Vendée Globe Race Skippers go global with ocean observing!
A new era of sailing for science is beginning with the support of International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA) skippers during the Vendée Globe to the Global Ocean Observing System. Their participation is taking place within the framework of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), and under the leadership of OceanOPS.
- Author(s):
- Emanuela Rusciano, Mathieu Belbéoch, Emma Heslop and Albert Fischer
It was not enough to race to circumnavigate the world's ocean, braving equipment failure and stormy conditions, the fearless Vendée Globe skippers needed an extra challenge. So, they took on the task of making vital ocean observations, witnessing to their engagement for the ocean!
“The Vendée Globe is a race that I would like to win, but this additional challenge will allow us to find solutions to climate change,” explained Boris Herrmann, Team Malizia/IMOCA skipper during the race. “We cannot stress enough the importance of the oceans, without them there would be no life on earth. As major players in our climate system, they store over 90% of the excess heat from radiative forcing and absorb about a quarter of the human-produced CO2 emitted annually. This is why we are continuing our ocean research mission to protect this incredible wilderness.”
Despite the extra weight and responsibility for observing equipment, this link-up between the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and 10 of the IMOCA skippers in the Vendée Globe race has been wildly successful. These observations are from some of the least visited regions of our global ocean, this is what makes the race so exciting and the data so valuable.
“I deployed a profiler float when I was leaving the Pot-au-Noir, a shipping route which is usually sparsely navigated,” said Louis Burton, Bureau Vallée 2/IMOCA skipper. “The float weighed 20 kg and keeping extra weight to a minimum is crucial for the race, but it was worthwhile. It was my choice. The future of the planet is in serious danger.
Thanks to OceanOPS – the joint IOC-UNESCO/WMO centre supporting GOOS, which coordinates and monitors the sustained in situ components of the global ocean observing system – seven meteorological buoys and three profiling floats, operated respectively by Météo-France and Argo France, were deployed by the IMOCA skippers at agreed positions in the Atlantic Ocean. Four skippers also carried onboard equipment to measure essential ocean variables – such as sea surface salinity, temperature, CO2, atmospheric pressure – and measuring the microplastics pollution at sea. The data collected during the Vendée Globe were shared in real-time in an international open-source database.
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“The Ocean is our playground and our working environment,” noted Kojiro Shiraish, DMG Mori/ IMOCA skipper. “Over the years, I have seen the ocean changing in various ways. As a child, in my home town of Kamakura the ocean was polluted with heavy oil. We would go for a swim and sometimes come back with lots of heavy oil all over our body. This was such a serious problem that the Japanese government had to work very hard to make the ocean clean. Since then, the ocean in Japan has become very clean but there is now a bigger problem. A problem that we cannot see directly because it is so small.
This problem is called micro-plastic. Just looking at the water, we feel that the water is very clean but in fact it could be polluted. The problem is very serious and we need to find better solutions to counter this. The ocean is the lungs of the planet earth. We need to treat it better to be able to live a better life.”
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Alexia Barrier, the 4myplanet/IMOCA skipper who deployed an Argo float near the Kerguelen Islands, related, “We are several Vendée Globe sailors to have boats equipped with sensors and to collect oceanic data that transmit daily to scientists. Considering the number of days we spend on the water and the remote places we travel through on a round-the-world trip, we provide a legitimate source of information.”
Alexia, Boris and Luis are also involved in educational programs to make children concerned about the oceans. Ahead the race, Emanuela Rusciano, physical oceanographer and coordinator of science and communication at OceanOPS, addressed three classrooms in Brest and Plouzané, France, in special session on ocean observations. Students were familiarized with an Argo float and learned how it helps scientists to study global warming and collect data inaccessible to satellites, right down to the ocean’s depths. After the instrument’s deployment, educators and students will follow the trajectory of the float, which they signed, and access resources about the data acquired from the Adopt-a-Float program portal.
The deployment of ocean observing instruments at sea is fundamental for the continuous measurement of oceanographic and atmospheric parameters of the ocean. Observations are crucial for delivering marine weather and ocean services to support safety of life and property at sea, maritime commerce and the well-being of coastal communities. Observations also provides insights into the global weather and climate system and the impacts of long-term climate change, as well as information on the increasing stress on the ocean from human activities.
“Observations from racing yachts, especially those acquired in remote areas of the ocean, are going to be vital for gaining a more complete knowledge of the ocean and the atmosphere above it, and for a more effective prediction of how the ocean may change in coming years”, said Albert Fischer Director, GOOS Project Office at IOC-UNESCO.
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“For 10 years now,” continued Alexia, “I have been pledging for ocean sustainability and protection, and I have been trying to help scientists to better understand the ocean. I have realized that, due to the long period I spent at sea in very remote oceanic areas where only a few ships go, I can be really useful for ocean study and preservation. The oceanographic data I have acquired during this Vendée Globe are very rare and precious for the scientists.”
