skipper Fabrice Amedeo takes advantage of the Vendée globe to probe the oceans

Navigator Fabrice Amedeo is participating in his third Vendée Globe. A solo trip around the world, in the service of oceanographic research. On his boat, he installed several sensors, including one dedicated to sampling microplastics. Valuable data made available to the University of Bordeaux.

It is currently operating off the coast of Cape Verde and the African coast. Fabrice Amedeo occupies 34th place in the provisional ranking for this 10th edition of the Vendée Globe. A sporting adventure, but also a scientific one, for the former journalist from Le Figaro, who became a professional skipper.

In appearance, his IMOCA resembles that of his competitors… In appearance only. On his boat, we find a few extra little things: instruments that evaluate the temperature, salinity and CO2 level of the water; but also tools capable of measuring the presence of plastic microparticles in the oceans that Fabrice Amedeo will cross. In his boat, a sensor pumps and filters seawater continuously to identify the presence of these microplastics.

This instrument does not belong to the skipper, but to the University of Bordeaux. It was installed in partnership with two campus laboratories: the Oceanic and Continental Environments and Paleoenvironments Unit and the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of Membranes and Nano-objects.

“It is a column equipped with three filters of different sizes: a first filter at 300 microns, a second filter at 100 microns and a third at 30 microns, explains Jérôme Cachot, teacher-researcher at the University of Bordeaux at the EPOC laboratory in aquatic ecotoxicology, responsible for analyzing the microplastics collected during this Vendée Globe. This column is changed every day by Fabrice, which allows us to have a very precise idea of ​​the contamination of the oceans.”

Each sample is kept in an airtight box, we will analyze them here in Bordeaux upon its return.

Jérôme Cachot,

teacher-researcher at the University of Bordeaux in aquatic ecotoxicology

This collaboration between Fabrice Amedeo and the University of Bordeaux is not new. In 2020, during a previous participation in the Vendée Globe, the skipper was already sailing for science. Using data collected four years ago, scientists were able to prove the omnipresence of microplastics in the Atlantic Ocean. “We also noticed an over-representation of cellulose fibers modified by humans. A material found in textiles, paper and in cigarette filters”indicates Jérôme Cachot.

Almost all samples collected contained microplastics. When we look at the data collected at 30 microns, we count around 200 microplastics per cubic meter.

Jérôme Cachot,

teacher-researcher at the University of Bordeaux in aquatic ecotoxicology

In 2020, Fabrice Amedeo was forced to stop his Vendée Globe off the coast of South Africa. This year, scientists hope that the navigator will continue its adventure beyond the Atlantic Ocean. “We expect a lot from this 2024 edition. We may be able to collect samples in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. This would allow us to measure the extent of microplastic pollution”indicates the teacher-researcher.

Unfortunately, we believe that this contamination is well established… These plastics have been used on a large scale since the 1950s.

Jérôme Cachot,

Teacher-researcher at the University of Bordeaux in aquatic ecotoxicology

Like Fabrice Amedeo, twenty-five of the forty skippers lined up at the start of the Vendée Globe are participating in oceanographic research. In partnership with UNESCO, all have embarked devices capable of collecting essential data for scientists. A project carried out far from major maritime routes to enrich global knowledge of the ocean and climate.