CETSM Hall | When two deep-sea scientists, a sailor and a cartoonist meet...

The comic book exhibition related to the MoMarsat 2022 mission, created by Damien Roudeau, based on an original idea by scientists Marjolaine Matabos and Jozée Sarrazin (BEEP Brest), can be seen in the CETSM Hall from February 20.

This journey was initiated several years ago during a conversation between two scientists specializing in the deep sea, Marjolaine Matabos and Jozée Sarrazin and Nicolas Le Roy, a crew from the Pourquoi pas? concerned about environmental issues related to the sea.
Gold, copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc, manganese... if the new Eldorado is to be found at the bottom of the oceans, mining also threatens luxuriant and still largely unknown ecosystems. What mineral wealth is hidden in the depths of the oceans? What is the historical context of underwater exploration and mining? Why is the exploitation of metals coming back to the forefront? What do we know about the biodiversity present at these depths? How can we acquire knowledge about the deep sea and better inform society?

In order to provide some answers, Marjolaine and Jozée, researchers in benthic ecology at Ifremer, asked to Damien Roudeau, cartoonist to participate in the oceanographic mission MoMarsat 2022 aboard the French research vessel Pourquoi pas? and to tell the story of this scientific mission in drawings, including the operations at sea, the sampling and the discoveries made with the manned submersible Nautile. Through a hundred drawings, Damien describes and shares the adventures of the scientists, pilots and crew members who work together toward a common goal: to improve our knowledge of deep-sea ecosystems.
After this one-month illustrated journal, a comic book story will be created in 2024 to embody the scientific, environmental and financial stakes of the quest for rare earths and strategic minerals through this mission.