Bachelor's degree

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This module introduces the basics of seismology. It focuses on the initiation of earthquakes, wave propagation, and the analysis of recordings to characterize earthquakes (location, magnitude, focal mechanism) and image the Earth's interior. We will also discuss earthquake hazard assessment. Finally, we will look at how this information allows us to better understand geodynamics and the seismic cycle. The second part of the course focuses more specifically on the processing of seismograms, with an introduction to signal processing techniques during computer lab sessions (Fourier transform, filtering, convolution, correlation) and imaging/tomography. A tutorial using real data concludes the year with data plotting, magnitude calculation, and the location and mechanism of an earthquake focus to characterize and quantify the active deformation of the East African Rift.  

Hourly volumes:

• CM: 25 hours
• TD: 12 p.m.
• Practical work: 8 hours

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This course brings together three complementary and fundamental disciplines of Earth sciences: sedimentology, tectonics, and cartography. The different types of sedimentary rocks will be taught in detail in order to interpret their formation context and associated processes. The subjects of ductile and brittle tectonics will also be addressed at different scales in order to establish their formation context, particularly in terms of stress regimes. Practical work on samples will be carried out in parallel to enable students to develop their observation and drawing skills and to make use of the rich collections available in the department. Finally, an introduction to reading and working with geological maps (diagrams, cross-sections) will be provided, applying the concepts of sedimentology and tectonics previously acquired. This course unit should enable students to define the broad outlines of the geological history of a given region.

Hourly volumes:

• CM: 12
• TD: 3
• TP: 21

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This course presents the fundamentals of structural geology at the undergraduate level. The course will focus on the analysis of various objects and deformation processes present at all levels of the Earth's crust. Rock deformation will be studied using field examples (photos and geological maps), samples, thin sections, and experiments. The main points covered will be the analysis of deformation processes (brittle and ductile), as well as associated structural features. The interpretation of these structures will be addressed in terms of tectonic regimes. Techniques for structural measurements and stereographic projections of features encountered in the field will be taught. Structural analysis will range from small scale using a microscope to large scale using^1:50,000 geological maps and satellite photos of deformed areas.

Hourly volumes:

• CM: 6 hours
• Tutorial: 6 hours
• Practical work: 6 hours

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This course introduces groundwater in the hydrological cycle and then discusses the properties of the water/rock complex: porosity and permeability. It provides students with a basic understanding of underground hydrodynamics in natural and artificial flow and elementary hydrochemistry of groundwater.

Knowledge acquisition is facilitated by practical application during laboratory sessions on columns (porosity and permeability measurements, establishment of Darcy's law, salt tracing) and classroom tutorials (resolution of common hydrogeological problems based on the reading of piezometric and hydrogeological maps - Construction and interpretation of piezometric maps - Interpretation of well and groundwater tests - Significance of physical and chemical water analyses).

A field day provides an opportunity to illustrate the relationship between geological structure and hydrodynamic functioning and to introduce drilling measurement techniques.

Hourly volumes:

• CM: 1:00 p.m.
• TD: 2:00 p.m.
• Practical work: 12 hours
• Field: 6 hours

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This EU is structured around four chapters in order to introduce reminders and new concepts in mathematics that are necessary for learning Earth and Environmental Sciences.

-Chapter 1 : Taylor and DL :Examples and Operations

- Chapter 2: Differential equations: modeling, separable equations,^first-order reminders, second-order equations with constant coefficients

- Chapter 3: Functions of several variables: Partial functions , contour lines, partial derivatives, composition, higher-order derivatives, example: seismic waves, gradient, divergence, rotational, Laplacian (transition to other coordinate systems), extrema

- Chapter 4: Statistics and interpolation concepts: mean and standard deviation, comparison of means, least squares, Lagrange interpolation

Hours per week:

- CM: 6 p.m.

- Tutorial: 6 p.m.

- Practical work: 9 hours

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The objective of this course is to introduce the concepts and tools used to observe and describe igneous and metamorphic rocks, understand their genesis, and appreciate their importance in the geosciences.

The lessons will begin with an introduction to the concepts of mineralogy (crystallography, crystal chemistry) and the tools needed to identify the minerals that make up igneous and metamorphic rocks, both on a macroscopic and microscopic scale.

The different types of igneous and metamorphic rocks will then be presented and placed in the geodynamic contexts in which they were formed.

Two field trips in the Montpellier region will be offered to illustrate and supplement the lessons: the first trip will focus on volcanism in the Hérault Valley (from Agde to Salagou), while the second will cover magmatic and metamorphic areas in the Cévennes.

