License 3

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The aim of the lectures is to present the basic notions to describe, classify and characterize soils: their different constituents (minerals, clays, organic matter, living organisms), their physical properties (granulometry, texture, structure), chemical properties (clay-humus complex, CEC, oxidation-reduction), and biological properties (horizons and humus, root system, plant nutrition, role of bacteria, C/N ratio, pedofauna) We will study the factors of soil formation (climate, bedrock, living organisms, relief, time), the different processes of soil formation and evolution (weathering, humification, leaching, podzolization, pedoturbation, ferrallitization,...), the major soil classification systems, and the distribution of soils in the world. This scientific base will allow us to address current social issues concerning soils in the field of land management: their degradation (erosion, pollution, artificialization, compaction, etc.) and their restoration (depollution, phytoremediation, agroecology).

The field trip will allow to put into practice the notions seen in class.

Hourly volumes:

CM : 12h

TD : 9h

Field : 6h

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The aim of this course is to synthesize notions and knowledge acquired in L1 and L2 (stratigraphy, sedimentology and life history) and to reinforce them with notions of sedimentology, biostratigraphy and anatomy. Together, these concepts provide the keys to surface geology for analyzing and reconstructing ancient depositional environments and interpreting their fossil content in a temporal context.

Hourly volume:

CM : 6H

TP : 12H

TD : 3H

LAND : 6H

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This training course aims to illustrate, through the study of rocks of the Maures massif, the fundamental notions exposed in the course of magmatic and metamorphic petrology, and to apply the techniques of characterization of deep crustal deformed rocks. In the field, particular attention will be paid to (1) textural and mineralogical description leading to rock identification; (2) characterization of the source and type of magmatism; (3) identification of protoliths and characterization of the degree of metamorphism; and (4) recognition of structural objects and deformation analysis.

A geological cross-section will be drawn through a varied set of rocks, from the surface detrital deposits to the base of the lower crust. The Variscan geological history of the Maures massif will be completed by the study of the Permian volcanism of the neighbouring Esterel massif.

Hourly volume:

Field: 27h

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The first sessions are devoted to reminders of the mathematical tools that will be used in the module. The teaching then consists of three parts: geothermal energy, gravimetry and geomagnetism. The approach developed combines theoretical and practical approaches. Particular attention is paid during practical work to the measurement and estimation of errors.

Hourly volumes:

CM : 15

TD : 30

TP : 9

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In the first part of this course, we will discuss the genesis and evolution of magmas from a petrological (microscopic observations of rocks and minerals, phase equilibrium) and geochemical (major and trace elements and isotopic composition of minerals and rocks) point of view in different geodynamic contexts: oceanic rifts, hotspots and subduction zones.

In the second part of this course, we will introduce the main variables and the different geodynamic contexts of metamorphism. You will learn to recognize mineral reactions and to interpret them with geometrical rules of chemiography. We will discuss the notion of metastability and the influence of rock chemistry on metamorphic evolution.

Hourly volumes:

CM : 9

TP: 18

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The course will address the following:

• mineral resource issues in the global context,
• the main types of metal deposits, their formation process and mining,
• Environmental impacts related to mining.

The objective of the practical work will be to become familiar with the main metalliferous minerals (macroscopic observations and use of metallographic microscopes).

A field day will complete the training by studying examples of metal deposits.

Hourly volumes:

CM : 9h

TP : 12h

Field : 6h

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This course aims at describing, from relevant tectonic observations at different scales, the functioning of major tectonic systems: folded systems, thrusting, large normal faults, ductile shear zones, unstripping domains, extensive domains, more complex domains. Particular attention will be paid to regional case studies (France, USA, Tibet-Himalaya)

Hourly volumes:

CM : 9h

Practical work: 12 hours

Field :6h

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This UE consists in carrying out a project on a theme of the Earth, Water and Environmental Sciences. The themes will be defined by the L3 pedagogical team and will consist in dealing with scientific problems using data acquired in the laboratory and/or in the field. The subjects will be treated by groups of 2 to 3 students and will be supervised by tutors, throughout the year of L3 within the framework of 2 complementary UE :

- The TEE 1 project in S5 will focus on bibliographic research activities related to the subject and the acquisition of tools to write a scientific report and make an oral presentation.

- the TEE 2 project in S6 will be more devoted to the processing of experimental/analytical data, the criticism of the results obtained and their interpretation. The final restitution of the study will be done in the form of a final report and an oral presentation before a jury.

This project unit, which is spread over the two semesters of the L3 TEE, will allow students to experience an initial independent work situation, which they will then be able to transpose into their master's program, or directly into the professional world, depending on their professional project.

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This course provides the necessary basis for understanding the transfer processes that act on the outer shell of our planet. The aim is to learn how to decipher the imprint of these processes through the study of sedimentary rocks.

