October 11 to 23, 2019
MISSION PALAU 2019 – PACIFIC
- Acidification des océans, Aging, Cancer, Climate change, Corail, Coral reefs, DNA, Environmental stress, Palau, Small island states
Resistance to climate change
The mission took place in Palau, Micronesia, in collaboration with the Centre Scientifique de Monaco (CSM), the Institut de Recherche sur le Cancer et le Vieillissement de Nice (IRCAN) and the Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC).
The expedition focused on the resistance of corals(Acropora sp.) to ocean acidification and the impact of environmental stress on cellular aging.
Find out more about the 2019 mission here
An open-air laboratory
In Palau, some reefs, located in enclosed lagoons, are naturally exposed to waters more acidic than the average ocean.
Others, on the other hand, present completely normal conditions.
What better than this natural variety to study the phenomenon of acidification and the mechanisms of environmental stress?
First manipulations in 2018
Six colonies had been transplanted by CSM scientists to an acidic zone in March 2018 during the Tara Pacific mission.
These are the ones that the 2019 mission team first found, before taking samples from these colonies.
On-site operations, 2019
The manipulations planned on site in 2019 consisted in recovering fragments of coral colonies transplanted from a normal site to an acidified site, and therefore placed under stress conditions, to carry out in-depth analyses in the coming months in France and Monaco on the impact of acidification and cellular aging.
Location
The islands of Palau
The islands of Palau, located in Micronesia at one end of the “Coral Triangle”, are at the junction of several ocean currents.
It is one of the richest places in the world in terms of marine biodiversity, with a profusion of beautiful coral reefs.
It’s also an ideal place to study ocean acidification.
Political action
At a time when the impact of climate change on our oceans and our lives is a central concern, island states like Palau in the southwest Pacific are on the front line.
Indeed, only 1% of Palau’s surface area is land, and 99% is ocean.
His Excellency Tommy Remengesau, President of Palau, has taken exemplary political and social action to preserve and sustainably manage the marine environment.
His initiatives have been actively supported by H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco since they met in 2012.
Mission members
– Dr Didier Zoccola
Didier is a research fellow in the coral physiology team at the Centre
Scientifique de Monaco (CSM), led by Dr Sylvie Tambutté.
Organizer and coordinator of the 2019 mission, he has already participated in the Tara Pacific expedition in 2018.
His knowledge of the sampling sites in Palau was invaluable for this new mission.
– Alice Rouan
A young doctoral researcher, Alice is a member of Prof. Gilson’s team at the Institut de Recherche sur le Cancer et le Vieillissement de Nice (IRCAN).
She is involved in research into the key mechanisms that condition the phenomenon of cellular aging.
She is studying a marker common to corals and humans: telomere length, a region of DNA located at the end of chromosomes.
– Magali Boussion
Seconded by the CSM to the Monaco Explorations as Communications Officer, Magali brought her skills as a laboratory technician and diver to the site.
She is also responsible for coordinating all communication activities related to the mission.
A typical day
Find out hour by hour what science is really like in the field, what a typical day is like and what scientists do on site.
Rigor and organization are the order of the day, but there’s always plenty of fun to be had!
The mission day by day
Alice, Magali and Didier share their feelings, thoughts, impressions and daily anecdotes.
A dense, sometimes stressful week, a mission carried out to the full.
First answers in a few months
Once the mission is over, it’s time for the laboratory research to begin… See you in a few months for the first analyses and scientific results.
