The Tara Polar Station ready for construction | Polarjournal

The Tara Ocean Foundation has announced the launch of the construction of its future polar station, a project it has been considering for at least 8 years. It will drift in the Arctic Ocean to study biology and other programs may be added to the adventure.

Last Monday, the Tara Ocean Foundation announced that it had chosen a shipyard for the construction of its polar drifting station. The French company Construction Mécanique de Normandie (CMN) in Cherbourg won the contract for this 24 m long, 14 m wide and 2.3 m draught aluminum ship, according to the plans of architect Olivier Petit. “I have been working on this project for 8 years, the covid made us lose 2 years, and we managed to convince the partners and the State to finance the program one year ago, with the strategic plan France 2030” explains Romain Troublé, director of the Tara Ocean Foundation.

This structure dedicated to oceanology is launching a new form of polar expedition. The schooner Tara – the foundation’s scientific expedition ship – has already spent 507 days through the Arctic ice in 2007. The shipping concept is close to this one. “We are developing a manned research station that will live through the seasons, caught in the ice, which is quite rare. The boat will be set adrift like the Russian boat Severny Polyus at the moment,” continued the director.

At the beginning, the boat had to be round to gain a maximum of energy efficiency, then she became oval to be able to sail in open water. Image: Tara Ocean Foundation

This drifting station with her original shape is an answer to contemporary questions, such as the carbon footprint of expeditions. “She has the ambition to emit as few pollutants as possible into the environment. An expedition like MOSAIC[Polarstern, 2019] burns about ten tons of diesel per day. So we focused on saving the calories generated on board”, explains Romain Troublé.

According to information from La Presse de la Manche, the construction site represents 100,000 hours of work and should begin between September and October. “We were looking for a yard that works with aluminum and the tender was exclusively European. Then we were concerned about the emissions from construction, the French yards were well positioned thanks to the national grid energy production systems such as nuclear or renewable.” Construction is expected to take one year.

After a test of 3 to 4 months in a Greenland Fjord at the end of 2024, the platform will drift towards the North Pole in 2025 and a relief will be planned by plane on the ice in March 2026 when it will be light. Image: Tara Ocean Foundation

Arctic ice is essential for ecosystems. “They receive sunlight, they are full of interstices where organisms live and feed, like plankton and seals. Other predators like bears and whales depend on it. Ice biology is very little studied in the heart of the Arctic. The bulk of science investment in these environments has been directed toward questions of continental shelves, atmospheric measurements or oceanography.”

“The Arctic has just come close to a record low in ice at the end of winter. Time is running out to go to the bedside of its largely unknown biodiversity.”

Chris Bowler, research director at the CNRS, member of the Tara Ocean Foundation


The station will drift for 400 days, the time of a one-way trip to Mars. Romain Troublé adds that “in these conditions, the station will also be used by the scientists of the Centre National d’Études Spatiales for their physiological, medical and psychological experiments, it is a bit like the ISS of the North Pole. “

Camille Lin, PolarJournal

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