Science at UM [S04-ep20]: Riding the waves
This week on A l’UM la science, Frédéric Bouchette and Garance Marlier, researchers at Géosciences Montpellier , explain their work to combat coastal erosion. The report follows the steps involved in creating a hologram in an optics lab, and our last-minute guest presents a lecture by Jean-Baptiste Fressoz. A program broadcast on Divergence every Wednesday at 6 p.m.
In 1946, Trenet sang: "La mer qu'on voit danser" (The sea we see dancing). In 2046, others could sing about the sea we see rising. Because the reality is undeniable: centimeter by centimeter, what we call the coastline is receding. The inhabitants of the Hérault coastline are already facing this situation and are trying to prepare for it, willingly or unwillingly. One example is the dismantling of the beach huts at Grand Travers and Grande Motte, ordered last year by the administrative court following a complaint by environmental protection associations.
In an attempt to save his Atlantis, the mayor of Palavas-les-Flots is playing other cards. Although he told the press last year that he did not "feel that the sea was invading us and did not want to alarm people," he has also launched the Palavas Horizon 2050 program, which aims to preserve the beach and restore the coastline with the help of researchers and experts.
Our guests today are among those researchers who are trying to come up with solutions for local authorities. Frédéric Bouchette is a researcher at the Montpellier Geosciences Laboratory, and Garance Marlier has just completed her thesis. They have tested a biomimetic solution in Palavas-les-Flots to limit sediment transport. Their work has been published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering.
Read:
Spectral Water Wave Dissipation by Biomimetic Soft Structure
When the Sea Rises, LUM 17.
In the second part of the program, we continue our studies at the science faculty, heading to Triolet to attend an optics practical with Thierry Guillet and Steeve Cronenberg, Professors UM. For the occasion, we follow two third-year fundamental physics students. Today's goal: to print a hologram on a glass plate.
Our last-minute guest will be Anne Coudrain, Vice President of Occitanie for the Society of Engineers and Scientists of France (IESF) and Honorary Research Director at IRD. She will present a conference organized by IESF with Polytech Montpellier on the occasion of National Engineers' Day. It will take place on March 20 at 2:30 p.m. at the Institute of Botany. Science historian Jean-Baptiste Fressoz will give a lecture on the theme of Climate Energy: A History Without Transition. Open to all upon registration.
At UM Science, you have the program, so let's get started!
Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Reporting and editing: Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Production: Alice Rollet
Listen to the program “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9