“The global ocean observing system is under growing pressure to meet the demand for weather and ocean services and forecast products, multi-hazard early warning systems, and climate and ocean health applications,” stated WMO Director of Infrastructure Anthony Rea. “In the current global COVID-19 pandemic, several ocean observing systems and ocean monitoring operations have been impacted. WMO therefore extends its appreciation and congratulations to the Vendée Globe skippers for their valuable contribution to weather and ocean observations.”
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Martin Kramp, the Ship Coordinator at OceanOPS, complemented the Vendée Globe skippers for their important contribution to weather forecasting and understanding the health of the ocean. He explained, “These instruments help us in areas where we have little means to gather met-ocean data. Observations, such as the atmospheric pressure data acquired by the drifting buoys and transmitted in real-time to the operational centres, help to improve weather forecasting and protect safety of lives at sea, while the high-quality temperature data from profiling floats will enable scientists, throughout the world, to significantly improve the estimates of ocean heat storage.”
Long Jiang, the Technical Coordinator at OceanOps for the Data Buoy Cooperation Panel added: “The deployment of barometer-equipped surface drifters are critical for numerical weather predictions as atmospheric pressure can’t be measured directly from satellites.”
In the future, “We would like the carrying of weather and sea water instrumentation to be part of the IMOCA class rules for ocean races, so that every skipper, whether racing for the podium or not, takes part to the observation and preservation of the ocean”, added Mr Kramp.
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“As a skipper, I am very aware of the importance of protecting the environment, particularly the oceans. In my opinion, France has a particular responsibility because it governs the second largest maritime space in the world, this includes the maritime areas of its overseas departments and territories. The sustainable development initiatives of the IMOCA Class made it possible to take ownership of targeted actions and become a real ambassador of the program,” said Manu Cousin, Groupe SETIN/IMOCA skipper.
The scientific initiative carried out during the Vendée Globe supports a GOOS made up of thousands of buoys, profiling floats, underwater robots, ship-based sensors and marine mammals equipped with oceanographic sensors. All these instruments are already supplying scientists and marine and weather forecasters with essential data about the conditions at sea for climate studies, weather forecasts and early warnings, and ocean health monitoring.
These new cooperation and collaboration with sailors are key to help scientists filling in geographical gaps in the GOOS and to support the safety of people and the future of our planet.
“About 2 000 autonomous instruments (such as profiling floats and drifting buoys) must be deployed every year to sustain the GOOS. We are calling today, through a specific UN Ocean Decade project, on civil society to support the GOOS implementation. We want to unlock the potential of citizens, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and world class sailors and mariners, some of our best ocean ambassadors,” said Mathieu Belbéoch, OceanOPS Lead.
The UN Ocean Decade offers a unique opportunity to change the way we care about the ocean and effectively support ocean science and oceanography for its protection and sustainable development. The Decade is a chance for all of us to contribute actively towards putting in place a more sustainable and complete ocean observing system that delivers timely data and information accessible to all users on the state of the ocean across all basins.
The involvement of the IMOCA skippers in this scientific project is part of a partnership that was signed in January 2020 between UNESCO and IMOCA to support ocean science and protect the ocean. For two years, the two organizations will carry out various joint projects including met-ocean observations.
The Vendée Globe/IMOCA scientific project contributes to growing global awareness in the racing community of the necessity to act to preserve the ocean. It results from the work that has been carried out over several years by the OceanOPS to team with “sailing ships of opportunity” to gather meteorological data and deploy oceanographic instruments at sea. This project follows similar initiatives by sailors coordinated by OceanOPS in the Volvo Ocean Race (and this will still be the case on The Ocean Race 2022-2023), the Barcelona World Race, the Clipper Race, the Rallies organized by Jimmy Cornell and the recent IMOCA-organized Arctique-Les Sables D’Olonne Race.
“Our skippers benefit from a unique experience. They navigate in the most isolated places on the globe and are the first to witnesses the impact of human activity on the oceans. The IMOCA Class is aware of the urgent need to protect and preserve our seas, which makes the partnership with OceanOPS and UNESCO's IOC even more valuable. In the next IMOCA cycle (2021-2024), we want to go further in involving more teams in the scientific contribution process”, said Antoine Mermod IMOCA Director.
“On behalf of the ocean observing community, I wish to congratulate and thank all IMOCA skippers for their commitment to the ocean protection and their invaluable contribution to weather and ocean observations”, said Mr Belbéoch.
For further information on how to participate in the UN Ocean Decade observation project, please contact Emanuela Rusciano, erusciano@ocean-ops.org
Authors
Emanuela Rusciano, WMO-IOC OceanOPS
Mathieu Belbéoch, WMO-IOC OceanOPS
Emma Heslop, IOC-UNESCO/GOOS
Albert Fischer, IOC-UNESCO/GOOS