An international consortium of researchers (Sorbonne, CNRS, Stanford, University of Maine), sailors (Tara Ocean Foundation), and ‘makers’ (SeaLabX, PontonZ) created in 2015 the ‘Plankton Planet’ project. Plankton Planet wants to spark the curiosity and knowledge of the “citizens of the seas”, and the creativity of a new generation of researchers in global ecology, toward a cooperative, frugal and sustainable measurement of the invisible life of the ocean.
A measure that will not only allow us to understand the biodiversity and the evolution of the ocean’s microbiome, but also to incorporate its complexity into mathematical models of the Earth, in order to re-establishing a stable, symbiotic cohabitation of living beings (including us!) in the biosphere.
Mission Bougainville
The Bougainville Mission, in collaboration with the Ocean Institute and the French Navy, aims to raise awareness about the ocean’s microbiome and to ally Sorbonne University’s students and French Navy sailors in a planetary citizen approach to measure and protect our oceans.
PlanktoScope
A frugal, high-quality microscope for quantitative imaging of the microbiome designed with an open-source mentality. It was conceived within the idea of equipping the thousands of sailors exploring the oceans.
Curiosity microscope
Rethink scientific mediation around plankton with a simple, eco-responsible tool and accessible to all.
DNA/RNA kit
We develop devices and protocols for the analysis of microbiome’s DNA/RNA for in-situ collection of samples.
Plankton & Arts
We put exceptional plankton images and moovies/3D-prints in the hands of children and artists, stimulating an emotional and intuitive interpretation/representation of the invisible world that drives the ecological cycles of our planet.
