Partner profile
FOREL
The Forel Heritage Association’s mission is to provide scientists with a mobile scientific platform in the form of a sailing vessel – FOREL – dedicated to polar and subpolar research.
Location
Switzerland
Category
Non-profit scientific research
The Forel Heritage Association is a non-profit organization responsible for the scientific mandate of the research sailing vessel FOREL.
Highlighting the ongoing efforts to protect ocean health, Mercuria proudly stands as one of FOREL’s leading sponsors.
Mercuria’s expertise in renewable energy and its commitment to promote sustainability will help FOREL to leverage the results gathered by the platform to help decision-makers propose solutions for future generations.
Who or what is FOREL?
FOREL is a 28-meter long motorized sailing vessel with an aluminum hull allowing her to navigate in polar and sub-polar regions. The vessel has been refitted in Lorient in western France, as a scientific platform including basic oceanography equipment such as CTD, a rosette and a Ferrybox for physicochemical measurements and water sampling.
The platform is equipped with a winch and cable, allowing various samples to be collected at depths of up to 1,000 meters. Lab benches, fume hoods, Milli-Q water production, freezers, chemical cabinets, etc. have been installed to accommodate additional equipment that scientists will be able to bring on board as part of their projects. It has the ambition to train young sailors and scientists to the challenges of the polar regions.
Photo Credit: Julien Girardot Photography
She is named after François-Alphonse Forel, a Swiss scientist born in 1841 whose research in biology, chemistry, water circulation, sedimentation and their interactions laid the foundations for a new discipline: limnology.
Why do science in polar and sub-polar regions?
The polar and sub-polar regions are the climate sentinels and are proving to be a key to anticipate the effects of climate change on our planet. This is why these regions are unique fields of study for researchers from a wide range of disciplines (glaciology, oceanography, biology, atmospheric science, etc.).
FOREL will focus on coastal areas that are difficult to access with large platforms. These coastal zones are very dynamic and extremely important as they are the point of exchange between the terrestrial and oceanic environments.
The research programs carried out by scientists aboard FOREL will provide a better understanding of the impact of anthropogenic disturbances on polar ecosystems, in the context of current and future climate scenarios.
Photo Credit: Julien Girardot Photography
How is Forel Heritage Association helping preserve polar regions?
In order to make the polar regions a shared responsibility and preserve them, the Forel Heritage Association aims to share knowledge of polar science to a broad audience.
Our primary objective is to communicate the scientific programs carried out during our various missions, working directly with researchers, and making their science accessible. The aim is to raise public awareness of climate change and its impacts.
Photo Credit: Julien Girardot Photography
2023 PARTNER PROFILES
ARC Marine
Forel
Natron
UpLink & 1t.org
Reporting areas
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Planet
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