Hourly volumes:

CM : 15h

TD : 3h

TP : 12h

Field : 6h

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This course aims at integrating the knowledge (geological and in terms of analysis tools) acquired until the 5th semester of the licence and to apply them to the discovery of the architecture of the subsoil and the dynamics of the fluids it contains. It is articulated around five axes: 

Introduction of near-surface reconnaissance and characterization techniques applied to reservoirs (surface and well geophysics, hydrogeological measurements, sediment core studies);

- Application to a concrete case study: an aquifer in the Languedoc coastal zone;

- Acquisition of part of the data on an experimental site thanks to dedicated measurement workshops (field);

- Processing, analysis and interpretation of data acquired with dedicated software but also of complementary data from laboratory measurements;

- Synthesis and report/poster writing.

Hourly volumes:

CM : 6h

TD : 6h

TP : 18h

Field : 12h

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This UE will be articulated around the following concepts:

1) The watershed (definition, geometric, geological, physiographic characteristics, hydrological behavior)

2) Precipitation (Definition of precipitation, concept of showers and intensity, spatial analysis of point measurement (Thiessen, isohets), temporal analysis of point measurement (return period, Montana)

3) Evapotranspiration (interception, evaporation, transpiration, evapotranspiration, Turc's formulas, Thornthwaite)

4) Infiltration (definition of infiltration capacity, characteristics of the unsaturated zone, concepts of water content, hydraulic conductivity at saturation, water potential, balance of forces and state of water in the soil, factors influencing infiltration and water profiles, Horton's law)

5) Runoff (formation of surface runoff, runoff coefficient, subsurface runoff, table-river relationship, decomposition of flood hydrographs)

6) The water balance (the water cycle and the water balance at different spatial and temporal scales)

7) Hydrometry (principle and technique of measurement + field)

Hourly volumes:

CM :12h

TD :12h

TP : 6h

Field :6h

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This UE consists in carrying out a project on a theme of the Earth, Water and Environmental Sciences. The themes will be defined by the L3 pedagogical team and will consist in dealing with scientific problems using data acquired in the laboratory and/or in the field. The subjects will be treated by groups of 2 to 3 students and will be supervised by tutors, throughout the year of L3 within the framework of 2 complementary UE :

- The TEE 1 project in S5 will focus on bibliographic research activities related to the subject and the acquisition of tools to write a scientific report and make an oral presentation.

- the TEE 2 project in S6 will be more devoted to the processing of experimental/analytical data, the criticism of the results obtained and their interpretation. The final restitution of the study will be done in the form of a final report and an oral presentation before a jury.

This project unit, which is spread over the two semesters of the L3 TEE, will allow students to experience an initial independent work situation, which they will then be able to transpose into their master's program, or directly into the professional world, depending on their professional project.

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This EU is primarily a training course for geological mapping in the field, built in two parts:

1 - A pre-learning in 2 days of fieldwork in the northern Montpellier region. Introduction to field mapping methods (measurement, transfer) and to the survey of structural and sedimentary sections in the St Martin de Londres basin. The students are followed in the field in small groups of 10, using project-based pedagogy (complementary work) and group pedagogy in the field (dialogue, interaction) guided by a teacher who guides them in questioning, locating and reporting cartographic data.

2 - A deepening of the learning process through an immersion in a long field course of 8 days in the Alps (Digne region). With the help of project-based and inverted pedagogy (autonomous work alternated with supervised days, i.e. rotation of small groups), students learn to map in a high relief region where rocks are very deformed, and field observation and spatial data are very complementary. The total immersion of the fieldwork allows for supervised work and monitoring of the student's daily work.

Hourly volumes:

CM : 2 h (introduction of basic notions)

TD : 10 h (3h of GIS, 7h of image analysis, and construction of sections)

Field : 60 h (12h in St Martin, 48h in Digne)

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- Hydrostatics (Fundamental Principle of Hydrostatics, notion of buoyancy force, Archimedes' theorem)

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

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

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

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

- Free surface hydraulics (hydraulic characteristics, Manning Strickler formula, weir formula, rating curves)

Hourly volumes:

CM :10h

TD :10h

TP : 16 hours

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We will study the main external and internal processes that participate in the shaping of landforms:

• Alteration process
• Wind Processes and Landscapes
• River processes and river landscapes
• Glacial and periglacial processes and landscapes
• Tectonic and structural geomorphology
• Slope process
• Karst Model

Hourly volume:

CM : 21h

Practical work : 9h x 2 groups

Field : 6h x 3 groups

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The Geodynamics EU articulates the presentation, study and characterization of the major processes associated with solid Earth geodynamics: mantle dynamics, plate tectonics, plate boundaries (rifts, subductions, collisions, ocean expansion) and intraplate domains. These systems and processes are studied through natural examples at the crustal and lithospheric scales, with emphasis on the integration of different data and tools used in the Earth sciences (geophysics, geochemistry, structural geology, rock mechanics, petrology, etc.) NB: the hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere are not covered.

The courses are associated with practical sessions focused on the analysis and synthesis of documents in order to characterize geodynamic processes, using the concepts covered in geosciences since S1.

