The polar regions play a central role in the planet's climatic equilibrium and represent a crucial challenge for our society. The poles are the most sensitive regions to climate change, with the following deleterious consequences:
melting sea ice, glaciers, ice caps, thawing permafrost and extreme weather phenomena due to the acceleration of anthropogenic warming in recent decades ;
environmental pollution (microplastics, heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, gases, etc.), the effects of which are felt even in the most remote polar regions, with impacts on health in the broadest sense and on the food chain ;
changes in biodiversity in polar ecosystems and the decline of species adapted to extreme conditions ;
environmental changes, which impact the livelihoods of Indigenous peoples by modifying their living environments and traditional food sources (country food).
To enable the Swiss and International scientific communities to better understand these disturbances and propose strategies to mitigate them, the Swiss Polar Foundation (SPF) provides scientists with a mobile oceanographic platform in the form of a sailing vessel dedicated to polar research.
