Dinoflagellates Ceratium platycorne var platycorne (Photo : Sophie Marro)

Coccolithophore  (Photo : Sophie Marro)

Rosette used to collect seawater samples during a scientific cruise in the South Pacific Ocean. (Photo : Joséphine Ras)

Rosette used to collect seawater samples during a scientific cruise in the South Pacific Ocean. During the austral summer, the amount of chlorophyll a is so low that the water becomes deep blue, almost purple. (Photo : Joséphine Ras)

Surface chlorophyll a concentration in the Mediterranean Sea.

Diatom genus Hemiaulus (Photo : Sophie Marro)

Diatom genus Chaetoceros (Photo : Sophie Marro)

The research vessel "Marion Dufresne"

Villefranche-sur-Mer in stormy weather, winter 2011 -  Photo : J.-M. Grisoni

Dinoflagellate Ceratium arietinum var arietinum (Photo : Sophie Marro)

Phytoplankton bloom observed by the ocean color sensor MODIS onboard NASA satellite Terra in May 2010. The bloom spreads broadly in the North Atlantic from Iceland to the Bay of Biscay - Source : NASA's Earth Observatory (http:/earthobservatory.nasa.gov)

Average chlorophyll concentration in the surface ocean (from mi-September 1997 to August 2007) from the ocean color sensor SeaWiFS (NASA). Subtropical gyres, in the center of the oceanic basins, are characterized by very low concentrations of chlorophyll a (dark blue) - Source : NASA's Earth Observatory (http:/earthobservatory.nasa.gov)

Carte bathymétrique mondiale

Mollusk  (Photo : Fabien Lombard)

Tunicata Pyrosoma  (Photo : Fabien Lombard)