POLARIS

Citizen science is an excellent way to involve the general public in data acquisition while raising awareness of the environment.

« POLARIS, Coastal Observation Platform Applied to Research, Information and Awareness »

POLARIS is a collaborative platform created by Septentrion Environnement, a Marseille-based NGO. Combining citizen science and research in marine ecology, the platform offers methods and tools adapted to the different actors in the Aix Marseille Provence metropolitan area. A long-term action program, POLARIS enables the collection of field data in order to help implement management measures for the protection of Mediterranean ecosystems.

POLARIS provides technical and pedagogic support for the establishment of an observatory of the sea and the coast, on the scale of the Marseilles metropolis.

This project develops a new digital tool so that the largest number of amateur divers can collect data that will be analyzed by scientific research institutes by making the link with the problem of change climatic. This mobile application will bring together scientists, researchers, marine park managers and scuba divers, facilitating the collection of data on biodiversity in the Mediterranean sea. The app will enable divers to record their observations, transfer data to scientists and, more generally, discover the environment via a playful approach, this contributing to its collective management.