Let's board the Schooner Tara!

The Schooner Tara is going to dock in Oslo, Bydgøy!

The France Alumni network gives you the opportunity to visit this unique scientific boat and to meet its wonderful crew!

The Tara Ocean Foundation organises a European tour in 18 port cities and Oslo will be its fourth stop. This Plastic Ethics mission aims at studying the microplastics in oceans and at raising awareness on issues related to the preservation of oceans.

Do not miss you your chance to board this unique scientific boat! Only 25 tickets are available! You must be member of the France Alumni network to register.

[The visit will take place on June 26th, from 11:00 to 12:00 close to the Frammuset]

Since 2010, the schooner Tara has been collecting microplastics (0.2 to 5 mm in diameter) during its various expeditions. The crew's observations are clear: these fragments of microplastics are ubiquitous in oceans. In 2014, they focused on pollution in the Mediterranean Sea. In 2017, they discovered a vast zone of microplastic accumulation in the Arctic ocean. In 2018, they identified new plastic-friendly biodiversity in the North Pacific "Vortex". Now, the schooner Tara and its partners want to assess the spread and impacts of plastics on land and at sea.

The interdisciplinary team for this mission is made up of about fourty marine biologists, ecotoxicologists, oceanographers, modelers, chemists and physicists. They will work on two main scientific objectives:

- Identify sources of pollution, understand their fragmentation in rivers and predict their spread to oceans;

- Understand their impacts on marine biodiversity and their effects on the chain food.

This European tour is twofold: while contributing to fundamental research it also aims at raising awareness on societal challenges linked with preserving our resources. Meeting people in major cities around Europe, the crew aims at discussing with public and private stakeholders as well as they aim at sharing some solutions with people!