The Tara Polar Station, a floating igloo-shaped scientific laboratory, began its drift on the Arctic Ocean sea ice on Wednesday, which is expected to last until the end of 2027, the Tara Ocean Foundation announced on Thursday.
Leaving Lorient on July 19, the station and its twelve-person crew crossed Russian waters and then were opened by a Chinese oceanographic icebreaker, the Xue Long 2, before finding themselves voluntarily a prisoner of the ice.
« This is a very important moment for the Tara Ocean Foundation but also for polar exploration in general, » said Romain Troublé, CEO of the Tara Ocean Foundation, quoted in a press release. « Collectively, we will be able to tell you about this pole, but also make a diagnosis of the state of health of the Central Arctic Ocean and advance the knowledge and governance of this sentinel region of global change, » he added.
About thirty research centers from 12 countries (Germany, Canada, Spain, the United States, Switzerland, Japan, among others) are associated with this expedition, which should in particular study biodiversity and the influence of climate change on this ocean that is warming three to four times faster than the rest of the planet.
Until the end of 2027, the ship’s crew, a true concentrate of technology, will drift on the North Pole pack ice for 350 to 500 days in a row. The station was designed to withstand the pressure of sea ice and withstand temperatures of -52°C, in one of the most isolated areas of the planet.
source : RTBF
