Sea and diving facility
The marine facilities (vessels and instrumentation) and scientific diving capabilities provide privileged access to the coastal environment and its marine resources, supporting observation, research, and teaching activities. These services are offered within the framework of the EMBRC-France infrastructure.
The coastal environment in the immediate vicinity of the Roscoff Biological Station offers a wide range of conditions and habitats, from estuarine areas to rocky or sedimentary seabeds (down to 80 m), hosting exceptional biodiversity on the scale of the North Atlantic.
The diving team can operate autonomously, in particular to collect biological material, implement protocols, carry out experiments, or support research projects. In such cases, the team handles all or part of the logistical and technical organization of diving operations, ensures the safety supervision of these activities, and provides technical assistance in the field. It can also offer upstream expertise (selection of study sites, technical development of protocols and required equipment, etc.).
Research infrastructure
Contact(s)
- Yann FontanaResponsable Service Mer et Plongée
Services
Diving services
- Selective harvesting of marine fauna and flora.
- Implementation of visual inspection protocols (including photo/video)
- Sampling or collection by various means (manual, coring, suction, etc.)
- Installation of underwater experimental devices.
- Deployment/maintenance of submerged sensors.
- Provision of photo and video support.
- Training
Use of vessels
Vessels are mainly used for day or half-day trips. However, it is possible to organise night-time or multi-day campaigns, within the limits of the vessel’s equipment capacity.
These vessels can be equipped with various fishing gear, equipment and scientific instruments made available for conducting campaigns at sea. The equipment fleets are either owned by the stations or managed by them on behalf of the Coastal Oceanographic Park (delocalised park).
The vessels have the necessary scientific fishing authorisations to carry out sampling campaigns at sea.
Equipments
Light craft
All vessels belonging to the Sea & Diving Service can be used as diving support craft, but the light craft (Zoé and Aurelia) are used more frequently.
Their transportability allows them to be deployed along the entire coastline of Brittany.
Diving equipment
- Individual equipment (rebreathers, scooters, tanks: regulators/BCDs, etc.)
- Low-pressure Nitrox filling station
- High-pressure filling station
- Nitrox filling available from 36 to 300 bar
- B50 diving oxygen (rebreather filling)
Coastal research vessels
The Neomysis (length: 12 m) operates within a 30-mile radius of Roscoff (from Les Abers to Lannion Bay). Missions beyond this area may be scheduled under certain conditions. The Neomysis can carry up to 12 passengers.
People
