Introduction
Leads: Mikhail Karpytchev, Mélanie Becker
Keywords: Sea level, Hydro-sedimentary dynamics and stratigraphy of coastal zones, estuaries, vertical movements, geodesy, numerical modelling, geophysics
Coastal zones are among the most rapidly changing physical environments on the planet.
Thus, nearly two-thirds of the world’s coasts are eroding (partly due to the long-term rise in sea level), while most estuaries and semi-enclosed environments are silting up.
These coastal zones are complex to study, as they are the site of interactions between the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, the lithosphere and the biosphere.
Beyond this natural complexity, coastal zones face climate change (sea level rise, changes in storm regimes) and are often subject to strong anthropogenic pressure (coastal defences, dredging, aquaculture, etc.), with nearly half of humanity living within a 140 km wide coastal band.
The DPL team’s project aims to better understand the physical dynamics of coastal areas, both from the perspective of the physical processes controlling hydro-sedimentary dynamics and their morphological evolution, and of the recent environmental changes that are modifying these systems: absolute and relative sea level variations, climate change, and increasing anthropogenic pressure.