To better protect the ocean, we also need to know more about it. I commend the commitment of the Vendée Globe, the IMOCA Class and the skippers who, alongside UNESCO, will help to advance oceanographic research by integrating scientific instruments on board the yachts. This is an exemplary initiative illustrating cooperation between the worlds of sport and science
Audrey AzoulayUNESCO Director-General
More than half of the skippers (25 out of a total of 40) who will set off on Sunday in the biggest non-stop, solo race around the world have volunteered to take on board scientific instruments provided by UNESCO and its partners, such as surface buoys, weather stations and thermosalinographs.
These sailors will contribute important scientific observations that will enrich our global knowledge of the climate and ocean, and improve operational weather forecasting services, particularly in the most remote areas of the globe, such as the Southern Ocean. The data collected during and after the race, as well as the buoys deployed, will feed into UNESCO's Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS).
Monitoring the ocean to better understand climate change
The research equipment is provided by renowned institutes that are partners of UNESCO: Ifremer, Météo France, UK MetOffice, CNES, GEOMAR, CLS, TARA Foundation, and ETH Zürich. Coordination will be provided by UNESCO's International Centre of Excellence for the Coordination and Monitoring of Ocean Observing Systems (OceanOPS). In mid-October, the sailors were trained by scientists in the use and deployment of these tools.
10 skippers will be taking on board Argo profiling floats (20kg, 1.70m long) which measure sea temperature and salinity at depths of up to 2,000m, and allow the forecasting of changes in the ocean and their impact on the climate and marine biodiversity.
8 skippers will be deploying drifting surface buoys (20kg) that measure atmospheric pressure, sea surface temperature and currents, making it possible to improve global weather forecasts and monitor climate change more effectively.
5 skippers will be taking on board Calitoo photometers (400g), small portable devices that measures the level of aerosols in the atmosphere and sort them according to size (smoke, pollutant gases, ice crystals, dust). This makes it possible to measure optical depth, i.e. the amount of light absorbed in the environment.
2 skippers will be taking Argos Marget II beacons (1.3kg) on board to reveal and measure marine currents, which are essential for navigation, tracking the movement of marine animals and to better understand the dynamics of certain types of waste in the ocean.
In addition to these devices, weather stations (300g) linked to the boat's onboard computer will measure atmospheric pressure in real time to inform weather forecasts.
Finally, the TSG Gaillard (10kg) on board two of the boats will continuously measure sea surface temperature and salinity.
This partnership with the Vendée Globe and the IMOCA Class is part of a wider initiative by UNESCO - the United Nations' science organisation, which is also leading the Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development - to mobilise public and private actor as well as civil society to improve our knowledge of the ocean and protect it more effectively.
The 25 skippers who will be taking instruments on board :
Fabrice Amedeo (OceanPack + Argo float)
Romain Attanasio (TSG Gaillard + Weather buoy)
Arnaud Boissières (Weather buoy + Calitoo)
Louis Burton (Calitoo)
Antoine Cornic (TSG Gaillard + Weather buoy + Weather station)
Manu Cousin (Weather buoy)
Clarisse Crémer (Weather buoy)
Sam Davies (Calitoo)
Louis Duc (Weather buoy)
Benjamin Dutreux (Weather Station)
Sam Goodchild (Argo float + Calitoo)
Pip Hare (Calitoo)
Oliver Heer (OceanPack + Argo float)
Boris Herrmann (OceanPack + Weather Buoy)
Tanguy Le Turquais (Weather Station)
Nicolas Lunven (OceanPack)
Sébastien Marsset (Weather Station + Argo Float)
Paul Meilhat (Planctoscope)
Yoann Richomme (Argo Float + ARGOS Marget II)
Kojiro Shiraishi (Argo Float)
Maxime Sorel (Argo float)
Guirec Soudée (Argo float)
Denis Van Weynbergh (Weather buoy)
Szabi Weores (Argo float + weather station)
Jingkun Xu (Argo float)
About UNESCO
With 194 Member States, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization contributes to peace and security by leading multilateral cooperation on education, science, culture, communication and information. Headquartered in Paris, UNESCO has offices in 54 countries and employs over 2300 people. UNESCO oversees more than 2000 World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves and Global Geoparks; networks of Creative, Learning, Inclusive and Sustainable Cities; and over 13 000 associated schools, university chairs, training and research institutions. Its Director-General is Audrey Azoulay.
"Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed" - UNESCO Constitution, 1945.
