PERSÉVÉRANCE project
From left to right, Elsa Etienne (shipowner of the boat Persévérance), Noan Le Bescot (scientist, Plankton Planet), Dorothée Adam (director), Jean-Louis Etienne (explorer and storyteller)
Persévérance is the sailing cargo ship that will supply the future Polar Pod station of explorer Jean-Louis Etienne. This cargo ship is equipped to continuously measure key physical and chemical parameters of the ocean; the scientific coordination is managed by Hervé Le Goff (CNRS Paris, LOCEAN).
During the austral summer of 2023-2024, Persévérance will make several rotations between the Beagle Channel and the Antarctic Peninsula.
It can become an opportunity vessel for scientific exploration of one of the least understood regions of the global ocean, which is also one of the most important in terms of regulating the climate and Earth’s system.
Patron of Persévérance and European Member of Parliament, Catherine Chabaud, suggested the embarkation of a young scientist, accompanied by a filmmaker and illustrator, Dorothée Adam, to promote the mission and, beyond that, to highlight the exceptional journeys soon to be undertaken by the Polar Pod and Persévérance, its supply vessel.
On the advice of biologist Colomban de Vargas (CNRS, Sorbonne University, Roscoff), creator of the Plankton Planet program and initiator of the recently launched Bougainville Mission with the French Navy and Sorbonne University, and in agreement with Hervé Le Goff, Noan Le Bescot, biological engineer of the Plankton Planet team and head of the company SeaLabX, embarked for three weeks in Antarctica with the latest generation of instruments (plankton net, Lamprey, Curiosity microscope, and PlanktoScope). These instruments performed flawlessly in the extreme conditions of Antarctica.
Several sailors on board are now trained in using the equipment. They are eager to continue working for Plankton Planet. The operation continued following this mission, notably in Norway. To date, more than twenty samples have already been collected and are currently being analyzed.
The film by director Dorothée Adam, who embarked on this adventure with Noan Le Bescot
The plankton observed during the expedition
