Mise en place de la réglementation issue du décret du 11 décembre 2007 pour les digues maritimes des départements côtiers de la Manche et de Bretagne : état d'avancement, exemples marquants et perspectives

Colloque National Digues Maritimes et Fluviales de Protection contre les Submersions, Aix-en-Provence, FRA, 12-/06/2013 - 14/06/2013National audienceIn France, a national Decree signed on the 11th of December 2007 has significantly strengthened the safety obligations of the fluvial and coastal dike owners. In February 2010, the Xynthia catastrophic storm resulted in an increased awareness of those working on coastal dikes whether they are owners - such as local authorities, owners syndicate ... - or State control authorities.Furthermore, the importance of the French Flash Flood Prevention Program is growing and the first grants for the dike reinforcement have been issued.In this context, three specialized teams of the "regional directions for the environment " (ie the regional level of the French state administration responsible for the control of dike safety) working on the coastline of the English Channel (ie “La Manche”) present in this paper:• a quick overlook of the inventory of coastal and river dikes;• the feedback of the damage caused by the Xynthia storm in the French region of Calvados;• the state-of-progress of the implementation of the regulations created by the 2007 Decree;• Some examples of dike owners who partnered up in order to conduct assessment survey on their embankment system or to realize dikereinforcement work.Le décret de décembre 2007 a significativement renforcé les prescriptions de sécurité s'appliquant aux responsables des digues de protection contre les submersions d'origine fluviale et/ou maritime.La tempête catastrophique Xynthia de février 2010 a sensibilisé de nombreux acteurs agissant dans le domaine des digues de défense maritime - que ceux-ci relèvent de la Maîtrise d'Ouvrage (collectivités territoriales etassociations de défense contre la mer, pour l'essentiel) comme de la mission de Contrôle (DDTM puis DREAL) - pour une mise en oeuvre efficace et pragmatique de cette réglementation. Enfin, le Plan de lutte contre lesSubmersions rapides monte en puissance avec la labellisation des premiers dossiers de travaux de confortement.Dans ce contexte, plusieurs services de DREAL intervenant dans les départements côtiers de la Manche et de Bretagne s'associent pour proposer la présente communication qui vise à :• dresser un rapide état des lieux du recensement et du classement des digues de front de mer ou de cours d'eau sous influence maritime sur ces côtes, dans lesquelles sont parfois englobés des éléments naturels tels que des cordons dunaires ;• rapporter le retour d'expérience suite à la tempête Xynthia et les dégâts qu'elle a causés sur les digues du département du Calvados ;• préciser l'avancement de la mise oeuvre du décret de 2007 ;• présenter quelques exemples de mutualisation et de regroupement de la maîtrise d'ouvrage pour la conduite des études à l'échelle de systèmesd'endiguement ainsi que pour la réalisation de travaux

The Pingding segment of the Altyn Tagh Fault (91E): Holocene slip-rate determination from cosmogenic radionuclide dating of offset fluvial terraces

International audienceMorphochronologic slip-rates on the Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) along the southern front of the Pingding Shan at 90.5E are determined by cosmogenic radionuclide (CRN) dating of seven offset terraces at two sites. The terraces are defined based upon morphology, elevation and dating, together with fieldwork and high-resolution satellite analysis. The majority of the CRN model ages fall within narrow ranges (<2 ka) on the four main terraces (T1, T2, T3 and T3′), and allow a detailed terrace chronology. Bounds on the terrace ages and offsets of 5 independent terraces yield consistent slip-rate estimates. The long-term slip-rate of 13.9+/-1.1 mm/yr is defined at the 95% confidence level, as the joint rate probability distribution of the rate derived from each independent terrace. It falls within the bounds of all the rates defined on the central Altyn Tagh Fault between the Cherchen He (86.4E) and Akato Tagh (88E) sites. This rate is 10 mm/yr less than the upper rate determined near Tura at 87E, in keeping with the inference of an eastward decreasing rate due to progressive loss of slip to thrusts branching off the fault southwards but it is greater than the 9+/-4 mm/yr rate determined at 90E by GPS surveys and other geodetic short-term rates defined elsewhere along the ATF. Whether such disparate rates will ultimately be reconciled by a better understanding of fault mechanics, resolved transient deformations during the seismic cycle or by more accurate measurements made with either approach remains an important issue

