Titre/Title :
Patterns in the Sand
Contact :
Eric Barthelemy (Equipe Houle)
Résumé/Abstract :
Morphodynamic studies address the form, structure and evolution of the fluid-sediment interface, the mutual adjustment of patterns in flow, morphology, and sediment transport. Feedbacks between sediment transport and hydrodynamics occur over a range of temporal and spatial scales and ultimately result in the variety of shapes and patterns often observed in the coastal and estuarine regions.
Understanding and prediction of geomorphic patterns is not only a scientific puzzle but also has implications for the capacity to predict short/long term morphological responses (erosion/accretion) which may in turn directly affect the population, impact a number of engineering applications and also influence food webs and the ecological functioning of the environment.
In this seminar I will present some of my attempts to understand pattern development in a variety of coastal (e.g., beach cusps) and estuarine (e.g., tidal channels) environments where physical-biological feedbacks can be dominant. I will also point at the shift in scientific thinking that has occurred in the last decade when established and widely accepted hypotheses have been challenged by self-organization new models based on feedbacks.