On May 20, 2017, the Under The Pole III expedition left Concarneau for a three-year expedition of the Twilight Zone, an area beyond 100 m below the surface of the oceans. A previously unknown area that can now be explored thanks to the evolution of diving technologies. This extreme challenge led by Ghislain and Emmanuelle Bardout should make it possible to study and document the depths of the most remote areas of the planet, and particularly deep exploration to discover the little-known ecosystems of the Twilight Zone.
3 study centres in 3 different areas
Three main areas have been defined in collaboration with scientists:
- Northwest Passage
- French Polynesia
- Antarctica
To be able to answer new scientific questions:
- The role of light on marine life (bioluminescence and natural fluorescence)
Marcel Koken, Biofluorescence and Animal Communication Biologist, Labocea, CNRS will be able to study how species make light and find a protein that makes light for use in medicine.
- Corals
Laetitia Hedouin, Marine Biologist, Coral Specialist, Insular Research Centre & Environment Observatory (Criobe) will study deep-sea corals, with a unique biodiversity, thanks to organisms capable of living in drastic conditions. Usually, studies take place in the 0-30 m zone, but this is only a tiny part of the space to be studied.
- Sharks
Éric Clua, marine biologist, shark specialist, Centre de recherche insulaire & observatoire de l'environnement (Criobe) will study large hammerhead and bulldog sharks, which are difficult to approach because they live in the depths.
These studies will be an opportunity for scientists to give decision-makers keys to better protect the oceans, but also to create marine protected areas.
Credit: Franck Gazzola / Zeppelin Network
Sharing and discovering what's going on in the depths
It is on his return from his first polar dives that Ghislain Bardou decided to lead expeditions to inform as many people as possible. And this has been going on for 10 years . "Every immersion is a shock and I wanted to reveal this world of ice, which no one can see."
Today, it is easy to study the diving area up to 60 m thanks to classic diving, and beyond 150 m thanks to submarines. But the in-between zone, called "Twilight Zone" remains a shadowy area.
Today, tools and innovations in terms of diving techniques allow a better knowledge of the oceans and in particular the polar zones, which are little known by scientists. There is a wide range of equipment available, enabling us to descend to over 100 m in the polar zones: rebreather, thruster, high-definition camera, etc
