They departed for an initial polar exploration in 2010 for 45 days. Driven by the desire to see more, they went back in 2014 for 21 months with « Discovery Greenland »: memorable dives and unique encounters with the Inuit (read Dive! n°2). On May 20th, in Concarneau, the Under The Pole team will set sail for a third 3-year adventure between the Arctic, Pacific, and Antarctic.
Just days before the departure of the boat to Greenland, there’s an excitement in the team. » We are like a real beehive; we have a massive to-do list that we’re trying to check off as much as possible, and everyone feels the excitement growing more and more « , confides Emmanuelle Périé-Bardout, co-initiator and co-director of the expeditions.
Originally from the project, a couple: Ghislain Bardout, passionate about diving, and Emmanuelle Périé-Bardout, fond of sailing. Together, they launched Under The Pole and multiplied feats aboard their now legendary boat: the Why, the base camp for the entire team. After accomplishing the first dive over 100 meters in the polar region, and then the first dive over 100 meters under the ice pack, Ghislain Bardout decided to put his extreme underwater experience at the service of science for this third adventure.
An expedition with significant scientific stakesAfter a call for proposals launched in 2016, 3 scientific projects, covering 3 geographical areas, were selected to be developed during the expedition. All are based in the mesophotic zone or « twilight zone »: between 50 and 150 meters deep.
– First, between Greenland and Alaska: under the direction of Marcel Koken, a CNRS researcher, the crew will study luminescent organisms, how they generate or change light, and whether luminescent animals exist in these polar zones.
– Then, the Why will head for French Polynesia for 15 months of research with the CRIOBE (Insular Research Center and Environmental Observatory). Three areas of observation will be set up:1- the study of little-known deep corals that would host biodiversity adapted to drastic conditions.2- An in-depth observation of hammerhead and bull sharks living in the depths and difficult to approach.3- A study on diver’s physique with the creation of a saturation life capsule*, allowing divers to stay several days continuously in deep zones for leisure or scientific diving.
– The programs that will take place in Antarctica in 2019-2020 will be outlined during the year.
A family storyUnder The Pole III will not only be a significant scientific project about the « twilight zone. » As with the two previous expeditions, there will be a strong human dimension. The relationship among the crew members is like that of a big family. Emmanuelle Périé-Bardout explains that » some people who participated in one or both of the first adventures are joining again for Under The Pole III, these are divers with whom we share many things: our values, our desires… « . Emmanuelle and Ghislain Bardout will not embark alone with the crew as their two children, Robin, five years old, and Tom, only one year old, will also be on the trip. This is an opportunity for the eldest, who will split his time between the boat and school, to correspond with his class in France and to keep a small logbook that he will present upon his return during the wintering of the Why in Alaska between October 2017 and March 2018.
Parallel to the explorations, several films will be made to follow the expedition, life aboard the Why, scientific studies… An educational program will also be implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Education to follow the expedition and research through photos and videos to show children the beauty of the oceans and raise their awareness of its preservation.
Under the Pole has not yet left the port of Concarneau, and already Ghislain and Emmanuelle Bardout are considering potential future explorations: « of course, we’re thinking about it, these projects are so long to prepare. You must always be one step ahead of your ambitions. Each expedition is, in a way, a stepping stone to achieve the objectives of the next ones. There may be Under the Pole IV or even V, we’ll see, if it still works and if the desire is still there… »
* » Saturation is the equilibrium a diver reaches after a certain amount of time spent submerged. From this point, the diver can stay indefinitely at this depth without increasing the necessary time to return to the surface. » Saturation life capsules maintain the divers under pressure equal to that of the seabed. Inside the capsule, they can then spend several days in the water without having to resurface. These capsules are designed to allow three divers to sleep, rest, and eat between dives. This technique is already used in offshore oil industry diving, for instance.
Margot Harty
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