Tara Polar Station : our future lies in the Arctic !

It’s a region of 21 million km² * on the edge of the North Pole, covered at its center by the only polar ocean of the planet. The pack ice, a thin layer of iced saltwater, is everywhere. *It’s 5 times the surface area of the Mediterranean ! This extreme region is home to a unique biodiversity (from micro-organisms to polar bears). Yet, we know more about the moon than we do about the North Pole, even though it’s much closer to home. Today, the Arctic is under pressure : global warming, pollution and even geopolitical and economic tensions over access to its unexploited resources. Because the Arctic is an extreme zone where the effects of global warming are 3 or 4 times faster than elsewhere, we have launched in France the construction of the world’s only drifting observatory and laboratory : Tara Polar Station, second ship of the Tara Ocean Foundation. It will bring aboard French and international scientists, sailors, artists and journalists, all committed to understanding and protecting the Arctic Ocean. Discover the construction site in video : Designed to withstand the ice in which it will be trapped each winter, this research station will drift for 14 months at the speed of pack ice : an average of 10km/day. 10 consecutive expeditions are planned until 2046. Never before has research made it possible to collect data on a continuous basis and observe what is happening in the Arctic over the long term, and thus predict what will happen at our latitudes. Isolated in a polar environment for hundreds of days, the crew will be exposed to intense cold (down to -52°C !), endless nights (up to 5 months in winter) and will need to carry food supplies for 500 days of autonomy. This crew will count 12 people in winter and up to 18 during summer. And, of course, the rest of the foundation’s land team will support the project with all its heart ! The Arctic is an ally of the planet because its white surface reflects an immense amount of solar energy back into space thanks to the albedo effect, thus limiting global warming. By 2045, the majority of summer ice will probably have disappeared, according to climate experts (IPCC). We are probably the last generation to be able to document this extreme region. We urgently need to study and protect it ! The Arctic is a fragile zone, yet essential to the Living and to the health of our planet. Come on board with us and support our project at the edge of the North Pole to better anticipate global climate change ! These scientific explorations will also refine weather models in Europe and the consequences of climate change on the way our planet functions. With the strength of its 20 years’ experience and a first drift, the Tara Ocean Foundation, the first public interest foundation in France dedicated to the Ocean will be able to : Witness the state and transformation of this ecosystem to encourage action, Alert political decision-makers, particularly through UN Special Observer Status, Will give scientists from all over the World access to an open-access database, Share scientific discoveries with as many people as possible (schoolchildren, general public). This knowledge will help us to better understand and preserve biodiversity in the Arctic and far beyond.