With the participation of Le Figaro Magazine

The month of October 2022 marks the end of the twelfth Tara Ocean Foundation expedition. In late 2020, the Microbiome Mission set off with the vast ambition of studying invisible life in the ocean, investigating microscopic organisms little known even to scientists, and yet they are the foundations of the greater marine ecosystem. Over a total of 22 months, international specialists in biology and biogeochemistry together with skilled sailors have spent periods of time on board the schooner Tara, following paths once sailed by famous ships such as the HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin on board and Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance, and going as far as is possible across the planet.

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The Microbiome Mission is a saga with many chapters, and the exhibition has focused on one episode in Tara Ocean history: the expedition on the Weddell Sea, east of the Antarctic Peninsula. In the face of roaring winds, the crew sailed around giant icebergs, studying the melting of the ice cap and the impact on the ocean which is one of the world’s largest carbon sinks. Almost 30% of human CO2 emissions are captured by the oceans, and 40% of that is in the Southern Ocean.

As ice melts at an ever faster and dangerous rate, as temperatures increase in Antarctica, reaching a record high in March 2022, it is essential to gain an understanding of such effects requiring humans to change and adapt.

Oceanographic expeditions are usually conducted on board huge icebreakers or other large vessels, but the Tara Ocean Foundation initiated its small-scale model in 2003 and has continued to use it, thus providing convincing evidence that scientific studies can be carried out on board less costly sailing boats, offering greater flexibility for logistics and technical facilities and causing less damage to the environment. The Tara Ocean program, conducted in partnership with UNESCO, the European Union and leading international research institutes, has brought change to the way basic research is conducted, and continues to sail the world as did the great explorers of the past.

Vincent Jolly, Feature Reporter, Le Figaro Magazine

Maéva Bardy / Foundation Tara Ocean

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© © Julie Lhéraut
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