The Arctic Ocean's secrets are about to be unveiled in an unprecedented expedition. A specially designed floating laboratory will embark on a gruelling eight-month journey, braving temperatures plummeting to -50C and complete darkness, to uncover the hidden life of one of Earth's most inhospitable regions.
The French-built Tara polar station, measuring 26 metres long and 16 metres wide, is set to depart from Kirkenes in Norway next month. A team of six scientists and six crew will freeze into the pack ice, allowing the vessel to drift slowly over the North Pole towards Greenland. This challenging voyage will be a 'blank sheet' for biological discovery, according to Romain Troublé, executive director of the Tara Ocean Foundation.
The central Arctic Ocean is warming three to four times faster than the rest of the planet, putting many species at risk of being lost before they are discovered. Scientists fear that increased threats from shipping, fishing, mining and pollution will be exacerbated by rapidly melting sea ice. Dr Nina Schuback, a biological oceanographer joining the mission, highlighted the difficulty of obtaining direct biological data despite satellite evidence of rapid ice changes.
This voyage marks the first stage of a planned 20-year continuous expedition, comprising ten legs, aimed at informing policy changes to protect the Arctic. The Tara Ocean Foundation has secured £22 million in funding and orchestrated the complex mission, which will also involve human challenges such as emergency rescue taking up to a week.
The foundation's history of ambitious expeditions includes an earlier Arctic transpolar drift in 2006 and a two-year journey across Pacific coral reefs. Romain Troublé, a microbiologist turned sailor, was recently awarded the prestigious Shackleton medal for his work on developing the polar station, with Nature magazine previously describing him and Étienne Bourgois as 'visionary thinkers' for their contributions to oceanographic research.