The scientific ship « Persévérance » docked in Nouméa at the beginning of last May. A boat specially designed for the research and exploration of the southern seas, while having a reduced environmental impact. Jean-Louis Etienne, French explorer, designer and owner of the ship, brings us his perspective on the current situation of the planet and life on board a very special machine.
Arrived in Caledonian waters since the beginning of May, the scientific sailboat Persévérance, opened its doors to Caledonians for visits. On board, several scientists and in particular Jean-Louis Etienne, a French explorer.
Nc1ère: You are a doctor by training, one of the greatest French explorers and, for more than 40 years, you have mainly put exploration at the service of science and knowledge of the oceans. Why was it important for you to stop here, in Nouméa, what did you want to share with the Caledonians?
Jean-Louis Etienne: This stopover has been in our heads for a long time. We were in Antarctica in January February, we went up through Tasmania and so we naturally returned here to Nouméa to make a stopover. A stop that will be long-lasting since the next expedition to Antarctica will be in January. So, we are well settled here, and we may stay at least until December.
We have organized several visits and it is interesting because we receive a lot of schoolchildren, but also public of all origins. We explain to them what we do with scientific terms, but above all with a lot of pedagogy.
Nc1ère: When we get on board, we imagine the adventure you are leading, we imagine less perhaps what it requires to be able to exist. A large sailboat like that, necessarily, is a crew. We go for months and months at sea. All this, we imagine, is very expensive. How is such a scientific project financed?
J-L. E.: For financing, there is a share that comes from partnerships, sponsors and patrons. To find partners, you must propose good, relevant projects. This is why we carry out many projects on the polar regions, which are my specialty. They are important climate actors and incredible biodiversity reserves. These are very remote and difficult to access regions, which are not often studied. It is to meet this need that Perseverance was designed.
Nc1ère: You have therefore decided to devote your life to these polar regions that you mention. And yet, what is at stake there goes far beyond these poles. When you live on a small island in the middle of the Pacific, like here in New Caledonia, you have the impression that all this is very far away. And yet, there is a link between what happens there and our daily life here…
J-L. E.: The climate is a thermal machine that is characterized by the exchange between the heat of the tropics, therefore the heat in New Caledonia, and the cold of the poles. To put it simply, nature always goes in the direction of balance and the Earth has two fluids: ocean currents and air currents. As for the ocean currents, they warm up much more here and will move through the current to cool down at the poles. While air currents move heat from the tropics to the cold of the poles, setting up this thermal machine.
Nc1ère: And in 40 years of exploration, what is the most spectacular and significant change you have seen?
J-L. E.: The most spectacular is the North Pole. At the base, it is a frozen ocean called the pack ice. Indeed, with global warming, it shows: the ice pack is regressing more and more quickly. And so, I say all the time: « be careful, we have opened the door of the Antarctic fridge ». We need this cold to operate the climate machine and therefore to compensate for the equatorial and tropical heat.
What we see in the North is a regression of the pack ice. A phenomenon that is also observed in Antarctica, in the South, with the appearance, on the periphery of the ice continent, of what is called a calving. That is to say, there are more and more icebergs in the waters. At the moment, these two poles, of major importance, are losing a lot of ice and we will miss this ice in the context of global warming.
Nc1ère: This is the speech you give to the children who come to visit your boat. What is the essential message for you to convey to them, as they live in contact with the ocean at all times?
J-L. E.: The ocean is the great climate regulator. It feeds half of humanity. It is very sensitive to global warming. This is something to watch out for. To the children who look at me as an alien explorer, I say: « there is something important that I would like to explain to you. If you have a desire, a goal or objective, it is the most important. Because if you have a desire, it’s already a good capital. On the other hand, just because you want it won’t mean it’s going to be easy. With time, work and perseverance, this is how we achieve our goals in life. »
Nc1ère: You are approaching your 80th birthday, we might say that you could try to lift your foot, but not at all. Why do you want to continue to transmit to others?
J-L. E.: It’s the love of what I do. Indeed, I don’t have the same strength as before, but I feel the same temptation. And above all, I know that we must resist the temptation of abandonment. When you get started, it’s something that is complicated sometimes, and besides, that’s always what I say to young people and everyone else who also wants to try the adventure.
source : franceinfo
