Geosciences in Normandy

Normandy has the great advantage of being situated in part on the ancient deformed rocks of the Armorican Massif but also on the horizontal sedimentary terrain of the Paris Basin. It also benefits from having a 600 km-long maritime coastline. The diversity of the resources from the basement rocks, together with its preserved geological inheritance, make Normandy a rich geological region, which has been studied for two centuries. Today, Normandy includes three universities (Caen, Rouen et le Havre), which are grouped together, to coordinate their research, in the ComUE, with the schools of Engineering and Architecture.

Founded in 1432, the University of Caen Normandy is one of the oldest universities in France. It was entirely destroyed during the Second World War during the liberation of the region. For this reason, the symbol adopted following its reconstruction was the phoenix, the bird that rose from the flames, This symbol can be seen at the entrance to the historic campus. Today, Normandy is home to over 300 geoscientists who work in industry, construction engineering, water resources, geotechnics, research and/or teaching.

Geologists are employed in the large BTP (building and public works) industrial groups, research offices, territorial collectives, agencies and services of the State, and in research laboratories..

Research in the Geosciences are mainly carried on in the Laboratoire de Morphodynamique continentale et côtière (UMR M2C CNRS, University of Caen Normany and the University of Rouen), which also incorporates the Geo-Environment team at UMR LOMC in the University of Le Havre and the GEOCEANO laboratory of Intechmer at Cherbourg.

Created in 1992, the Laboratoire de Morphodynamique continentale et côtière (M2C) is attached to the Institut des Sciences de l’Univers of the CNRS.The research that is pursued at the M2C institute includes investigation of the interface between the ocean and the continent, since the dynamics of the basin influence the evolution of the adjacent coastal areas. The hundred members work in the laboratory include 35 teacher-researchers and researchers, 20 technicians and engineers, and 25 doctoral students.

The University of Caen Normandy includes over 24 000 students of whom 21 000 are based at the Caen campus sites.

The University's Earth Sciences Department offers a complete undergraduate programme leading to Licence (Bachelor), Master and Doctorate degrees.

The diversity of the local geology of the vicinity of the university centred at Caen supports a multi-disciplinary approach to field- and laboratory-based training in the Earth Sciences. 08:36he specialist Master's course 'Engineering and Coastal Geosciences' provides students with a detailed grounding in the understanding of coastal and shallow marine processes.

Beyond the University, the local geological associations also contribute to the dissemination of Norman Geology. L'association Patrimoine Géologique de Normandie (APGN: Geological Heritage Association of Normandy) is devoted to study of the geological heritage of the region. Finally, L’association des professeurs de biologie et géologie (APBG: the Association of Biology and Geology Teachers) co-operates with the universities and the researchers in the development of educational tools and scientists, including for example the Normandy Lithothèque.