La Méditerranée, d’avant-hier à demain

The Mediterranean seems familiar and unchanging to us. Yet it has never stopped changing. This lecture will take us on a journey through time, from the formation of the Mediterranean and the movement of Corsica and Sardinia to one of the most astonishing episodes in its history: about 6 million years ago, when immense canyons were carved out and enormous quantities of salt were deposited on the seafloor. These upheavals also transformed the landscapes and the migration routes used by animals, before certain species—isolatedon the islands underwent astonishing evolutionary changes, such as the famous dwarf elephants. From sea-level fluctuations—evidenced today by the Cosquer Cave—to the current effects of climate change, we’ll discover a Mediterranean in constant transformation and ultimately ask ourselves: What will it look like tomorrow? A geological journey accessible to everyone, young and old alike. By **Christian Gorini**, professor of marine geology at Sorbonne University and a specialist in sedimentary basin dynamics. His research focuses on sedimentary systems, the geological evolution of the Mediterranean, and the study of geological hazards in the marine environment.