For the United Nations, the 2021-2030 decade will be dedicated to ocean sciences for sustainable development. Iodysseus, an interdisciplinary program (sailing, marine ecology and atmospheric microbiology) based in Brest (France), is part of this objective.
Derived from the association of the word “iodine” and “odyssey”, Iodysseus is a tribute to the harvesters of the sea. The principle? Sending oceanographic racing yachts to collect and analyze plankton samples. But that’s not all, the program also provides scientific mediation to the general public, in order to raise awareness of the marine environment. The skipper Éric Defert is the carrier of the Iodysséus program. With his crew on their sport trimaran, he combines the pleasure of being at sea with scientific research.
When the technology of competitive sailing is used for science
The program meets the expectations of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and the United Nations’ SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). It also contributes to the popularization of knowledge about the oceans and all the potential they hold. Plankton, unknown to the general public, is a major player in the climate and a bioresource of the future.
