“Science Mission accomplished!” - Boris Herrmann deploys Weather Buoy during Vendée Globe
by Team Malizia 18 Nov 2024 15:24 PST
Team Malizia's Boris Herrmann deployed a drifter buoy northwest of Cabo Verde this afternoon as he was racing in the Vendée Globe © Boris Herrmann / Team Malizia
Boris Herrmann, skipper of Team Malizia, deployed a weather buoy northwest of Cabo Verde this afternoon while racing in the Vendée Globe. The scientific instrument will drift with the Ocean currents and measure data crucial for weather forecasting predictions and climate change monitoring.
Boris Herrmann and his team have continuously carried scientific equipment onboard their IMOCA racing yacht since 2018, and are one of the top contributors of Ocean data in this year's Global Carbon Budget, one of the key publications in climate science.
While competing at the highest level in the toughest offshore races, Boris Herrmann and his Team Malizia have a mission to further scientific research, raise awareness for Ocean protection, and inspire ambitious climate action. This was particularly evident today as the Malizia - Seaexplorer skipper was sailing on Day 8 of the iconic Vendée Globe. As he was racing against his 39 competitors northwest of Cabo Verde, Boris Herrmann deployed one of the eight weather buoys in the race, just south of 21 degreesN this Tuesday afternoon at 14:00 UTC.
"With our team, we have deployed several weather buoys and other instruments like Argo floats numerous times in the last years, including the previous Vendée Globe, The Ocean Race, the Transat Jacques Vabre 2023, and The Transat CIC this spring" says the German skipper. "These buoys are very important for meteorology but also for climatology."
In a video sent a few hours ago, Boris Herrmann adds: "Hopefully today we are once again making a useful contribution to science and better understanding climate change, as well as improving weather and climate models!" Just after signing "There's no planet B", "Malizia", "Climate Action Now!", and his name, Boris Herrmann deployed the buoy: "Ok, let's get this overboard! Cheers, bye bye, bring us good measurements!" Facing the camera, he concluded: "Science mission accomplished!"
The drifter buoys float with the Ocean currents, and record temperature, surface currents, and atmospheric pressure data. Sébastien Péré from Météo France explains: "Atmospheric pressure can't be measured by satellites and drifter buoys are among the few tools available to obtain this information. This is why deploying them is crucial for accurate weather forecasting and climate change monitoring."
About 1,300 drifter buoys are currently deployed worldwide, with approximately 230 buoys in the North Atlantic where the IMOCA fleet is racing in the first week of the Vendée Globe 2024-2025. Several hundred new buoys need to be deployed each year to meet up the requirements of the WMO and ensure a minimum level of quality in weather forecasting. This drifter buoy deployment in this race is coordinated through UNESCO, the Vendée Globe, the IMOCA class, Météo France, and OceanOPS.
Sébastien Péré adds: "The data collected by the drifter buoys also improves vessel routing, helping to reduce environmental impacts. Boris was one of the pioneers among IMOCA skippers to deploy these buoys. In the Vendée Globe 2020-2021, he was one of only three sailors to do so. We are pleased that he has continued to do so over the years. It is great to see that more and more sailors are now doing the same."
Alongside Boris Herrmann, who has also been running the OceanPack since 2018, four other skippers will deploy weather buoys in an area with scarce observations between the Canary Islands and Cabo Verde. Two other skippers will deploy a different type of weather buoy near Cape of Good Hope and near Madagascar. In total, a record-number of 25 skippers are carrying scientific devices in this 10th edition of the race: OceanPack, Argo float, drifter buoy, planktoscope, weather station...
Raising awareness for Ocean and climate protection through the adventure of sailing is printed in Team Malizia's DNA and their A Race We Must Win - Climate Action Now! mission, which is supported by their seven main partners. "Like in every race, delivery or training we do, I also have the OceanPack onboard", explains the German skipper. "This automated laboratory very precisely measures Ocean CO2 concentrations, temperature and salinity data. By now, we've gathered one of the largest accessible datasets, which is freely available for scientists to use to better understand the role of the Ocean in the climate system."
Léa Olivier, postdoctoral researcher at the Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), is one of the scientists analysing Team Malizia's data. She says: "I am thrilled to be working closely with Team Malizia. The data they collected has already made an impact, with CO2 measurements from The Ocean Race feeding directly into the 2024 Global Carbon Budget - one of the key publications in climate science. The preprint was published three days ago and this is vital to understand the Ocean's role in absorbing carbon and buffering our climate. Malizia - Seaexplorer is even one of the top contributors on the Ocean data side this year!"
Earlier this year, the importance of even a single measurement campaign by Malizia - Seaexplorer in one race was also highlighted in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports. Scientists demonstrated that the data collected by Team Malizia's racing yacht considerably matters when estimating the Ocean carbon sink and fills essential measurement gaps, particularly in under-sampled regions such as the Southern Ocean.
Léa Olivier concludes: "This partnership between science and sport exemplifies the spirit of climate action and exploration. I can't wait to see the discoveries ahead as we race not only to the finish line, but for the future of our planet."
Team Malizia's A Race We Must Win - Climate Action Now! mission is only possible due to the strong and long-lasting commitment from its seven main partners: Hapag-Lloyd, Schütz, the Yacht Club de Monaco, EFG International, Zurich Group Germany, Kuehne+Nagel, and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company. These partners band behind Team Malizia to support its campaign, each of them working towards projects in their own field to innovate around climate solutions.