Scientific news
April 2, 2024
Eutrophication, an important issue in the Baltic Sea
What is eutrophication? This biological phenomenon occurs when a significant amount of nutrients is released in the environment. These influxes come in particular through farm inputs, such as fertilizers, that allow plants to grow more quickly. However, the quantities supplied to ecosystems are often very large, causing excess nutrients to flow into the aquatic continuum
February 27, 2024
Migratory flows in the Ocean: Why do marine animals migrate?
Animal behavior: migration Movement is an animal behavioral characteristic that has been studied by scientists for many years. Animals are able to find their way in the Ocean, a dark and immense environment, thanks to external signals. Thus, a movement can be triggered by: the modification of the degree of activity by a stimulus (kinesis):
January 18, 2024
[TREC/Tara Europa] Between land and sea, an unprecedented scientific expedition along the coasts of Europe
An expedition coordinated by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in collaboration with the Tara Oceans Consortium, the Tara Ocean Foundation and more than 70 scientific institutions. This mission brings together 150 researchers in about 30 countries. Interview with Colomban de Vargas, scientific director of the Tara Europa expedition. What is the Tara Oceans scientific consortium? The Tara Oceans Consortium was created 15 years ago during an
December 19, 2023
The Arctic, a little-known ocean at the forefront of the climate crisis
A polar ecosystem, sentinel of the climate The glacial Arctic Ocean, the only polar ocean on our planet, covers an area equivalent to five times that of the Mediterranean Sea, or approximately 14 million km². Covered with ice floes most of the year, this ocean is bordered by eight countries: Norway, Sweden, Russia, Finland, Denmark
October 11, 2023
Reinforcing scientific expertise in understanding planktonic ecosystems through collaboration among young researchers
The Ocean Plankton, Climate, and Development project (2016-2022), in partnership with the French facility for Global Environment (FFEM*), enabled the Foundation and its partner laboratories to establish a program for training and expertise exchange aimed at understanding planktonic ecosystems. Young researchers from the Global South (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Senegal, and Togo), with diverse expertise (geneticist,
July 7, 2023
Impact of anthropic activities on biodiversity along the shoreline: development of coastal occupation
What is the shoreline? According to Michel Desse, professor of human geography of coastal areas at the University of Nantes, the shoreline is an interface zone between land and sea/ocean that fluctuates depending on the day (under the influence of tides, for example), season and climate-related events, such as marine submersion. In some places, the
June 6, 2023
[Tara Océans] Discovery of new viruses in the ocean: Mirusviruses
Viruses infect plankton in the ocean Scientists characterized a new group of DNA viruses which they named «mirusviruses». “Mirus“ is a Latin word which means strange, or even surprising. The name reflects the unusual evolutionary traits of these viruses which have very complex genomes, with hundreds of genes and many functions which are currently completely
June 2, 2023
[Tara Pacific] First results of an extraordinary expedition
Five years of analysis: the time for scientific research Thousands of samples to study While the long time between the end of the expedition and the publication of the results may seem surprising, it is nevertheless usual for this type of scientific work. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, the quantity of data generated
April 18, 2023
Tara Pacific: Towards a new understanding of coral reefs, sentinels of climate change
What is coral? Coral: animal, vegetable, mineral? When observing a coral on a reef, we do not observe an animal, nor an alga, nor a rock, but all three combined. Indeed, a coral is a colony of animals fixed on their limestone skeleton, sheltering in its tissues micro-algae which give them their bright colors. These
June 29, 2022
Part 3 of the Microbiome mission: the schooner Tara samples the West African coast for 5 months
An ambitious scientific program in West Africa For 5 months, the schooner will stopover in 7 African countries: South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Gambia and Senegal. During this presence along the African coasts, the Tara Ocean Foundation and associated research institutes will delve into 3 major scientific projects: The
April 28, 2022
5,500 new RNA virus species discovered in the Ocean using samples collected during Tara Oceans mission
Discovering the RNA virosphere The ocean was once thought to be a vast desert in terms of viruses. Today, scientists are turning to the multitudes we now know inhabit the world’s seas to unravel mysteries of their biology, evolution, and function. While viruses are synonymous with disease, they also infect smaller organisms that run the