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):

20 years of commitment: Conveying the Ocean’s voice and engaging policy makers

André Abreu joined the Tara Ocean Foundation in 2011 after working with the Fondation Danielle-Mitterrand – France Libertés and the UN on the right for all to access drinking water. André looks back at the origin of Tara’s advocacy, its key moments and the Foundation’s daily work to increasingly engage policy-makers. What is “advocacy” for

Conservation des échantillons dans l’azote liquide

[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

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

20 years of sharing — together building a new story about the Ocean

Towards a new story Myriam Thomas, director of the Ocean Culture group, has been working on sharing knowledge for 15 years, with the aim of eliminating preconceived ideas and trying to bring together citizens all around the Ocean. From the first Tara expedition in 2006, we had a real desire to have everyone experience this

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,

Signing of the High Seas Biodiversity Treaty at the UN: the race for ratification has begun

What’s the difference between signing and ratifying a treaty? After signature, which is the first formality, comes ratification, which is the formal act by which a signatory state agrees to be bound by the treaty when it enters into force. The text is officially submitted for ratification. This second stage is more complex, as it

How can science be better integrated into political decision-making? Tara Europa Lab’s ambition

Why do scientists and policy-makers need to communicate? What is science-to-policy? Science-to-policy is the process of enabling political decision-makers to make informed choices underpinned by scientific knowledge. The volume of scientific knowledge produced is immense, and yet there is still a relatively wide gap between science and policy, particularly when it comes to taking effective

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

[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

Coral

[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

International treaties: deciphering their workings to better understand our actions

What is the UN ? The United Nations Organization (UNO) was created on October 24, 1945 after the Second World War. It is an international organization whose primary objectives are to maintain peace and international security. The UN promotes the protection of human rights, humanitarian aid, the guarantee of international law and has specific powers

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

2003-2023: 20 years of sponsorship actions for the Tara Ocean Foundation

Agnès Troublé, known as agnès b: 20 years of philanthropy For almost 2 decades, the designer Agnès Troublé, called agnès b.– a brand the stylist launched in 1975 – has been associated with the research schooner Tara, sailing on the Ocean around all continents: In 2003, Agnès Troublé and her son, Étienne Bourgois, CEO of

How are the logistics of an oceanographic expedition organized?

The origins of modern oceanographic campaigns: from the Challenger to the schooner Tara In 1872, the HMS Challenger set sail for a four-year scientific mission that is considered retrospectively to be the first modern oceanographic campaign. The Royal Navy ship traveled approximately 65 000 nautical miles across the Atlantic, Southern, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The