Antipodes Sciences & Pédagogie – Under The Pole

Mission & Vision  

Founded in 2008 by French ocean explorers Ghislain Bardout and Emmanuelle Périé-Bardout, Under The Pole is a French exploration nonprofit leading scientific deep diving expeditions, dedicated to a single conviction: the ocean remains one of the least explored, least understood, and most threatened environments on Earth, and understanding it is the first step toward protecting it.  

Since its earliest expeditions, Under The Pole has combined scientific rigor with a spirit of pioneering exploration, developing innovative technologies and methods to access places conventional science rarely reaches — from polar waters to the mesophotic “twilight” zone of tropical reefs. Its teams of divers, scientists, and engineers work aboard the schooner WHY, a mobile scientific base that has carried expeditions across all the world’s ocean basins.  

Today, Under The Pole’s work is structured around three complementary missions — scientific exploration, education, and ocean conservation — carried out in close partnership with the CNRS (France’s National Centre for Scientific Research) and an international consortium of research institutions. Its long-term ambition is to generate the scientific knowledge needed to protect some of the ocean’s most fragile and least-known ecosystems, sharing the adventure along the way. 

Actions Led  

Under The Pole’s initiatives are designed to generate world-class scientific knowledge on some of the ocean’s least-explored ecosystems, inform conservation policy, and share this knowledge with the public. Key actions include:  

• Leading Long-Term Scientific Exploration: Since 2021, the DEEPLIFE program (2021–2030) — recognized by the UN Decade of Ocean Science — has coordinated a decade of expeditions dedicated to studying Marine Animal Forests (MAFs), the coral, sponge, and gorgonian-built ecosystems that perform functions similar to terrestrial forests.  

• Advancing Knowledge of the Mesophotic Zone: Working with the CNRS and an international scientific consortium, Under The Pole’s teams study MAFs from polar to tropical and temperate waters, examining their biodiversity, connectivity, and vulnerability to global change.  

• Pioneering New Exploration Technology: Under The Pole designs and tests innovative tools and underwater habitats — including immersive “Capsule” habitats — that allow scientists and divers to reach and study environments otherwise inaccessible to conventional diving. Starting this September, the team will begin preparing CAPSULE II, its next major expedition launching in summer 2027 in French Polynesia as part of the DEEPLIFE research program, allowing scientific divers will live and work up to 200 meters beneath the surface for several days at a time to study Marine Animal Forests in the Pacific. 

• Sharing Knowledge Through Education and Outreach: Findings from each expedition are translated into educational content and outreach programs for schools and the general public, extending the reach of science beyond the diving and research community.  

• Informing Ocean Conservation Policy: The knowledge generated through these missions feeds directly into recommendations aimed at developing appropriate conservation measures for largely unexplored marine environments.  

Through this combination of exploration, science, and education, Under The Pole works to ensure that the ocean’s most fragile ecosystems are understood and protected. 

Projects That U.S. Donors Can Support 

Supporting Under The Pole with Friends of Fondation de France is an opportunity for American donors, institutions, and corporations to directly advance ocean science and conservation while benefiting from U.S. tax deductions.  

Your contributions will help sustain the three core missions of Under The Pole: scientific exploration, education, and ocean conservation.  

Under The Pole’s 10-year research program, DEEPLIFE (2021–2030), recognized by the UN Decade of Ocean Science, focuses on the study of Marine Animal Forests (MAFs) — habitats that perform ecological functions similar to terrestrial forests, but are formed by animals such as corals, sponges, and gorgonians.

These ecosystems act as refuges for marine life and thrive particularly in the mesophotic zone. In partnership with the CNRS and an international scientific consortium, Under The Pole studies these ecosystems across all ocean basins, from polar to tropical and temperate regions.

The goal is to better understand their biodiversity and connectivity, assess their vulnerability to global change, and ultimately contribute to the development of appropriate conservation measures for these largely unexplored marine environments.

The knowledge generated and resulting recommendations are shared through educational and outreach activities targeting schools and the general public.

Donations will specifically support Under The Pole’s next major scientific mission, CAPSULE II: an innovative underwater habitat designed as both a refuge and a laboratory, enabling scientific divers to live and work in total immersion for several consecutive days. The mission will take place over six months, starting in August 2027 in French Polynesia. It will allow scientists to study fragile, ecologically essential yet little-known ecosystems in unprecedented detail.