EPOC
In a few words
EPOC is a joint research unit supervised by several organisations : CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux-INP and École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE). It has a staff of 250 (researchers, lecturers, administrative support staff, doctoral students and post-doctoral students) with multidisciplinary expertise in ecotoxicology, ecology, biogeochemistry, environmental chemistry, sedimentology, hydrogeology, palaeoclimatology, coastal oceanography and geosciences. EPOC studies the function and dysfunction of ecosystems by focusing on the various environmental compartments – water, air, soil – and the interfaces they share, seeking to characterise the pressures, forcings and impacts in order to understand both local and global trajectories and changes. A wide variety of research projects have been carried out, dealing with issues of transfers, flows and processes. They involve characterising biodiversity, studying the ecodynamics of organic micropollutants and trace metals, and the organic matter cycle. They cover the reconstruction and forcing studies of climate variability, as well as the study of the architecture of sedimentary basins and the study of hydrodynamic and sedimentary processes.
Latest news
A student from Saint-Jean-de-Luz gives her name to a new marine species discovered by EPOC researchers
On Thursday 2 July 2026, the town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz...
Toufic Mazloum | PhD student at the EPOC laboratory, presents his work on geological and seismic modeling
In a video interview, Toufic Mazloum explains his thesis...
Emmanuelle Ducassou has been appointed coordinator of the European MSCA – C-BRINES project, ‘Global climate impacts of extreme brine input to the ocean’
The EPOC laboratory is involved in a new European project...
Key figures
250 EMPLOYEES
8 TEAMS
10 PLATFORMS
572 CONTRACTS SINCE 2012
260 DISSERTATIONS DEFENDED SINCE 2012
EDUCATION 20 sectors supported by EPOC
EPOC’s presence around the world
EPOC staff conduct research at various regional, national and international levels through projects and/or collaborations. The research work carried out covers a wide variety of environments (air/water/soil) and is part of a partnership involving many countries around the world: from the Arctic to the Antarctic, via Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas, etc. Some of the research is carried out in territories with specific challenges, such as overseas territories. EPOC also has a recognised activity in relation to the poles.






