Explorer Jean-Louis Etienne joins a scientific mission aboard Persévérance, his schooner, which will be a key component of his PolarPod project.
In the icy waters of Norway’s far north, a team of French scientists is currently leading an extraordinary mission. Aboard the Persévérance ship, the famous physician-explorer Jean-Louis Étienne and a team of experts are investigating the depths of the fjords to uncover the mysteries of communication between the giants of the seas.
200 kg of instruments
The expedition, called « Symphonie de l’Ancien Monde » (SAM), initiated by Hervé Glotin, a professor in computer science and bioacoustics at the University of Toulon (LIS Laboratory), departed from Tromsø for an unprecedented scientific adventure. The researchers are studying the vocal interactions among four of the Arctic Ocean’s super-predators: orcas, sperm whales, humpback whales, and blue whales. The return of these cetaceans to the fjords marks a historic turning point. After a century of absence due to the whaling industry, these marine mammals, some of which are quite old, are returning to their ancestral hunting grounds. The ship, transformed into a floating laboratory, carries 200 kg of artificial intelligence-based acoustic instruments developed by the University of Toulon and Smiot.
In the waters of Skervøy Fjord, the scientists are witnessing a captivating aquatic ballet. « Since yesterday [Tuesday, November 19], the orcas have surrounded us and are singing, while the humpback whales steal the herring balls that the orcas have patiently gathered. Underwater hunting games, pressured by climate change. They are speeding up and concentrating, and the habitats are shrinking. The orca songs overlap with the songs of other cetaceans. We are analyzing the acoustic spreads of their communications, exploring how each species might hide its communications and hunting strategies from the others by positioning itself and speaking in different layers, acoustic channels. There are indeed two or three different worlds, at different levels, above and below the warm water tongue of the Gulf Stream that is pushing further into this Arctic fjord of Skervøy… » explain the scientists of the expedition.
The Persévérance, the ship selected for this mission, is no ordinary vessel. This 47-meter schooner, built in Vietnam, is part of the larger PolarPod project, an ambitious initiative by Jean-Louis Étienne.
Awaiting PolarPod
The PolarPod, currently under construction, will be a 100-meter-high vertical oceanographic station designed to study the Southern Ocean. The station is intended to drift in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, carried by the fierce winds known as the « Roaring Forties, » which blow between 50° and 55° South latitude. The Persévérance will serve as a support vessel for this future scientific station, while also conducting its own research missions, such as this one, or cruises to help fund the broader scientific project.
This expedition marks a crucial step in our understanding of Arctic marine ecosystems and their adaptation to climate change. It reminds us that beneath the surface of the oceans, a complex symphony is unfolding, where each species must find its place in a rapidly changing environment.
Source: la depeche
