schaal et Sébastien Hervé. Récit de Claire Tito de Morais.
Vous pouvez également retrouver ce podcast sur les principales plateformes de streaming.