F0NDATION IRIS
SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITIONS
The documentary "Planète Méditerranée" , supported by the IRIS Foundation , traces the underwater epic of 4 divers in the Mediterranean sea with Laurent Ballesta, head of expeditions. They lived on board a yellow capsule of 5 square meters for a month, in July 2019 from which they left every day, in order to explore by diving between 60 and 120 meters deep the sites still preserved between Marseille and Monaco. A sublime beauty bath not to be missed!
Unknown biodiversity ...
At the border of life!
"Following the first expedition supported by the Iris Foundation on the Dallol site in 2016, very interesting scientific results were obtained by the team of researchers led by Purificación López-García and David Moreira:
- The discovery of life in these polyextreme, hyper acid, hyper basic and hyper saline sites near Dallol, by analyzes of metagenomes
- The discovery of a new group of archaea (unicellular organisms, different from bacteria) which have an interesting phylogenetic position (Baker et al. In prep).
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February 2020
7th Continent Expedition: Let's tackle everything!
"I first learned that the 7th continent of plastic waste does not exist as we imagine" Find here the entire short film directed by Sophie Lemoine, cook aboard the schooner "7th Continent" during the last scientific expedition in October 2019.
The Iris Foundation participated in shooting of some scenes of the future film by Luc Marescot entitled "Green lung and red carpet". These shots took place in the Gabonese equatorial forest. The main aim of this film is to disseminate as widely and as urgently as possible the message conveyed by the venerable French botanist Francis Hallé in his fight for the survival of tropical forests. The Iris Foundation supports this project.
February 2019
Shipping to Gabonese forest
© LAURENT PYOT
7th Continent Expedition
Association 7th Continent Expedition acquired in 2017 a sailboat, financed by the Iris Foundation , which allows it to go further in its fight against plastic pollution in the seas and oceans. This sailboat is made available to scientists working on plastics and also makes it possible to increase awareness-raising operations.
After 5 years of carrying out missions on the oceans of the planet to understand this subject, Alexandra TER HALLE points out that if we see a lot of macro waste in the oceans, they mainly come from single-use packaging intended for use. only a few minutes. It therefore makes sense and becomes urgent to mobilize all consumers and industrialists in civil society to change our consumption habits and reduce our production.
The objective of the September 2019 mission to the Mediterranean was to focus on plastic pollution invisible to the naked eye. 4 scientists and 4 sailors therefore embarked tools adapted to each size range. From tweezers for particles visible to the naked eye to the air filter for nanoparticles that can reach the atmosphere.
See here the press conference on the return of this shipping : https://youtu.be/-N7CwWmzm4I
West Papua Expedition
fondation iris, Raja Ampat, iles vue du ciel, au premier matin du monde
fondation iris, Raja Ampat, iles vue du ciel, au premier matin du monde
The second "Sciences and Images" expedition of the Iris Foundation took place in West Papua between December 2016 and January 2017. Part of the Raja Ampat archipelago famous for its extraordinary marine biodiversity, it then joined Triton Bay in the south of West Papua.
Bringing together scientists and artists in an environmental watch approach, its main objective was to highlight the extraordinary biodiversity of the regions crossed and to identify the dangers that threaten it , with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of conserving this environment. extraordinary natural heritage.
A book about this expedition is available in bookstores.
In March 2019, the Parliament of West Papua approved a law that makes this region the very first zone Conservation Authority of Indonesia. This new legal framework, unique in its kind, protects the most intact marine and terrestrial ecosystems that survive in Indonesia, promotes the development of sustainable livelihoods and recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples.
Dallol,
the quest for the first moments of life
The association "Aux Origines du Monde" organized from January 12 to 27, 2016 a mission on the site of Dallol in the Danakil depression in the northeast from Ethiopia, considered one of the most extreme environments on Earth. Although macroscopic life appears to be absent from this site, scientists in this project hypothesize that microbial life has developed there.
Purificación López-García , research director at CNRS and attached to Paris-Sud University in Orsay, is the scientific coordinator of the project. She was accompanied by 8 other scientists. A photo report and a documentary were carried out in the field by Olivier Grunewald .
This unique place is today in the middle of mining concessions for the exploitation of potash, which can in the very short term degrade this environment. The Iris Foundation has helped this scientific study, as well as its media coverage, so as to sensitize the Ethiopian authorities to the necessary protection of the site.
Shipping
in the small Sunda Islands
The Iris Foundation organize expeditions "Sciences and Images" whose objective is the study of fragile sites or sites with high biodiversity in order to promote their preservation.
The first of these expeditions took place in the Small Sunda Islands during the summer of 2015 aboard a traditional Indonesian boat. The richness of the natural sites and the cultural diversity of this string of islands which stretch east of Bali to the borders of Timor are a subject of study in its own right, a paradise for naturalists as well as for ethnologists.
The main goal of the participants in this expedition was to highlight the various environmental issues facing these regions today.
The logbooks of this expedition are available.
A book about this expedition is also available in bookstores.
Scientific mission
"At the center of the Earth"
This mission, led by the MAGMA EXPLORATION association, responded to the request for assistance from the Volcanological Observatory of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to relaunch research and monitoring as quickly as possible. Nyiragongo in the Virunga National Park listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
The central objective of the mission, which took place at the end of June-beginning of July 2015, was to resume scientific research with the main goal of improving the means of forecasting eruptions in order to alert and protect local populations. . This better understanding of volcanic activity has also contributed to the promotion of localized and controlled tourism in order to increase revenues and allow regular funding for the maintenance of the National Park. This Park is indeed home to an exceptional biodiversity, in particular endemic species and rare, globally endangered species such as the mountain gorilla.