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The Institut de la Mer de Villefranche (IMEV) has been observing the northwestern Mediterranean for over half a century, between Nice and Calvi (Corsica), from the coast to offshore. This is done using fixed observatories (buoys, moorings), underwater robots (gliders, profiling floats), boats, and satellites.
Essential oceanic variables (physical, chemical, biological) are collected and used to study the impacts of climate change and anthropogenic pressure at various temporal and spatial scales on the marine ecosystem, including the evolution of water masses, variability of biogeochemical content, changes in plankton communities, and acidification.
The Villefranche station hosts several observation services accredited by CNRS-INSU (SOMLIT, COAST-HF, PHYTOBS, MOOSE, ARGO-France), integrated into several marine infrastructures supported by French Ministry of Research and Education (ILICO, EMSO-France, EURO-ARGO), as well as European (BOUSSOLE) and national (RadeZoo, RadeMicro) programs.
The OSU STAMAR, created on July 30, 2020, is an Observatory of the Sciences of the Universe (OSU) and a component of Sorbonne University under the dual supervision of Sorbonne University and the CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research). It brings together all the research structures hosted in the three marine stations of Sorbonne University, namely the Institut de la Mer de Villefranche , the Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls-sur-Mer, and the Station Biologique de Roscoff, comprising 12 federations and research units with approximately 650 researchers, teacher-researchers, engineers, technicians, and administrative staff.
Monitoring the coastal zone at IMEV is part of the Coastal Environment Observation Service (SNO SOMLIT) since 1995, with the aim of providing a basic description of environmental characteristics in the French coastal area. In Villefranche, this monitoring has been conducted in the bay at Point B (43°41′ N / 7°19′ E) since 1957, involving weekly sampling of about fifteen oceanographic variables at six depths in the water column.
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SNO COAST-HF is a national network aimed at coordinating and federating a set of instrumented fixed platforms for high-frequency in-situ measurement of key parameters in coastal waters across the French coastline. In Villefranche, this monitoring utilizes sensors for temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and pH installed beneath the surface of the EOL buoy at the entrance to the Villefranche bay, with a data acquisition frequency of 30 minutes.
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SNO PHYTOBS aims to establish a national network of micro-phytoplankton observation devices characterized by high sampling frequencies and numerous measured variables, including total phytoplankton estimation. At IMEV, this monitoring is carried out at the Point B site.
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SNO MOOSE is a multidisciplinary network integrated into the northwestern Mediterranean basin. It aims to monitor changes in marine ecosystems, estimate long-term trends and anomalies in processes characterizing the evolution of this basin. In Villefranche, SNO MOOSE includes activities at the DYFAMED site, Cap Ferrat, and the Nice-Calvi radial glider.
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For the past 20 years, hundreds of Argo robots have been observing the physical dynamics of the global ocean. An Argo float is a profiling float that moves through the ocean, transported by currents and capable of autonomously diving and resurfacing between the surface and depths of up to 2000 meters. Some of the Argo float fleet is equipped with biogeochemical sensors. Within the framework of SNO ARGO-France and the EURO-ARGO Research Infrastructure Consortium, IMEV is heavily involved in the development and deployment of these BGC-Argo floats, regularly deployed in various regions worldwide, including the Mediterranean, North Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and Australian waters.
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EMSO-France is a research infrastructure coordinated by CNRS and IFREMER for the development and maintenance of fixed-point seafloor and water column observatories. This distributed research infrastructure is the French node of the European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) EMSO. In Villefranche, it involves the management of the DYFAMED mooring, composed of autonomous sensors for monitoring water masses and particle traps for carbon and organic matter export measurements in intermediate and deep waters.
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The BOUSSOLE program aims to acquire a series of bio-optical data for the calibration and validation of water color satellite data. This program is supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Center for Space Studies (CNES). It is structured around a high-frequency autonomous mooring, a series of monthly campaigns, and an AERONET-type atmospheric station.
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This service digitizes collected zooplankton samples using ZOOSCAN. As part of observation activities, the service systematically analyzes zooplankton species collected at Point B, DYFAMED, and during the annual MOOSE-GE campaign.
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Since 2012, RadeMicro has been monitoring the temporal changes in phytoplankton composition at six depths in the water column, derived from pigment analysis. Its objective is to characterize planktonic populations, their responses to environmental constraints, and derive ecological indicators.
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National Observation Service (Service National d’Observation)
Research Infrastructure (Infrastructure de Recherche)
Very Large Research Infrastructure (Très Grande Infrastructure de Recherche)
European Research Infrastructure Consortium
Biogeochemical component of the Argo profiling float network (Composante biogéochimique du réseau de flotteurs profileurs Argo)
Coastal and Littoral Research Infrastructure(Infrastructure de recherche LIittorale et COtière)
Mediterranean Ocean Observing System for the Environment
Coastal Environment Observation Service (Service d'Observation en Milieu Littoral)
National Center for Space Studies (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales)
European Space Agency
Institut de la Mer de Villefranche FR 3761