Hourly volumes:

CM : 3 pm

TD : 21 h

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This course aims at integrating the knowledge (geological and in terms of analysis tools) acquired until the 5th semester of the licence and to apply them to the discovery of the architecture of the subsoil and the dynamics of the fluids it contains. It is articulated around five axes: 

Introduction of near-surface reconnaissance and characterization techniques applied to reservoirs (surface and well geophysics, hydrogeological measurements, sediment core studies);

- Application to a concrete case study: an aquifer in the Languedoc coastal zone;

- Acquisition of part of the data on an experimental site thanks to dedicated measurement workshops (field);

- Processing, analysis and interpretation of data acquired with dedicated software but also of complementary data from laboratory measurements;

- Synthesis and report/poster writing.

Hourly volumes:

CM : 6h

TD : 6h

TP : 18h

Field : 12h

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This UE consists in carrying out a project on a theme of the Earth, Water and Environmental Sciences. The themes will be defined by the L3 pedagogical team and will consist in dealing with scientific problems using data acquired in the laboratory and/or in the field. The subjects will be treated by groups of 2 to 3 students and will be supervised by tutors, throughout the year of L3 within the framework of 2 complementary UE :

- The TEE 1 project in S5 will focus on bibliographic research activities related to the subject and the acquisition of tools to write a scientific report and make an oral presentation.

- the TEE 2 project in S6 will be more devoted to the processing of experimental/analytical data, the criticism of the results obtained and their interpretation. The final restitution of the study will be done in the form of a final report and an oral presentation before a jury.

This project unit, which is spread over the two semesters of the L3 TEE, will allow students to experience an initial independent work situation, which they will then be able to transpose into their master's program, or directly into the professional world, depending on their professional project.

See full page

This EU is primarily a training course for geological mapping in the field, built in two parts:

1 - A pre-learning in 2 days of fieldwork in the northern Montpellier region. Introduction to field mapping methods (measurement, transfer) and to the survey of structural and sedimentary sections in the St Martin de Londres basin. The students are followed in the field in small groups of 10, using project-based pedagogy (complementary work) and group pedagogy in the field (dialogue, interaction) guided by a teacher who guides them in questioning, locating and reporting cartographic data.

2 - A deepening of the learning process through an immersion in a long field course of 8 days in the Alps (Digne region). With the help of project-based and inverted pedagogy (autonomous work alternated with supervised days, i.e. rotation of small groups), students learn to map in a high relief region where rocks are very deformed, and field observation and spatial data are very complementary. The total immersion of the fieldwork allows for supervised work and monitoring of the student's daily work.

Hourly volumes:

CM : 2 h (introduction of basic notions)

TD : 10 h (3h of GIS, 7h of image analysis, and construction of sections)

Field : 60 h (12h in St Martin, 48h in Digne)

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We will study the main external and internal processes that participate in the shaping of landforms:

• Alteration process
• Wind Processes and Landscapes
• River processes and river landscapes
• Glacial and periglacial processes and landscapes
• Tectonic and structural geomorphology
• Slope process
• Karst Model

Hourly volume:

CM : 21h

Practical work : 9h x 2 groups

Field : 6h x 3 groups

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The Earth system is often described as an association of superimposed envelopes, starting from the central seed to the most discrete zones at the limit of the space vacuum. It can also be thought of as a system where rocks, water, air and life cohabit. The Earth system is first of all a whole, whose components are largely interconnected at all scales of time and space.

The Earth-Environment module is part of the exploration of the couplings between the main components of the Earth system, namely the solid earth, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere and the biosphere. It aims to describe and explain some of the most striking interactions, and to show to what extent these complex processes and couplings control our entire environment, including our daily life, our safety (natural hazards and disasters) and the prospects for human survival on Earth.

Hourly volume:

CM : 30  

TD : 30   

TP: 12

That is to say a student face-to-face volume of 72 hours. That is to say 48 blocks of 1.5 hours of teaching (20 blocks of lectures, 20 blocks of lectures and 8 blocks of practical work)

The module is organized in the form of a short introductory lecture to the module followed by the following three thematic blocks which follow one another in the module schedule:

1. Internal earth
2. External earth and geological hazards
3. External Earth, hydrosphere and risks

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The Geodynamics EU articulates the presentation, study and characterization of the major processes associated with solid Earth geodynamics: mantle dynamics, plate tectonics, plate boundaries (rifts, subductions, collisions, ocean expansion) and intraplate domains. These systems and processes are studied through natural examples at the crustal and lithospheric scales, with emphasis on the integration of different data and tools used in the Earth sciences (geophysics, geochemistry, structural geology, rock mechanics, petrology, etc.) NB: the hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere are not covered.

The courses are associated with practical sessions focused on the analysis and synthesis of documents in order to characterize geodynamic processes, using the concepts covered in geosciences since S1.

Hourly volumes:

CM : 3 pm

TD : 21 h

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