Tara Coral Expedition to Study Reef Resilience

The schooner departs from Lorient in Brittany on sunday on an 18-month mission dubbed Tara Coral.

the expedition will take it to the tropical waters of the Coral Triangle – a region encompassing 5.7 million square kilometres of ocean between Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon islands and Timor-Leste.

Nicknamed “the Amazon of the seas”, the zone contains some 600 different species of coral and is a hotspot of marine biodiversity.

Coral reefs provide precious habitats for underwater life,supporting an estimated one million other species. Yet as oceans warm, marine scientists have reported coral bleaching and death on a scale never seen before.

World’s coral reefs crossing survival limit, global experts warn

Secrets of endurance

Researchers hope to discover why some corals are more resistant to rising temperatures than others. They’ll collect samples and analyze the genetic makeup of resilient corals, searching for clues to unlock their survival mechanisms.