Global Warning
From January 2025 to March 2026, Malizia Explorer joined forces with Under The Pole, pioneers in deep-sea diving and scientific exploration, for an ambitious mission into the largely unexplored waters of Antarctica. Together, the teams supported the DEEPLIFE 2021-2030 programme, developed in partnership with the CNRS to study marine animal forests in the mesophotic zone, down to around 100 metres, and advance our understanding of these fragile ecosystems.
The mission was a logistical masterpiece, with almost daily dives to depths and locations rarely explored before. Researchers and divers documented underwater life and collected valuable observations to help build a better understanding of Antarctic biodiversity and contribute to its long-term protection.
True to Malizia Explorer’s dual mission of science and outreach, storytellers joined the expedition to bring this remote and interconnected ecosystem to audiences around the world. The mission also became a platform for raising awareness and supporting greater protection of Antarctica’s marine environment, particularly in the Antarctic Peninsula, one of the regions most affected by climate change.
And the mission reached far beyond the Antarctic Ocean, as through the My Ocean Challenge education programme, thousands of children were invited to join the expedition virtually and discover Antarctica alongside the team. One of the live educational classes alone reached more than 33,000 children, bringing the science, wildlife and challenges of this extraordinary ecosystem into classrooms around the world.
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After two intense months at the edge of the world, Malizia Explorer has returned to Ushuaia, marking the end of her third Antarctic expedition of the season and the conclusion of an extraordinary joint mission alongside Under The Pole and their vessel, the WHY.
The sailing research vessels Malizia Explorer and the Why from Under The Pole are reunited again for the final days of their joint mission in Antarctica… and what a journey it has been!
After setting sail on the 7th of January 2026, the crew onboard the Malizia Explorer headed south, the bow of the vessel pointed toward the Western Antarctic Peninsula. While some team members were still tucked away below deck, recovering from their first days of finding their sea legs, Dr. Lea Olivier from the Alfred Wegener Institute was keeping a close watch on the horizon. She was looking for fog, which often accompanies the “Antarctic Convergence” and signals the transition into polar waters.
