In the Southern Hemisphere, the Southern Ocean is not partitioned by continents; it’s an open ocean that circulates around Antarctica. Driven by the westerlies, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (CCA) brings together the three oceans, the Indian, the Pacific and the Atlantic.

At the other end of the world, this huge ocean is still unknown, oceanographic campaigns are rare. A major player in the climate and marine biodiversity reserve, the international scientific community is unanimous: we need in situ measurements.

To explore this ocean of storms, which sailors call the « furious fifties », the naval engineering office SHIP ST located in Lorient, France, designed the Polar POD.

Driven by the circumpolar current, like a satellite around Antarctica, Polar POD will allow the acquisition of data and long-term observations that will be transmitted to researchers, oceanographers, climatologists, biologists; 43 scientific institutions from 12 countries are involved in the project.

This expedition worthy of Jules Verne, will animate in real time a large international educational project on the Life Sciences of the Earth and the Environment in collaboration with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (UICN). Young people need dreams, models of audacity, binding commitments, and believing in their ambitions.