GRAND SEMINAR - Luc Beaufort, Vincent Guarinos, Yohan Lichterfeld & Louisa Slama

Exploring the Mascarene Basin: science, discoveries and life on board the Marion-Dufresne

In July 2024, the Marion-Dufresne explored the Mascarene Basin as part of the MASC multidisciplinary oceanographic campaign, co-sponsored by CEREGE. Located within the French Exclusive Economic Zones of Réunion and Tromelin, this region remains largely unexplored, despite its importance in terms of marine biodiversity, underwater volcanism and oceanographic history.

For several weeks at sea, we used a multidisciplinary approach combining biology, genetics, sedimentology, palaeo-oceanography and volcanology, to gain a better understanding of the evolution of deep-sea environments in this region. The mission also hosted a «floating university», offering students a full immersion in oceanographic research.

Seven members of CEREGE took part in this campaign, including two PhD students and two Masters students. We will present the objectives of the mission, the initial scientific results and the highlights of life on board. Through images and videos taken at sea, this presentation will give you a concrete idea of what an oceanographic campaign represents today: a unique blend of exploration, scientific research and human adventure.

Zoom link: https://univ-amu-fr.zoom.us/j/95392139071?pwd=O0xPVEQgNNqGY03tQnM6uM0cgaX1YS.1