On February 28, the French oceanographic fleet operated by Ifremer announced its campaign schedule for the year 2023. For the first time, it will carry out missions involving several oceanographic ships, but also the coordination of ships and a satellite.
Four campaigns will be coupled with measurements from an ocean observation satellite as part of the international SWOT mission, co-piloted by CNES and NASA.
During 133 days at sea, they will aim to improve the quality of data and their use for a better understanding of the ocean, its dynamics and its impact on climate.
The French oceanographic fleet is equipped with four deep-sea ships (Marion Dufresne, Pourquoi pas?, L’Atalante, Thalassa), two semi-offshore ships and five coastal ships (L’Europe, Thalia, Côtes de la Manche, Tethys II and Haliotis).
It also has deep-sea submarines, unique in Europe, such as the Nautile submarine or the remotely operated robot Victor 6000, capable of working at a depth of 6,000 meters.