photographist

“I wrote my Ph. D. Thesis in sub-marine volcanology. Today I study the earth's deep structure in the marine environment. We often work with oil companies for hydrocarbon research and we also explore the earth's crust and upper mantle in order to know why and where earthquakes might happen. As a first step we measure the depth of the seafloor which gives some information on the structures and the existence of faults visible at the seafloor. We also use seismic methods which allow us to imagine the structure of the earth up to a depth of 30-40 km using instruments which are deployed on the sea-floor to record acoustic signals. The oceanographic campaigns allow us to collect much data and to meet colleagues from all over the world. The data are modelled using computers and compared to additional data sets such as gravity and magnetic data.

The earth's surface is covered by plates. Continental plates formed mainly by granite, these are the oldest rocks originating from volcanism forming crusts up to 30 km in thickness. They mainly represent our continents where humans live. Oceanic plates constitued of basalt and gabbro are younger and originate from a different kind of volcanism. They are formed on mid-ocean ridges and are later subside into the earth's mantle at the border of continental plates. It is at these subduction zones that most earthquakes occur.
In Moroccan waters we have traced a seismic profile on the continental margin up to oceanic crust which conjugates with a seismic profile situated off the Canadian coast. With this information we may try to reconstruct the initial opening of the Atlantic Ocean...”

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