diff --git a/Common/derived_types.f90 b/Common/derived_types.f90
index c3a7427eea8de2162c748867d354dbb29efe0d31..3914603ac4bc914db4a16046bdaec89e75600b73 100644
--- a/Common/derived_types.f90
+++ b/Common/derived_types.f90
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ module derived_types
      ! Points of polyline are (longitude, latitude) in rad. Polyline
      ! should be closed, except if it is null.
      real ssh ! in m
-     real area ! in m2
+     real:: area = - 1e6 ! in m2
   end type ssh_contour
 
   type extremum