The Ocean Race to collect more environmental data than any other sporting event in the world

Round-the-World Regatta to Measure Microplastic Pollution, Gather Information on the Impact of Climate Change on Oceans, and Gather Data to Improve Global Weather Forecasting

The next edition of The Ocean Race, which will set sail from Alicante, Spain on January 15, will feature the most ambitious and comprehensive scientific program ever created by a sporting event: the measurement of microplastic pollution.

Each vessel participating in the grueling six-month round-the-world trip will carry specialist equipment aboard to measure a number of variables during the 60.000km journey, which will be analyzed by scientists from eight leading research organizations to better understand the state of the Ocean. Sailing through some of the most remote parts of the planet, rarely reached by science vessels, the teams will have a unique opportunity to collect vital data where information is lacking on two of the greatest threats to the health of the seas: the impact of climate change and microplastic pollution.

The race

Launched during the 2017-18 edition of the regatta in collaboration with 11th Hour Racing, Premier Partner of The Ocean Race and founding partner of the Racing with Purpose sustainability program, the innovative science program will capture even more types of data in the next regatta, including for the first time the levels of oxygen and trace elements in the water. The data will also be delivered to scientific partners faster in this edition, transmitted by satellite and reaching organizations, including the World Meteorological Organization, National Oceanography Centre, Max Planck Society, Center National de la Recherche Scientifique and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in real time time.

Stefan Raimund, scientific director of The Ocean Race

“A healthy ocean is not only vital for the sport we love, it regulates the climate, feeds billions of people and provides half of the planet's oxygen. Its decline affects the whole world. To stop it, we need to provide governments and organizations with scientific evidence and demand that they act on it.

“We are in a unique position to contribute to this; data collected during our previous races has been included in crucial state of the planet reports that have informed and influenced government decisions. Knowing that we can make a difference in this way has inspired us to further expand our science program and partner with more of the world's leading scientific organizations to support their vital research."

During The Ocean Race 2022-23, 15 types of environmental data will be collected

Climate Change Indicators: Two boats, 11th Hour Racing Team and Team Malizia, will carry OceanPacks, which take water samples to measure levels of carbon dioxide, oxygen, salinity and temperature, providing insights into the impact of climate change on the ocean . Trace elements including iron, zinc, copper and manganese will also be captured for the first time. These elements are vital for the growth of plankton, an organism essential as it is the first part of the food chain and the largest producer of oxygen in the ocean.

• Microplastic pollution: GUYOT environnement – ​​​​Team Europe and Holcim – PRB will regularly take water samples during the race to test for the presence of microplastics. As in the previous edition of the Competition, the quantity of microplastics will be measured along the entire process and, for the first time, samples will also be analyzed to determine from which plastic product the fragments originated (for example a bottle or a bag of expense) .
• Weather Data: The entire fleet will use onboard weather sensors to measure wind speed, wind direction and air temperature. Some teams will also deploy drifter buoys in the Southern Ocean to capture these measurements on an ongoing basis, along with location data, which helps better understand how currents and climate are changing. Weather data will help improve weather forecasting and is particularly valuable for predicting extreme weather events, as well as revealing insights into long-term climate trends.
• Ocean Biodiversity: Biotherm is collaborating with the Tara Ocean Foundation to test an experimental research project to study ocean biodiversity during the race. An onboard automated microscope will record images of marine phytoplankton on the ocean surface, which will be analyzed to provide insights into phytoplankton diversity in the ocean, along with biodiversity, food webs and the carbon cycle.

Open Source

All data collected is open-source and shared with scientific partners of The Ocean Race – organizations around the world who are examining the impact of human activity on the ocean – fueling reports, including those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and databases such as the Surface Ocean Carbon Dioxide Atlas, which provides data for the Global Carbon Budget, an annual carbon dioxide assessment that informs carbon reduction targets and forecasts.

The Ocean Race science programme, supported by 11th Hour Racing, Time to Act Partner Ulysse Nardin and Official Plastic-Free Ocean Partner Archwey, is being stepped up at a time when the impact of human activity on the ocean is becoming more widely understood . Recent studies have highlighted how warmer temperatures in the ocean are fueling extreme weather events and sea levels are predicted to rise at a faster-than-expected rate, while whales have been found to ingest millions of microplastics every day.

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