16 November 2023

16:45 – 17:30

Amphitheatre Faure

Pascal Bailly du Bois

Pascal Bailly du Bois has a multidisciplinary background in marine environmental sciences and techniques. Recruited in 1988 by the French Institute for Nuclear Protection and Safety, most of his career has focused on marine radioecology. The aim of this discipline is to understand and predict the fate of radionuclides at sea. His main activity involved pollutant dispersion, measurement and simulation. As a field oceanographer who combines in-situ measurements with modeling, he has carried out some one hundred oceanographic campaigns aboard vessels in the French and foreign oceanographic fleets. This research has addressed cross-disciplinary themes such as the fate of pollutants in living species and mineral particles, the observation and simulation of sediment transport, the assessment of the consequences of the Fukushima accident, methodological and instrumental developments, and participation in pluralistic expert groups. Appointed Professor at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in 2021 to inaugurate the Chair of Marine Sciences and Techniques, he is Director of CNAM’s national teaching team number 8: the Institut National des Sciences et Techniques de la Mer. Intechmer has been training technical managers in oceanography for over 40 years.

Conference: Will energy come from the oceans?

On Earth, the oceans capture most of the energy received from the Sun, and 90% of the excess heat generated by global warming is stored in the seas. This surplus accelerates all climatic mechanisms: winds, rain, swells, extreme events. Marine renewable energies are set to make a significant contribution to replacing fossil fuels. Wind power is mature and growing; all exploitable resources will be called upon to complete the energy mix: tidal currents, swell, wave propulsion, osmotic or thermal energy. Conventional and nuclear power plants will also increasingly need the sea to operate. Whatever happens, the oceans will be heavily involved in tomorrow’s energy production.
Renewable energies are diffuse and often intermittent. They require the development of storage and conversion systems. To convince populations and stakeholders to share environments subject to strong pressures, complete and credible assessments must be drawn up. These will have to take into account all the economic stakes, the raw materials cycle, and the human and environmental impacts. Sharing ocean resources also implies management methods adapted to national and international scales.