Tara Polar Station departed Lorient, France, for the Arctic on 19 July. Bringing together more than 30 research institutes from 12 countries, the expedition will support a broad range of international scientific programmes, including the Swiss-led ARKTIS project.
The vessel will first sail to Rotterdam, Netherlands, for refuelling, before continuing to Tromsø, Norway, where the first members of the overwintering team will come aboard and begin the handover. A final technical stop in Kirkenes, Norway, will allow the full crew to embark before setting out to meet the polar night. In mid-August, Tara Polar Station will rendezvous with Xue Long, the research icebreaker operated by the Polar Research Institute of China, which will clear a path through the sea ice. The aim is for Tara Polar Station to freeze into the ice near 82°N, 140°E in early September and start her drift.
A crew of twelve people—five sailors, six scientists and one ship’s correspondent—will spend a nine-month overwintering period aboard the Tara Polar Station. This period is also one of the expedition’s most demanding phases, as the next crew will not arrive until mid-April. Throughout the journey, Tara Polar Station and members of the ARKTIS research team will collect an interdisciplinary suite of samples and observations for the ARKTIS project. These measurements will improve our understanding of the rapidly changing Arctic Ocean and its ecosystems, the interactions between the ocean, sea ice and atmosphere, and the Arctic’s role in the global climate system.
copyright: Francois Dourlens/ Fondation Tara Ocean
More info:
- https://www.science.org/content/article/dozen-people-will-spend-8-months-trapped-arctic-ice-science
- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/02/arctic-tara-ocean-foundation-expedition-floating-lab-explore-life-adrift-ice
- https://www.gp.se/nyheter/varlden/de-ska-overleva-atta-manader-fastfrusna-i-arktis.94c785e1-535e-46f5-bdc7-90e7d11919e1 (in Swedish)
