The research federation FR CNRS 3730 SCALE (Sciences Applied to the Environment) includes:

the research units:

• UMR CNRS M2C
• EA ECODIV
• UMR INERIS SEBIO
• UMR CNRS LOMC
• UMR IDEES
• EDEHN
• EA CETAPS

the partners:

• Ifremer
• IRSN
• Seine-Aval
• AFB
• BRGM

Faced with global change, global warming and the increase in anthropogenic pressure, linked to an already very dense population (145 inhabitants/km²), the Seine Valley, a geographical area that includes the plateau- watershed-estuary-shore zone continuum, is a focal point for major environmental and societal challenges. The environmental science research developed by FR 3730 SCALE in this territory is intended to convert these societal challenges of sustainable development into fundamental research questions, the valorisation/innovation component of which should make it possible to support economic development and the energy and ecological transition.

FR 3730 SCALE offers research on aquatic and terrestrial environments that integrates the impacts of human activities of industrial, agricultural, forestry or urban origin. This research is based on the regional sites of the CNRS-labelled national observation services and on the PRESEN environmental science platform. They enable the development of assessment, expertise and decision-making tools for the integrated management of estuarine areas (hillsides and watersheds), littoral and coastal areas of the estuary, the Bay of Seine And the Eastern Channel.

The research, which is based on an interdisciplinary integrative approach, concerns:   

• vulnerability and associated risks, depending on physical processes (hydrology, erosion) or chemical and biological contamination 
• impacts on ecosystem structure and functionality and related ecosystem services (forests, grasslands/lawns,  wetlands, coastal areas)
• territorial, socio-economic and legal impacts

The research developed within FR 3730 SCALE contributes to a better knowledge of the functioning of these ecosystems and socio-economic practices, and extendsto the problematic of the analysis and management of environmental, economic and health risks. This research combines geosciences, ecology, soil sciences, ecotoxicology, environmental chemistry, environmental microbiology, geography, social and economic sciences. The resulting studies are carried out at different time and space scales, from processes to land management, requiring a conceptual and modelling approach

The scientific project of the FR 3730 SCALE is based on three major axes:

• Preservation, reconquest and restoration of biodiversity and of its functions
• Resources estimation and management
• Natural and anthropogenic risks estimation, prevention and management

And two transversal axes:

• Global changes effects
• Operational valuation