Applications of Morphochronology to the Active Tectonics of Tibet

The Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau were formed as a result of the collision of India and Asia, and provide an excellent opportunity to study the mechanical response of the continental lithosphere to tectonic stress. Geophysicists are divided in their views on the nature of this response advocating either (1) homogeneously distributed deformation with the lithosphere deforming as a fluid continuum or (2) deformation is highly localized with the lithosphere that deforms as a system of blocks. The resolution of this issue has broad implications for understanding the tectonic response of continental lithosphere in general. Homogeneous deformation is supported by relatively low decadal, geodetic slip-rate estimates for the Altyn Tagh and Karakorum Faults. Localized deformation is supported by high millennial, geomorphic slip-rates constrained by both cosmogenic and radiocarbon dating on these faults. Based upon the agreement of rates determined by radiocarbon and cosmogenic dating, the overall linearity of offset versus age correlations, and on the plateau-wide correlation of landscape evolution and climate history, the disparity between geomorphic and geodetic slip-rate determinations is unlikely to be due to the effects of surface erosion on the cosmogenic age determinations. Similarly, based upon the consistency of slip-rates over various observation intervals, secular variations in slip-rate appear to persist no longer than 2000 years and are unlikely to provide reconciliation. Conversely, geodetic and geomorphic slip-rate estimates on the Kunlun fault, which does not have significant splays or associated thrust faults, are in good agreement, indicating that there is no fundamental reason why these complementary geodetic and geomorphic methods should disagree. Similarly, the geodetic and geomorphic estimates of shortening rates across the northeastern edge of the plateau are in reasonable agreement, and the geomorphic rates on individual thrust faults demonstrate a significant eastward decrease in the shortening rate. This rate decrease is consistent with the transfer of slip from the Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) to genetically-related thrust mountain building at its terminus. Rates on the ATF suggest a similar decrease in rate, but the current data set is too small to be definitive. Overall, the high, late Pleistocene-Holocene, geomorphic slip velocities on the major strike-slip faults of Tibet, suggests that they absorb as much of India's convergence relative to Siberia as the Himalayan Main Frontal Thrust on the southern edge of the plateau

An international parentage and identification panel for the domestic cat (Felis catus)

Seventeen commercial and research laboratories participated in two comparison tests under the auspices of the International Society for Animal Genetics to develop an internationally tested, microsatellite-based parentage and identification panel for the domestic cat (Felis catus). Genetic marker selection was based on the polymorphism information content and allele ranges from seven random-bred populations (n = 261) from the USA, Europe and Brazil and eight breeds (n = 200) from the USA. Nineteen microsatellite markers were included in the comparison test and genotyped across the samples. Based on robustness and efficiency, nine autosomal microsatellite markers were ultimately selected as a single multiplex ‘core’ panel for cat identification and parentage testing. Most markers contained dinucleotide repeats. In addition to the autosomal markers, the panel included two gender-specific markers, amelogenin and zinc-finger XY, which produced genotypes for both the X and Y chromosomes. This international cat parentage and identification panel has a power of exclusion comparable to panels used in other species, ranging from 90.08% to 99.79% across breeds and 99.47% to 99.87% in random-bred cat populations

Acoustic emission signal processing framework to identify fracture in aluminum alloys

Acoustic emission (AE) is a common nondestructive evaluation tool that has been used to monitor fracture in materials and structures. The direct connection between AE events and their source, however, is difficult because of material, geometry and sensor contributions to the recorded signals. Moreover, the recorded AE activity is affected by several noise sources which further complicate the identification process. This article uses a combination of in situ experiments inside the scanning electron microscope to observe fracture in an aluminum alloy at the time and scale it occurs and a novel AE signal processing framework to identify characteristics that correlate with fracture events. Specifically, a signal processing method is designed to cluster AE activity based on the selection of a subset of features objectively identified by examining their correlation and variance. The identified clusters are then compared to both mechanical and in situ observed microstructural damage. Results from a set of nanoindentation tests as well as a carefully designed computational model are also presented to validate the conclusions drawn from signal processing

Fast reproducible identification and large-scale databasing of individual functional cognitive networks

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although cognitive processes such as reading and calculation are associated with reproducible cerebral networks, inter-individual variability is considerable. Understanding the origins of this variability will require the elaboration of large multimodal databases compiling behavioral, anatomical, genetic and functional neuroimaging data over hundreds of subjects. With this goal in mind, we designed a simple and fast acquisition procedure based on a 5-minute functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sequence that can be run as easily and as systematically as an anatomical scan, and is therefore used in every subject undergoing fMRI in our laboratory. This protocol captures the cerebral bases of auditory and visual perception, motor actions, reading, language comprehension and mental calculation at an individual level.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>81 subjects were successfully scanned. Before describing inter-individual variability, we demonstrated in the present study the reliability of individual functional data obtained with this short protocol. Considering the anatomical variability, we then needed to correctly describe individual functional networks in a voxel-free space. We applied then non-voxel based methods that automatically extract main features of individual patterns of activation: group analyses performed on these individual data not only converge to those reported with a more conventional voxel-based random effect analysis, but also keep information concerning variance in location and degrees of activation across subjects.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This collection of individual fMRI data will help to describe the cerebral inter-subject variability of the correlates of some language, calculation and sensorimotor tasks. In association with demographic, anatomical, behavioral and genetic data, this protocol will serve as the cornerstone to establish a hybrid database of hundreds of subjects suitable to study the range and causes of variation in the cerebral bases of numerous mental processes.</p

Multiple Changes in Peptide and Lipid Expression Associated with Regeneration in the Nervous System of the Medicinal Leech

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