CONFERENCES
and excursions
Services:
Private conferences at home or in the workplace; hosting of evenings, birthdays, works councils; thematic excursions.
Functioning :
You choose the topic and indicate the desired format (home conference, dinner conference, dinner debate, round table, field trip, etc.). You specify the level of the audience (children, general public, specialists, etc.) , the desired duration, time and location. You indicate the equipment you have (TV with video-compatible USB port, video projector). A quote is provided.
The proposed topics are based on data collected and experiences gained in France and abroad during numerous study and exploration missions.
( see attached map )
EXPEDITIONS AND ADVENTURES
The undergrounds of Cappadocia: a 4000 year old tradition.
For over four millennia, the inhabitants of Cappadocia, in central Turkey, have been digging underground dwellings and shelters. Thousands of sites have been inventoried that show the wealth of this troglodyte civilization. The tradition that has lasted to this day is expanding.
Support: video and powerpoint .
The Halys tunnel
Not far from the pottery city of Avanos, on the banks of the Kizilirmak, Turkey's main river, lies the entrance to a mysterious underground passage nearly 200 m long. Is it linked to a legend reported by Herodotus?
Support: video and powerpoint .
Vaca Plateau Mayan Caves and Ruins in Belize
The karst plateau of Vaca on the border between Guatemala and Belize. Its jungle hides several Mayan cities around which many chasms open. With a team from the USA and Costa Rica we explore some of them.
Support: video and powerpoint .
Caves and earthquakes in Costa Rica
At the crossroads of several tectonic plates, Costa Rica regularly experiences earthquakes of magnitude greater than 7. It is a privileged place to study the effects of earthquakes on caves.
Support: powerpoint .
In Guyana with the Boudeuse, in search of the Lisbon tsunami (1755)
In 1755 a terrible earthquake followed by a tsunami killed thirty thousand people in Lisbon. The effects were felt on the shores of the Atlantic. Guyana seems to have been spared. With the ship La Boudeuse, we set off to check it out. This takes us to the banks of the Maroni River and to Devil's Island, where Dreyfus was imprisoned.
Support: video and powerpoint .
The wrecks of Madagascar
On the road to India, the southern coast of Madagascar was the scene of many shipwrecks. Let's first dive into the site of the Etoile where a Portuguese ship sank 5 centuries ago. Its study shows that in 1528 globalization was already a reality. Let's then go in search of the castaways of the Winterton who ended their voyage in 1792 on the terrible Salary reef
Support: video and powerpoint .
Tsingy, caves, volcanoes and sapphires of the Ankarana massif in Madagascar
Located south of Diego Suarez, Ankarana is a limestone plateau bristling with rocky needles and pierced with countless caves. It is surrounded by several volcanoes and is home to a large population of sapphire seekers. Let's follow together the explorations of Nice that have allowed the discovery of the second longest cave in Africa
Support: video and powerpoint .
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Gold prospector in Madagascar
In Madagascar, in the Precambrian meta-volcanics and in the alluvial placers there are important gold deposits. Let's go to Daraina where in the 90s there was a real gold rush. A nugget of one kilo was found there.
Support: powerpoint .
Iceland Lava Tunnels
Iceland, an emerging part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, is a country of volcanoes. It contains many caves which are lava tubes sometimes several kilometers long. How are they formed?
Support: video and powerpoint .
The 2004 tsunami in Koh Phi Phi (Thailand)
In December 2004 the shores of the Indian Ocean were ravaged by a terribly deadly historic tsunami. Let's go to the island of Koh Phi Phi to study this episode in the sea caves and look for traces of older tsunamis.
Support: powerpoint .
First speleological expeditions in China 1986-1993
In 1986, in a China that was barely opening up to tourists, the first speleological expedition took place in Guizhou. The incredible discoveries gave rise to new cooperations that confirmed the speleological wealth of China and the formidable evolution of Chinese society.
Support: powerpoint .
