Research themes

IUEM research units project can be presented very schematically in four main topics, broken down into objects and processes that researchers wish to better understand.

The ocean, a major actor in the biogeochemical cycles and climate of our planet

  • Ocean warming and circulation in the past, present and future
  • The chemical composition of ocean (especially trace metals) and major cycles: ocean acidification, deoxygenation, carbon cycle, pollution (e.g. heavy metals)
  • Energy cycles, scale interactions and physical-biological coupling: from ocean turbulence < 1 km, to large eddies > 100 km and the global ocean.
  • The economic and legal challenges of global ocean change (warming, acidification)

Marine ecosystems and biodiversity

  • Physiological and adaptation processes of marine organisms
  • Properties of marine molecules, e. g. biofilms
  • Functioning of ecosystems and food webs
  • Cumulative impacts of exploitation pressures and biological and physico-chemical factors on the dynamics of exploited species and communities
  • Ecological, economic, social and legal determinants of the development of human activities such as fishing or aquaculture

Still unexplored oceanic depths

  • Deep-sea and ocean margin dynamics, associated earthquake risks, and mineral resource formation
  • Earth Mantle Dynamics and Continental Growth
  • Economic and legal stakes related to ocean domains
  • Micro-organisms in extreme deep-sea environments and hydrothermal sources

The coast, a complex and fragile interface

  • Physical processes in the coastal domain and at the land-sea interface, including interactions with atmosphere
  • Coastal territories, their dynamics and their vulnerabilities, both physical (teledetection, geomatics approaches) and human (societies evolution, uses)
  • Public policies Analysis and evaluation and development of tools and scenarios to assist collective choices for coastal development