Sustained challenges of knowledge

Keeping the planet’s global health in mind, the Tara Ocean Foundation, together with its scientific consortia partners, focuses its energy and sponsors’ support on exploring marine biodiversity — which is still poorly understood — and studying the major impacts of climate change, multiple pollution and human activities on its health.

Our 7 expéditions majeures

2006 2008
Tara Arctic

Tara Arctic

A high-risk 18-month expedition drifting with the sea ice on the edge of the North Pole to see the effects of climate change.

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2009 2013
Tara Oceans

Tara Oceans

An expedition to the heart of the biodiversity of the planktonic world, with the Ocean under the microscope.

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2014 2014
Tara Mediterranean

Tara Mediterranean

Expedition dedicated to the scourge of plastic pollution, with the Mediterranean as our laboratory.

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2016 2018
Tara Pacific

Tara Pacific

To examine the biodiversity of coral reefs and their evolution in the face of climate change and the presence of man

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2019 2019
Tara Microplastics

Tara Microplastics

An expedition along 9 major European rivers to describe and understand the origins and flux of plastic waste.

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2020 2022

Microbiomes Mission

Unravel the mysteries of the first actor present in all facets of ocean biodiversity, its fundamental basis: the microbiome.

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2023 2024
Tara à Roscoff 2023

Tara Europa

Understanding the impact of human activities on the biodiversity of European coastal ecosystems!

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Our scientific boats

Going to sea, spending time sailing on the Ocean, telling its beauty and fragility, and sharing the human adventure to convince and simply give access to this environment to researchers is one of the challenges of this century.

Back to the beginnings

The schooner Tara

A schooner designed for scientific research and defence of the environment. The Tara has been sailing the seas and oceans of the world since 1989 to discover the ocean floor.
Microbiomes Mission
Explore the boat
Polar station

Tara Polar Station

A drifting polar scientific base dedicated to the long-term study of the Arctic until 2045.
Tara Polar Station