State-of-the-art equipment
CEDRE boasts one-of-a-kind facilities specially designed for spill response experimentation, analysis and training purposes.
Our centre in Brest includes a laboratory, deep-water test tank, artificial beach and specially designed tools to simulate different types of spills and test response methods.
Thanks to these facilities, our teams are able to align scientific expertise and operational experience in near-real conditions.
Visit our facilities with a virtual tour!
Decision support systems to empower field teams
To better understand and monitor accidental water pollution, CEDRE uses effective, high-performance modelling and mapping tools. Using these systems, our teams are able to analyse the short- and medium-term fate of pollutants at sea and assess the effectiveness of the response techniques deployed.
Building on existing software, our GIS specialists customise and enhance the models with our own data and that of our partners, resulting in bespoke tools with high added value.
We also centralise all POLREPs (Pollution Reports), compiled from official reports issued by France’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCCs). It is thus possible to compare the location of these POLREPs with, for example, the position of a shipwreck.
Operational mapping with ARGEPOL
Drawing on our experience of major oil spills such as the Erika and the Prestige, we developed ARGEPOL, a secure, easy-to-use interactive mapping tool.
ARGEPOL can be used to:
- Visualise affected areas in real time
- Aggregate field data (photos, samples, observations)
- Coordinate actions between incident management stakeholders
This system facilitates the monitoring of operations, fast decision-making and the structured archiving of response data.
