S.A.S. le Prince Albert II de Monaco a passé la journée à participer aux travaux des équipes scientifiques en mission sur l’île de Malpelo. Durant la matinée, Son Altesse Sérénissime est allé plonger avec Sandra Bessudo de la Fundación Malpelo et son équipe qui marquent les requins. L’après-midi a été consacrée à la mise en service du ROV (Drone sous-marin télécommandé de la surface), testé jusqu’à à 120 mètres de profondeur. Le Souverain a travaillé avec l’équipe colombienne d’Invemar qui collecte des échantillons de fond et identifie les espèces, et les opérateurs du Centre Scientifique de Monaco pour aider au déploiement du ROV et tester le fonctionnement du bras robotique, qui sert à prélever des échantillons sur les fonds marins et à les placer dans le compartiment de collecte du ROV.

Voici qu’elles extraits des images extraites des caméras sous-marines immergées, qui peuvent fournir jusqu’à 36 heures d’enregistrement

Notre mission à Malpelo a pris fin. En naviguant ce soir vers le Panama, nous avons eu la chance d’avoir un magnifique au revoir de mère Nature.

L’exposition de photographies sur la  » mission Malpelo  » des Explorations de Monaco a débuté au Musée océanographique de Monaco.

Il y a quelques mois, les Explorations de Monaco ont emmené à Malpelo, en Colombie, un groupe international de scientifiques.

Malpelo est une île volcanique au milieu de nulle part dans l’océan Pacifique. Mais cette île est une véritable oasis avec une très grande biodiversité qu’il faut comprendre pour mieux la protéger. Rendez-vous au Musée océanographique de Monaco pour découvrir les travaux des scientifiques sur l’ADN environnemental et le suivi des populations de requins sur ce site naturel exceptionnel qui a été déclaré en 2006, patrimoine mondial de l’UNESCO.

 

This post is continued from Part One

During Prince Albert’s visit in Cabo Verde we christened the new GEOMAR Ocean Science Center Mindelo, Skyped with 300 schoolchildren in Monaco, visited the island of Branco to pick up Raquel and Aurélien and hear about their work looking for evidence of the giant skink, learned about the GEOMAR wave glider that is aboard the Yersin, and visited a sea turtle hatchery on the beaches of Boa Vista.

Back to Branco

In a recent blog post, we explained that scientists Raquel Vasconcelos and Aurélien Miralles were camping on the island of Branco to collect samples and search for evidence of the presumed extinct giant skink. Today their work is complete and HSH Prince Albert II makes the trip to Branco to join them for a few hours and learn about their time there, and find out first hand what, if anything, they have discovered about the giant skink.

Photo : EDm – Prince and Raquel

GEOMAR Wave Glider

Dr. Björn Fiedler of GEOMAR talked with HSH Prince Albert II to explain the purpose and capabilities of the wave glider and bottom lander, both of which were deployed from the Yersin.

“Jointly with Monaco Explorations we will launch state-of-the-art measuring platforms such as lander and wave glider to collect physical, chemical and biological data which are important for future marine protected areas” said Dr. Björn Fiedler from GEOMAR.

Sea Turtle Hatchery

Sea turtles have been on this planet since the dinosaur ages and are disappearing all around the world, becoming an endangered species in just the last 200 years. Sea turtles play a vital role in marine ecosystems. You can read more about Why Healthy Oceans Need Sea Turtles here.

The Turtle Foundation, Project Cabo Verde invited Monaco Explorations to Porto Ferreira beach on Boa Vista Island so that we could learn about their work and gain a better understanding of the importance of sea turtle preservation in the larger scope of ocean conservation. Prince Albert II visited the hatchery and talked with the scientists who are stationed there and he gave children’s books, depicting the threats that sea turtles face, to the kids who were participating in a day camp with the Turtle Foundation.

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During Monaco Explorations visit to the hatchery a few days before HSH Prince Albert arrived, we were very lucky to have been invited to witness a turtle laying her eggs at night. (These photos are courtesy of Head of Mission, Pierre Gilles)

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This post is continued from Part One

During Prince Albert’s visit in Cabo Verde we christened the new GEOMAR Ocean Science Center Mindelo, Skyped with 300 schoolchildren in Monaco, visited the island of Branco to pick up Raquel and Aurélien and hear about their work looking for evidence of the giant skink, learned about the GEOMAR wave glider that is aboard the Yersin, and visited a sea turtle hatchery on the beaches of Boa Vista.

Back to Branco

In a recent blog post, we explained that scientists Raquel Vasconcelos and Aurélien Miralles were camping on the island of Branco to collect samples and search for evidence of the presumed extinct giant skink. Today their work is complete and HSH Prince Albert II makes the trip to Branco to join them for a few hours and learn about their time there, and find out first hand what, if anything, they have discovered about the giant skink.

