Better Understanding of the English Channel's Tectonics

The Laboratory of Oceanology and Geosciences (LOG) at Lille 1 University of Science and Technology has purchased a mini-sparker SIG Pulse from SIG France. The LOG is setting up a new marine technical platform for its teaching and research activities. The SIG Pulse S1 is a 20-300 joules energy source for sparker or boomer VHR seismics. Typically used for near-shore investigations, the system is hand-portable, easy to install on small boats and easy to deploy from the back deck. The LOG studies are improving the understanding of the relationships between tectonics, sedimentation and erosion in the sedimentary basins and continental margins of northern France, including in the English Channel.

These studies are becoming essential for the seismic risk assessments and the geo-resources of this region. Virginie Gaullier, head of the team ‘Tectonics of continental margins and sedimentary basins’, has chosen the SIG equipment for the reliability and the technical support. Martin Jollivet Castelot will be the first thesis student to use the mini-sparker for his thesis work on Cenozoic evolution and geodynamic events recorded in the Dieppe-Hampshire basin.

The first data with the SIG Pulse S1 has been recorded, off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer, onboard the R/V Côtes de la Manche, a 25m-long vessel dedicated to scientific studies essentially in the English Channel.