Blancpain supports the Gombessa expedition

In association with documentary filmmaker Luc Jacquet, Laurent Ballesta and Blancpain have embarked on the third Gombessa expedition.

In the wake of their first adventure which revealed the secrets of the coelacanth, and the second which allowed an up-close study of the camouflage grouper, the French marine biologist and the Vaud watchmaker have returned to the Antarctic for a pioneering exploratory, diving and photographic mission.

Part of Luc Jacquet’s «Wild-Touch Expeditions - Antarctica» project, this expedition aims to measure the impact of global warming on the polar region and to raise awareness among the general public. Thanks to a team of technical divers venturing below the ice shelf, the first naturalist images of the Antarctic’s unfamiliar deep-sea ecosystems can be brought to the surface.

At the request of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris and the National Centre of Scientific Research in Marseille, the Gombessa III team is improving our knowledge of deep-sea fauna in relation to the problem of global warming. This project makes all underwater footage available to researchers for the purposes of scientificpublications. The expedition can be followed on the blog www.blancpain-ocean-commitment.com.

January 28, 2016