Photo : EDm – Prince and Raquel

GEOMAR Wave Glider

Dr. Björn Fiedler of GEOMAR talked with HSH Prince Albert II to explain the purpose and capabilities of the wave glider and bottom lander, both of which were deployed from the Yersin.

“Jointly with Monaco Explorations we will launch state-of-the-art measuring platforms such as lander and wave glider to collect physical, chemical and biological data which are important for future marine protected areas” said Dr. Björn Fiedler from GEOMAR.

Sea Turtle Hatchery

Sea turtles have been on this planet since the dinosaur ages and are disappearing all around the world, becoming an endangered species in just the last 200 years. Sea turtles play a vital role in marine ecosystems. You can read more about Why Healthy Oceans Need Sea Turtles here.

The Turtle Foundation, Project Cabo Verde invited Monaco Explorations to Porto Ferreira beach on Boa Vista Island so that we could learn about their work and gain a better understanding of the importance of sea turtle preservation in the larger scope of ocean conservation. Prince Albert II visited the hatchery and talked with the scientists who are stationed there and he gave children’s books, depicting the threats that sea turtles face, to the kids who were participating in a day camp with the Turtle Foundation.

[vc_row][vc_column][gem_video video_src= »https://www.monacoexplorations.org/videos/Hatcherywelcome.m4v » image_src= »27292″][vc_column_text]

During Monaco Explorations visit to the hatchery a few days before HSH Prince Albert arrived, we were very lucky to have been invited to witness a turtle laying her eggs at night. (These photos are courtesy of Head of Mission, Pierre Gilles)

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

During Prince Albert’s visit in Cabo Verde we christened the new GEOMAR Ocean Science Center Mindelo, Skyped with 300 schoolchildren in Monaco, visited the island of Branco to pick up Raquel and Aurélien and hear about their work looking for evidence of the giant skink, learned about the GEOMAR wave glider that is aboard the Yersin, and visited a sea turtle hatchery on the beaches of Boa Vista.

GEOMAR Ocean Science Center Mindelo

The GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel and the National Cabo Verdean Fisheries Research Institute INDP generously hosted an event to welcome HSH Prince Albert II to Cabo Verde with a first opening of their Ocean Science Center Mindelo (officially opening in late 2017).

The event was attended by nearly 200 people who heard speeches from:

Read more about the creation of the Ocean Science Center Mindelo here event here, and watch the live broadcast on the GEOMAR Facebook Page.

Scinque Géant Returned to Cabo Verde

HSH Prince Albert II (with help from our partners at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco and Head of Missions Robert Calcagno) returned to Cabo Verde for research purposes one of the giant skink specimens collected in the early 1900’s by Prince Albert 1st, which has been housed at the museum.

President of Cabo Verde, Jorge Carlos Fonseca, hosted Prince Albert II for this symbolic ceremony of collaboration between Monaco and Cabo Verde.

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HSH Prince Albert II and Robert Calcagno Skype with 300 Schoolchildren in Monaco

Educating and involving youth in Monaco Explorations is one of the main goals of this campaign. There is no better place to start than at home. We were happy to facilitate a “virtual field trip” to Cabo Verde’s Ocean Science Center Mindelo via Skype for more than 300 schoolchildren at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. The children prepared questions for HSH Prince Albert II and Museum Director, Robert Calcagno.

You can watch the Skype session from the Museum’s Facebook Page.

Questions from the kids:

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10 students and professors (biologists, naval designer, engineers, etc) from Cabo-Verde University including the President Antonio Varelo, visited the Yersin yesterday.

A 2.5 hours tour including a talk with the captain Jean Dumarais and the crew members, the discover of the laboratories, the engine room, decks and bridge and the equipments (tenders barge ROV). Before leaving our guests have been given a presentation focused on the scientific work done in Cabo Verde by Monaco Explorations since over 3 weeks.

A Very important conclusion before leaving this beautiful country as the University has been a key partner of Monaco Explorations.

To collect samples for research, the scientists must spend time in the sea searching for coral colonies that show abnormal growths. Each day, we suit up and collect our materials and head out to sea with snorkels and masks hoping to collect samples from a total of ten colonies. When one is identified, a photo is taken to document the size and GPS coordinates. Next, Francois Seneca chips away 2 pieces from the colony – one of the healthy coral and one of the diseased coral. He then stores the samples in separate bags pre labeled 1-10 for both healthy and diseased samples. Next, he repeats the process with a new colony.

Here’s a video that shows what that process looks like.

The Sovereign was invited to the primary school of Badu Island. He participated in an honorary graduation ceremony for the children of the island community. The speeches emphasized the principles bound to environmental protection, particularly the marine environment. The message consistent in all of the speeches given by the school headmaster M. Patrick Rhin, Council Representative M. Laurie Nona, and the Sovereign underlined the need to protect the future by caring for the environment. After the ceremony and the distribution of the presents brought by the Sovereign, the group posed for photos.