After 25 days we finally came back home. 

Mission completed.

We will miss it....au revoir, see you in the WestMedFlux 2 :)

Our ping pong tournement finally has a winner! Thanks to everyone for the great participation!!

Everything works better after a good italan coffee... including the conductivity measurements!

France, Russia, Algeria, Italy, Spain, Belgium: we are really international!

Pot de mid-campaigne... socialize for science!

Our captain and chef de mission together! we are in good hands :)

Sculpure made of precious deep Mediterranean Sea sediments...for sale now!

There are many places on boat to relax and enjoy a good company (and a good weather!)

A daily fitness is organized in the geochemical laboratory: shaking the bottles for gas analysis.

Exchanging thoughts on the discovery of a new sediment feature in the Western Mediterranean.  

Everything is ready for our international core description! :)

Today all people on board (with a great participation of the crew) listened to a lecture dedicated to our mission!

Just in front of the alcalinity table we've got the conductivity measurements!

Before doing alcalinity estimation, we have to get some samples of core pore water for ions analysis...smiling!

Data acquisition control needs someone checking for the instrument from a sunny viewpoint!

Part of the team has to interpret the seismic profiles to select the right place to core and to do heat flow measurements...

Today is Sunday but also 1st of May (Labour Day) and Russian Easter...three good reasons to relax but the bell is calling us to our duty on sea! Luckily our day began with a good croissant :)

Thanks to the strong and efficient crew, our sediment corer is ready to attack any possible seabed.

Sitting on his instrument, the master is explaining to his disciples the secrets of marine heat flow acquisition.

Enjoy a mediterranean sunset after a hard working day

The WestMedFlux mugs not only serve for drinking coffee and staying awake at night shift, but also give an indication of the state of the sea.

Each section of the core is described in detail by sedimentologists.

For his birthday, Oleg was allowed to start the heat flow probe. (The chief was keeping an eye on his)

This is what we are looking at in the laboratory when our heat flow probe is in de sediments.

Full action for the first core onboard: while the sawing team takes a first look at the sediments, the others clean and prepare the piston corer for the next station.

Be careful when you are working on the desk : a stormy sea can take you by surprise and offer you a big salt-water shower!

Too windy weather forced us to change our plan: we left the Gulf of Lion and we are now sailing towards the Balearic margin.

Some physical exercices are needed to survive one month on the ship.

More than 30 black pilot whales escorted us until our next heat-flow station.

Fluids are regularly extracted along each section of all cores.

First heat-flow measurements in the Gulf of Lion. The probe is put into water.

Fashion-day on the Atalante: all scientifics try on the magnificent survival suit.

Participants arrived onboard and worked on the desk to prepare all scientific tools... under the watchful eye of the chief!

Four of us went today from Paris to Toulon. Tomorrow morning we will go on the research vessel L'Atalante. The others will arrive tomorrow by plane and will join us in the afternoon.

We spend several days in St-Maur and at Ifremer Brest for preparing our heat flow probe.