REG IONAL AND APPLIED GEOLOGY
The Great Caves (thesis)
There are gigantic underground chambers in nature, much larger than engineers could conceive. Do they obey laws that we could use to dig large shelters and accommodate, for example, underground nuclear power plants?
Support: powerpoint .
Geology of Nice
Nestled between the Alps and the sea, Nice extends over a territory where the geology is complex. This is linked to a turbulent geological history alternating phases of sediment deposits and intense tectonic episodes such as the rotation of Corsica and Sardinia or the thrust of the Alps.
Support: powerpoint .
Water resources of the Alpes-Maritimes
The Nice region is rich in groundwater contained in the limestone or alluvium of the valleys. Let's take a look at the different aquifers and the possibilities available to us to ensure good water management.
Support: video and powerpoint .
Recording earthquakes in caves
The prehistoric paintings that are sometimes discovered there show that the caves preserve traces for thousands of years. Can this property be used to study past earthquakes?
Support: video and powerpoint .
The underwater sources of Nice and its region
It is common when swimming along the Mediterranean coast to perceive very cold currents. These are underwater sources of fresh water, some of which have a strong flow. Where do they come from? Is it possible to capture them?
Support: video and powerpoint .
The underwater sources of the Calanques of Cassis
At the exit of the port of Cassis and in the cove of Port Miou flow two important underwater springs. Known since Antiquity, they have been explored since the 1960s, which marked the beginning of a formidable scientific adventure. Their functioning has only just been understood.
Support: video and powerpoint .
Gypsum in the South-East and in Nice
Used to make plaster, gypsum is an abundant rock in the south-east of France. However, its presence poses significant development problems given its solubility, which encourages the creation of caves. These can collapse and affect the buildings built above them.
Support: powerpoint .
Natural risks in Nice
Nice is subject to various natural risks: earthquake, flood, submersion, fire. Let's take stock of the reality of these risks, the countermeasures to be implemented and the local planning policy. Let's analyze their foreseeable evolution in this context of climate change.
Support: video and powerpoint .
How to choose a building plot?
The geology of our region is complex. When buying real estate, it is interesting to have information about the nature of the subsoil and groundwater in order to avoid mistakes and their consequences. The geologist's perspective then provides valuable insight.
Support: powerpoint .
Ligurian and Messinian Basin
It is impossible to understand the geology of our region without knowing that there was a large mountain range to the south. What happened? How did the Ligurian basin that now extends to the south function? Let's discover the rotation of the Corsican-Sardinian block and the drying up of the Mediterranean.
Support: powerpoint .
The collapse of the Toulon tunnel in 1996
In 1996, during the digging of the first tube, the Toulon motorway tunnel (A51) collapsed. In a complex financial and political context, this incident gave rise to several studies to try to understand the cause and the solutions to be put in place. Several years later, new disorders appeared during the digging of the second tube. What happened? Was this predictable?
Support: video and powerpoint .
The collapse of the Cannes-Grasse road
One morning in 2001, a truck driver saw a sinkhole open up in the roadway of the Cannes-Grasse expressway. He was able to stop traffic and no accidents occurred. What happened? Could it happen again?
Support: video and powerpoint .
Incidents at the Nice metro construction site
The geology of the Nice subsoil is very complex and when the Metropolis decided to build a metro, local geologists reported several foreseeable risks that could increase its cost and the duration of the work. The project was finally completed but the construction site experienced serious incidents, some of which are still ongoing. Were the geologists right?
Support: video and powerpoint .
ENVIRONMENT
Karstodyssey 2016. In search of the previous global warming.
125,000 years ago our planet experienced significant warming. Let's set off with the Triton ship, looking for traces of this episode in the sea caves of the Mediterranean.
Support: video and powerpoint .
The Coaraze underground dam and active groundwater management.
In autumn and spring our region sometimes experiences floods, while at the end of summer there is a shortage. Why not store excess water to use it later when needed? This is how the Coaraze underground dam prototype was born.
Support: powerpoint .