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The course will cover the different episodes of geology in France from the Paleozoic era to the present day and will place these events in their geodynamic context. We will cover sedimentary, tectonic, geomorphological, metamorphic, and magmatic evolution. More specifically, we will discuss the structure and geological evolution of the Hercynian massifs, Mesozoic basins, Pyrenean-Alpine orogenesis, and finally the West European Rift. To define these major geological features, the course will incorporate various data such as geological maps, paleogeographic maps, cross-sections, rock facies, geochronological ages, ECORS profiles, magnetic anomaly maps, gravimetric maps, etc. The geological evolution of Languedoc from the Hercynian orogeny to the opening of the Mediterranean Sea will be particularly well documented and developed during practical work and field trips.

Hourly volumes:

CM: 3 p.m.

Practical work: 9 hours

Field: 12 hours

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• Atmospheric physics and dynamics (composition and structure, radiation balance, theoretical circulation, low-pressure systems/high-pressure systems, fronts, jets, tornadoes)
• Ocean physics and dynamics (composition and structure, main forces, simplified equations, geostrophic current, Ekman drift, eddies, astronomical tides)
• General ocean circulation (Munk model, major currents, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic, Conveyor Belt)
• Waves and swells, vocabulary and general overview, first-order theory
• Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions (heat/moisture/CO2 exchange, Monsoon, El Niño)

• Hourly volumes:

  CM: 21

  TD: 24

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The lectures will cover concepts of cartography (projection systems, height reference systems, positioning), imaging (aerial, satellite, digital encoding, DTM), field measurements (positioning, stratum dip), construction of a geological cross-section and stratigraphic log, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS, georeferencing, QGIS software).

The tutorials will apply the concepts covered in the lectures (reading and interpreting satellite images, geological cross-sections). The practicals will focus on mapping the northern region of Pic St Loup by reading and interpreting satellite images, then checking this interpretation and taking measurements in the field, and finally returning to GIS to finalize the work.

Hourly volumes:

CM: 6 hours

Tutorial: 6 hours

Practical work: 12 hours

Field: 12 hours

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• Thermodynamic reminders on chemical equilibria in solution, the law of mass action, and the principle of titration by equilibrium displacement
• Application to equilibrium:
  • Acid-base: Acids and bases, Calculating the pH of aqueous solutions, Titrations
  • complexation: prediction of reactions, domain of species predominance, influence of pH
  • precipitation: stability/solubility of solids, influence of pH
  • Oxidation-reduction: reminders and definitions, electrochemical cells, electrode potentials, predicting the course of oxidation-reduction reactions
• Analytical techniques used in environmental chemistry, with applications in determining the physicochemical parameters of water quality:

• Electrochemical techniques,
• Spectrophotometric techniques
• Chromatographic techniques

Hourly volumes:

CM: 1:00 PM

Tutorial: 12 hours

Practical work: 20 hours

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- Hydrostatics ( Fundamental Principle of Hydrostatics, concept of buoyancy, Archimedes' principle)

- Fluid kinematics (streamline, trajectory, streamline, flow rate, Reynolds number, laminar flow, turbulent flow)

- Hydrodynamics of ideal fluids (conservation of mass, conservation of energy with Bernoulli's theorem, case studies: Mariotte vessel, emptying a tank, Pitot tube, Venturi)

- Hydrodynamics of real fluids ( origin of pressure losses and estimation of linear and singular pressure losses, generalized Bernoulli's theorem with pressure losses)

- Hydraulic machines (pump operation, H(Q) characteristics, operating point)

- Free surface hydraulics (hydraulic characteristics, Manning-Strickler formula, spillway formula, calibration curves)

Hourly volumes:

CM: 10 a.m.

TD: 10 a.m.

Practical work: 4 p.m.

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This course unit aims to introduce the concept of chemical element properties, geochemical classification, and the distribution of major and trace elements in minerals, rocks, and fluids. We will address the concepts of compatible and incompatible elements, partition coefficients, geochemical equilibria and fractionation, and element mobility. The geochemistry of major and trace elements will be studied to understand magmatic processes (partial melting, fractional crystallization) and surface processes (water and material transfer and flow; weathering and water-rock interactions). Radiochronology and the geochemistry of radiogenic and stable isotopes will also be addressed to identify the different reservoirs within the Earth, date rocks and fluids (superficial and deep), and study geochemical transfers between the different reservoirs (asthenosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere). Stable O and C isotopes will be studied more specifically in order to characterize the origin of atmospheric fluxes and trace the various processes involved in the water cycle at the hydrosystem scale. Dissolved and particulate geochemical flux balances in hydrosystems will be addressed in order to understand the dynamics of global terrestrial cycles at the surface.

Hourly volumes:

CM: 20

TD: 22

TP: 3

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