A team of 6 scientists - French, American and Fijian - will board the R/V Alis, an ocean-going vessel in the French Oceanographic Fleet, from 19 March to 7 April 2022. The aim of this 20-day campaign is to study the state of health of marine ecosystems in ecologically significant areas of the southern Fiji Islands. In particular, the researchers will be analysing the relationship between dissolved fluorescent carbon and the first links in the pelagic food chain (planktonic organisms). This expedition will also be an opportunity to carry out the GLI-FI exploration project, piloting the SeaExplorer glider, an underwater robot from the MIO (Institut Méditerranéen d'Océanologie).
The SOKOWASA campaign is being organised by the French Oceanographic Fleet, IRD and CNRS-INSU, in association with the Centre of Excellence for Sustainability in the Pacific (PaCE-SD laboratory) at the University of the South Pacific (USP). It brings together several partner laboratories: the Institut Méditerranéen d'Océanologie (MIO), the Institution of Oceanography (Scripps) associated with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, as well as the company ALSEAMAR, designer of the SeaExplorer.
Called SOKOWASA, SOuthern-fiji-Kadavu Oceanographic WAter Survey on Alis (= "Going to sea by boat" in Fijian), the aim of this campaign is to gain a deeper understanding of dissolved and particulate organic elements, and their relationship with planktonic organisms - phyto- and zooplankton - under the effect of continental forcings, in this case the plume of the river Rewa, which determine the richness of fish stocks and coral resources in a key area of the Fijian archipelago.
The scientists, led by Cécile DUPOUY (MIO, IRD) and Awnesh SINGH (PaCE-SD, Fiji), will pilot the SeaExplorer glider along a 100 km transect between the passes of Laucala Bay and the island of Kandavu. They will collect water samples from a grid of 20 stations surrounding this transect, corresponding to the extension of the coloured plume observed in parallel by satellite. In addition to the probes measuring conventional physical parameters, the SeaExplorer is equipped with innovative mini-fluorometers capturing various compounds, indicators of dissolved inputs from land or sea. This GLI-FI exploration project is funded by the INSU-CNRS LEFE programme.
Due to the COVID-19 health crisis, the R/V Alis will not dock in Fiji, which will be reserved for the second campaign: SOKOWASA 2, possibly scheduled for 2023. In addition to the research aspect, SOKOWASA will provide data for Fijian doctoral students supported by the IRD through the ARTS programme (Allocation de Recherche pour une Thèse au Sud) and studying the composition of the waters of Laucala Bay and the phenology of the plume emanating from the River Rewa in the event of heavy rainfall. The campaign will also raise public awareness of global changes in the Pacific and the vulnerability of the coastal ocean environment to these global changes, a research theme of USP's PaCE-SD laboratory. Finally, thanks to an online logbook supplied by the crew, USP students will be able to follow the glider's movements in the water column throughout the campaign, as well as the progress of the sampling.
This oceanographic campaign is part of a Memorandum of Understanding between the IRD and USP, which will be updated in 2022, and illustrates the wealth of partnerships and scientific excellence in the face of major development challenges in developing countries.
Scientific team
Nagib Bhairy, Cécile Dupouy, Robert Frouin, Benjamin Oursel, Martine Rodier and Awnesh Singh.
Contacts
IRD representation in New Caledonia :
France BAILLY, IRD Representative in New Caledonia france.bailly@ird.fr | +687 26 10 00
Karla BUSSONE, Communications Officer karla.bussone@ird.fr | +687 26 08 04
MIO :
Valérie Michotey, Director valerie.michotey@mio.osupytheas.fr | +334 86 09 06 34
Thomas CHANGEUX, Deputy Director thomas.changeux@mio.osupytheas.fr | +334 86 09 06 34
Anne Casanova, Communications Officer anne.casanova@mio.osupytheas.fr l +334 86 09 05 91
PaCE-SD - USP :
Moira Vilsoni-Raduva, Communications Officer | France moira.vilsoniraduva@usp.ac.fj | +679 2937 33
The SeaExplorer underwater glider is a powerful autonomous detection platform designed to collect data profiles of the water column over a very wide spatial and temporal coverage (thousands of km and weeks to months of endurance).
[Text Area: © ALSEAMAR] Driven by changes in buoyancy, the vehicle glides silently up and down the water column while collecting physical, chemical, biological and/or acoustic data depending on the sensors installed.
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Heads of mission :
Cécile Dupouy (MIO, IRD) | cecile.dupouy@ird.fr
Awnesh Singh (PaCE-SD, USP, Fiji) | Awnesh.singh@usp.ac.fj
The SeaExplorer glider, an innovative underwater glider
The SeaExplorer underwater glider is a powerful autonomous detection platform designed to collect data profiles of the water column over a very wide spatial and temporal coverage (thousands of km and weeks to months of endurance).
Driven by changes in buoyancy, the vehicle glides silently up and down the water column while collecting physical, chemical, biological and/or acoustic data depending on the sensors installed.
