From 13 at 27 March 2025 is the first mission of the project BIOLUMOPS: Marine bioluminescence, in situ spatio-temporal observations by submarine glider (ANR-ASTRID, PI : S. Martini-MIO, F Jourdin-Shom) on the N/O Europe, in the Mediterranean.
In the ocean, bioluminescence, the emission of light produced by living organisms, is a widespread means of communication that shapes the spatial distribution of communities. Nearly 75% of organisms in the water column possess this ability, from the surface to the deep ocean floor. Bioluminescence is an indicator of the presence of organisms and their interactions. However, there are few quantitative data on bioluminescence and these are often limited to the top few tens of metres, which limits our understanding of the processes and spatial organisation linked to this capacity in organisms.
Relying on technological innovation in oceanography, BIOLUMOPS proposes :
- to improve, implement and deploy two bioluminescence sensors on autonomous underwater gliders,
- deploy these vehicles in the Mediterranean (north-west) to obtain a spatio-temporal map of environmental variables (chlorophyll, temperature, salinity) and bioluminescence between 0 and 600 m depth,
- develop bioluminescence signal processing methods to classify the different groups of organisms present,
- obtain subsurface mapping of phytoplankton compositions and bioluminescence/chlorophyll-a correlations.
The MIO glider team and pilots are playing a major role in this campaign, with 3 gliders deployed on board Europe simultaneously, equipped with innovative instrumentation, and sailing in packs for 2 weeks. Well done!
The second leg will take place in August 2025, aboard the M/O Le Thalassa.
MIO staff at sea and on land involved in Leg 1: Séverine Martini, Nagib Bhairy, Jean-Luc Fuda, Christopher Luneau, Gérald Grégory, Jeanne Maingot-Lepée, Louise Rousselet (SPASSO), Jean-Marc Feuerstein, Anthony Bosse, and Stéphanie Barillon. Other laboratories involved in the project: Shom, LEMAR, LIRMM, DT-INSU, LOV, Ifremer. Alseamsar company.
