Floating Igloo Leaves France for Polar Exploration Mission

A floating 'igloo' research station has left France for the Arctic, where it will drift with polar ice to study climate change and life in one of Earth’s harshest environments

A floating research station shaped like a giant aluminium igloo has left France on a two-year Arctic mission to study biodiversity and the effects of climate change. The station will drift with sea ice while an international team of scientists collects more than 10,000 samples despite extreme cold, months of darkness and the risk of polar bear encounters.

Floating igloo leaves France for polar exploration mission

The Tara Polar Station's specific shape enables it to withstand ice pressure and drift for months on end in a controlled fashion with the pack ice to explore biodiversity and the impact of climate change. While the vessel was built in France, some 30 research centres from 12 countries -- including Germany, Canada, Spain, the US, Switzerland, and Japan -- are participating in the expedition. "The Arctic is an ocean that has been little studied an…

Research station: Floating igloo leaves France for polar exploration mission