Tara Expeditions Revealing the True Color of the Ocean

Tara Expeditions Source  Image. The Tara boat and science platform experienced sailed through all oceans.

It is often said that the simplest questions are the hardest to answer. Why the oceans waters are blue has always been among the top questions on this mystery simple list. The usual and more common response to why ocean waters are blue and range in these tones often takes to optical explanations of light, sun ray refraction and wave lengths however scientists aboard Tara Expeditions are looking into this question with new fresh eyes and entering a microscopic realm. 

For them the "responsible" for the real color of the oceans live in a nano-world. Tara Expeditions once again seems to prove that one boat in the ocean can make a difference and that nothing beats good professional scientific field work despite the time and resources it consumes.

The study of the color of the ocean of Tara signals to “abnormalities” and difference between satellite image of oceans used internationally and information gathered on the field.

On September 16^th Tara reported on the Thesis and investigation of Marie Barbieux. Marie Barbieux, scientific coordinator between Malta and Marseilles, is doing a thesis on ocean color and explains the origins of these color variations while dismisses usual poetic descriptions for the color of the oceans which "often give way to pragmatism and complicated words like calibration, adsorption, backscatter…"

"The color of the ocean also depends on the organic and mineral particles, and other dissolved substances in the water," Marie Babieux states. Barbieux adds that the nature and size of particles present in the waters affect the final result of the color of the oceans by altering, transforming, using and manipulating rays of sun light and others sources of sun.

To understand where Tara Expeditions comes from and where they are moving to it is essential to understand the work of the organization which has focused on bio-organisms, microbio-organisms, polar and artic waters, study of microorganisms through net usage, laboratories and studies of contamination such as plastic and microorganisms related to plastic in the oceans.

Satellite images of the color of the waters of the oceans are used by numerous producing sectors from fishing to natural ocean resources exploitation to coastal management and environmental global studies. Tara stated that there are abnormalities between these images and data gathered on the ground. 

"Recently, satellites can also provide global access to this information; from space we are now able to study the infinitely small," Tara Expeditions hints why the work is important. 

Down to earth and navigating the waters Barbieux provides a unique insight on what she sees while aboard Tara. "The waters Tara passes through do not all have the same color: near the coast we find many different types of particles and dissolved substances which come from land drainage. Water thus appears brown or brownish. But when sailing offshore in pelagic waters, it’s generally assumed that the sea’s color depends only on the amount of phytoplankton it contains," the researcher explains. 

 

Tara expeditions -NGO organization conducting expeditions since 2003 Initiated by agnes b and Etienne Bourgois developed from their passion for the sea, and their humanistic, engaged vision. Tara’s expeditions study two major scientific themes: the world’s oceans and climate change. In collaboration with scientific institutes, the expeditions contribute concrete results on these topics.

Their 10 expeditions are international recognized and have successfully taken to the harsh environments and back home -inspiring adventures in tricky waters such as Greenland, Antarctica, Patagonia, South Georgia Artic and every other ocean basin. Tara describes their boat as "legendary” and “built for extreme conditions". It is their platform for high-level scientific research missions.

Barbieux microscopic focus is set on organisms like  phytoplankton species dinoflagellate species that cause real “red tides,” coccolithophores that turn the sea milky, and diatoms that make it look green. 

"On the contrary, when the waters are low in phytoplankton (called “oligotrophic”), the color of the sea tends to indigo or violet. This is the case in the Pacific near Easter Island, where the clearest water in the world is observed; light penetrates to a depth of more than 100 meters, compared to 30 meters in the North Atlantic," the researcher aboard Tara -organization which takes to contamination studies through scientific perspectives explains.

Barbieux scientific language speaks of the importance of the study for environmental, ecological, social, economic and even human health sectors. After cruising through the most dangerous waters of the world Tara seems to find resting place in their new location. Tara Expeditions is now campaigning in the Mediterranean as if looking for shelter in calm waters before they embark into the wild and savage once again. The Mediterranean waters home the organization after four years of sailing around the world and the Artic.

Tara explains that they are not cruising the Mediterranean but are on "a mission". The mission dates range from May to November. Objectives: Facing the Challenges of the Mediterranean basin. 

"450 million people live along the Mediterranean coasts in 22 bordering countries. Due to its geography and climate, the Mediterranean Sea hosts close to 8% of global marine biodiversity, although representing only 0.8% of the ocean’s surface," Tara campaigning and studying contamination in the basin explains. Tara is looking into population growth in coastal cities, maritime traffic and micro-pollutants. 

To gather information on the Ocean Color These titled: “Study of bio-optical anomalies and impact on biogeochemistry in the Mediterranean Sea and Southern Ocean using a synergistic multi-tool approach.” Barbieux is using different instruments such as HTSRB, Alpha and BB3 in situ. 

The crew is also comparing the data with that relayed by satellites. According to Barbieux there are "abnormalities" between their data which is taken for granted and used by international sectors.

"It seems that the amount of phytoplankton in the water was overestimated  compared to data collected in the field," Barbieux signals to the primary producers and key indicators of the oceans.

Tara`s explanations for these abnormalities paradoxically signal to events which have been discovered by satellite bird eyes views such as the presence of Saharan dust, or the large amount of CDOM (Colored Dissolved Organic Matter) which could influence the color of the water. 

“My work will be to analyze, prove or disprove these hypotheses,” Barbieux confidently assures.