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Laboratoire
de Glaciologie et
Geophysique de l'Environment
(LGGE) |
Brief profile
The LGGE is part of the French Centre National
de la Recherche
Scientifique (CNRS). The research projects conducted at LGGE develop
along five basic directions handled by five research teams:
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Climate evolution - the analysis of the deep
ice cores drilled in the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets (gas content,
dust particles, oxygen isotopic ratio, etc.) aims to improve our understanding
of the Earth climate system and climate change (paleo-climates, global
warming).
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Ice chemistry - the chemical analysis
of polar ice provides invaluable data to study the interactions between
climate and atmospheric chemistry, and bio-geochemical cycles.
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Planetology and experimental astrophysics
- comets formation and evolution as well as physics and chemistry of the
icy objects in the solar system and of interstellar grains are studied
by physics experiment and modelling.
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Glaciers - the survey of temperate alpine
and cold glaciers and glacier evolution modelling aims to establish the
relation between glacier mass balance and the short term evolution of climate.
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Ice rheology and ice sheet modelling - this
theme gathers the study of the physical and mechanical properties of ice
considered as a material, and ice sheet modelling. Current research on
ice rheology covers the ductile behaviour of polar ice, as well as the
"short term" brittle to ductile behaviour of ice interacting with a structure.
As concerns polar ice, the aim is to model the evolving induced anisotropy
of ice (texture / preferred orientation development) in order to improve
ice sheet models. Current work makes use of a self-consistent approach
to model the ice polycrystal behaviour.
Studies of the mechanical behaviour of ice at higher
strain rates aims to a better understanding of the damage process in order
to optimise the design of offshore structures. The main objectives of current
research correspond to that exposed in the LOLEIF project - i.e.:
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micro-mechanisms responsible for crack nucleation
at the grain scale,
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mechanical behaviour of undamaged and damaged ice
(transient creep)
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and ice - concrete friction.
Besides purely scientific work, a specific feature
of the LGGE laboratory is the technological activity related to the polar
drillings and the realisation of field programmes (Antarctica, Greenland,
Spitsbergen, Alps).
At the present time, the laboratory staff consists
in 28 researchers (CNRS / University teaching members), 24 engineers /
technicians / administrative, 26 PhD students and approximately 20 students
following a 3 to 6 month research period. The ice rheology and ice sheet
modelling group has 6 researchers and 8 PhD students.
Involvement in and contributions
to the LOLEIF project
LGGE led Subtask
4.1 - Investigations on Special Ice Mechanics Problems Related to
Numerical Modelling and contributed to Subtasks Subtask
2.1 - Level Ice Properties and Subtask
4.4 - Fracture Dynamics Model as well as to Task
5 - Recommendation of Ice Forces on Coastal Structures.
Contacts
Laboratoire de Glaciologie
et Geophysique de l'Environment (LGGE)
54, rue Molière
38402 - Saint Martin d'Hères-Cedex
France
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For information regarding
LGGE's participation in
the LOLEIF project:
Dr. Jacques Meyssonnier
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Please visit also LGGE's
web site for further information.
