English Version
Since the first Young Geomorphologists Days organized in 1996 by Yvonne Battiau-Queney in Lille, the French Geomorphology Group offers stimulating days every year for the entire community of geomorphologists. In 2020, the young and the most advanced in their careers met for two days, on February 6 and 7 in Paris, on the brand new Condorcet campus. The 2020 JJGs were organized in partnership with the French Association for the Study of the Quaternary which organized its 12th Quaternary Symposium (3 – 5 February).
The morning of February 6 gave us the opportunity to walk on the riverside of the Seine, from the Cour Saint-Emilion (on the right bank, upstream), to the Pont Royal. Emmanuèle Gautier and Christine Chaussé from INRAP presented, under a bright sun, two main themes. The recent knowledge about ancient riverside societies was discussed, on the basis of geoarchaeological remains, some of which being still present in the current topography and toponymy (rue des pirogues). A long walk on the left bank allowed us to see the various engineering works on the Seine river by crossing the history of floods and economic issues... (photo 1, cf. Gautier and Noizet, 2019).
In the afternoon, the JJGs opened with an invited conference given by Edward Anthony, Professor at the University of Aix-Marseille and member of the CEREGE laboratory, currently in a laboratory of IRD in Guyana, which fascinated the audience by retracing his career as a coastal geomorphologist and sharing his passion and energy with us (photo 2).
56 people attended the JJG 2020 in Paris. Two young Italian geomorphologists were invited. 20 oral presentations grouped into 5 themes took place from Thursday afternoon to Friday evening:
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Coastal dynamics under the effect of climate change: presentation by V. Pillet and C. Cerrone;
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Fluvial hydrosystems: from long-term changes to current restoration: presentations by H. Okur, L. Devreux, L. Gilet and V. Tamisier (photo 3)
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Ancient landscapes and geoarchaeology: with presentations by N. Blanchard, B. Chaize, T. Piau, S. Davidoux and A. Bouchène;
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Geoheritage: with the presentations of A. Dousseron and A. Raffali
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Slope dynamics: stability and instability in the context of climate change: with presentations by T. Reixach, G. Béra, H. Kern, C. L’Hutereau, S. Ortovani and M. Bonasera.
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Finally 10 posters were exhibited.
We would like to warmly thank the people who helped us keep these two days running smoothly and, more specifically, Yohan Chabot, Valentine Fichet, Aline Garnier, the LGP PhD students and Dynarisk Master students. The conference and the publication of this special issue have also been financially supported by CNRS - INEE. We also thank the Laboratory of Physical Geography: Quaternary and Current Environments (UMR 8591) for its financial and logistical support. We also warmly thank the eight anonymous reviewers who have ensured the scientific quality of the papers collected in this issue.
This second issue of the journal Géomorphologie: relief, processus,environnement brings together four articles from the JJG 2020.
The first article presents the a research carried out on the vineyard basin of Mercurey by Brian Chaize and his supervisor, Etienne Cossart and their colleagues Aurélien Christol and Mathieu Fressard from the Environnement Ville Société laboratory (UMR 5600) in Lyon. The synthesis of five decades of research by Rodrigo-Comino (2018) reminds us that the erosion of wine terroirs is a major concern around the world. The article by Brian Chaize and his collaborators brings new light on the knowledge of these vineyard areas. One of the major contributions of this article is that the vineyard in Burgundy is older that thought. This is demonstrated by meticulous analysis of the slope and fluvial sedimentary facies in the the valley of Giroux and by the pedoanthracological data over 2,800 years. The sedimentological discontinuity dated at 1400 cal. AD is interpreted as the start of a soil resource management strategy to control erosion. This article perfectly illustrates the importance of anthropogenic land-use on erosion rates, by documenting a first phase characterized by the erosion of coarse sediment (from 800 cal. BC to 1400 cal. AD), and a second where, after the installation of stone walls on the slopes, erosion has become selective and limited to the fine grain-size. Here, the society by clearing and cultivating these vineyard, then by developing plots, contributes to the connectivity and disconnection of the erosion processes.
The second article coordinated by Sarah Ortonovi on the vineyard terroirs of Champagne reinforces the illustration of the human factor on erosion, a theme widely studied by René Neboit (2010). By mapping on a very large scale the susceptibility to landslides of this most famous vineyard in the world, the results promote the understanding of slope dynamics for managers and winegrowers. Indeed, the multispectral remote sensing approach, coupled with meteorological data and field observations, makes it possible to underline the part played by the soil water content in their propensity to generate landslides, after the morpho-structural parameters. If forest clearing, creation of embankments and earthworks have contributed to increase the susceptibility of slopes for sliding for more than half a century, the results of this study can guide the future management such as the drainage of humid areas.
The third article proposed by Veronica Guerra and Maurizio Lazzari, her supervisor, mobilizes geomorphological cartography for the inventory of forms of the middle valley of Marecchia, in the Northern Apennines (Italy) with regards to the geotourism development. The inventory of forms, slope terraces, alluvial fans, badlands, landslides... based on photo-interpretation and field study provides the foundation for the potential development of these geomorphological units. The well-known methods of heritage development were used by the authors to provide the detailed description and the tourism development of these geosites and geomorphosites, proposing in fine a geotourism map.
The cartographic approach is also at the heart of the fourth contribution, with the work carried out by Ambrine Bouchène and Benoît Devillers, her supervisor. The temporal approach complements the spatial approach to provide a geoarcheology analysis of the Hérault middle valley since the Bronze Age. The fluvial forms analysis thus make it possible to reconstruct the evolution of the river dynamics and its impact. The spatial sectorisation of the Hérault valley proposed in this contribution is based on geomorphological, hydromorphometric, palaeogeographic and archaeological analyzes.
All of these works witness the high quality of the research carried out today by young geomorphologists, often within the framework of multidisciplinary research programs. In these researches, geomorphological mapping remains more than ever a privileged and useful tool for managers.
This second 2021 issue of the journal ends with a tribute to Yvette Dewolf, recently deceased, who trained for several decades young geomorphologists on the benches of the University of Paris. Yvette Dewolf developed and enhanced in particular the geomorphological cartography and the analysis of superficial formations, during field trips. May this bridge between generations brought together in one issue demonstrate the continuity and evolution of our beautiful discipline, each of us must know the roots and foundations in order to perpetuate its strengths and make the contributions work for the society.
Les géomorphologues sont ici regroupés sur le Pont des Arts, avec la Seine, le musée d’Orsay et la tour Eiffel à l’arrière-plan (cliché de D. Mercier).
Geomorphologists are gathered here on the Pont des Arts, with Seine River, the Orsay Museum and the Eiffel Tower in the background (photo by D. Mercier).
Cliché de D. Mercier.
Photo by D. Mercier.
(cliché de D. Mercier).
(photo by D. Mercier).