The Bougainville mission consists of having students from the Sorbonne University Alliance embark aboard various French Navy vessels (Overseas Support and Assistance Ships; BSAOM) and equipping them with different sensors and low-cost instruments to study plankton (and environmental conditions) in distant areas that are rarely sampled, including the Southern, Indian, and Central Pacific Oceans, as well as many marine regions that are inaccessible for safety reasons. The Planktoscope in particular makes it possible to quantify and characterize the plankton present—data that complements the genomic data also collected. This mission raises awareness and engages students from the Sorbonne University Alliance and French Navy sailors in a global eco-citizen initiative to measure and protect our oceans. Learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvBehrat–w”
