Under The Pole III

For this third expedition, Under The Pole brought all its deep‑diving expertise to the exploration and research of the mesophotic zone, relying on innovative techniques and its two flagship tools: the sailing vessel WHY and the Capsule.

The aim of the various expeditions carried out under UTP III was to research the mesophotic zone (down to 174 m), where the last rays of light penetrate the ocean. This layer of the ocean is home to species and ecosystems that need protection. The deep‑diving techniques employed made these previously inaccessible areas reachable, allowing divers and scientists to explore and document them.

The DEEPHOPE scientific program :

The DEEPHOPE scientific research program was the first project of its scale focused on mesophotic coral reefs. A partnership was established with CRIOBE (Island Research and Environmental Observatory Center) to launch and implement the project, which brought together a consortium of 12 researchers to collect data on the survival of corals and marine life.

DEEPHOPE enabled in‑depth analyses of natural bioluminescence and fluorescence, deep corals of French Polynesia, Polynesian superpredators and overall marine biodiversity.

In total, scientists studied and sampled nearly 24 sites at depths ranging from 6 to 120 meters. Ten coral families and 38 coral genera were documented, and on April 4, 2019, in the Gambier Archipelago of French Polynesia, Ghislain Bardout and two divers collected the deepest reef coral ever sampled : a specimen of Leptoseris hawaiiensis at 172 meters. 

To carry out this large‑scale scientific program, eight international research centers participated, spanning four countries, including France, Australia, the United States and Monaco. The results of these scientific research programs were shared with the international scientific community through publications by the researchers on board the expeditions.