Day 11: Different perspectives Earth – Sea the October 5th
October 5th 2025 | Meeting the people of Mayotte on the ground and under the blue lagoon’ sun
Authors : Laëtitia & Judith (on the ground) – Léa (on board)
1. Meetting the people of Mayotte
With Marie-Eve, we (Judith and Laëtitia) have been named to go on the ground for the October 5th’ day with Jacques. This national day is dedicated to the resilience in the face of natural disasters (sismic, volcanic, marine submersion, hurricanes etc.), on a people of Mayotte’s territory which face a lot of extreme events. For the scientific team, the goals of this day are to introduce the MAYOBS campaigns and the main results and understanding of the Mayotte’s geology, in reply to researched did after the seismic and volcanic crises in 2018. As students, our aim was to highlight the educational projects carried out on board the ship.
When we waked-up, around 6am, we alrealdy were in the Mayotte’s lagoon, calm with the presence of some fishers in lakas. The apointment is scheduled at 6.30 am at the gangway leading to the shore. After reaching the Marion anchorage between Petite Terre and Grande Terre, the first shuttle departs with the first part of the group. (Pictures 1 and 2) Our « taxi boat » come 15 minutes later to, at last, to disembark at the Mamoudzou jetty, next to the barges which do return trips with Petite-Terre.
Picture 1: Léa, Lucie and Manon who are seeing us going to Mamoudzou in taxi boat. Credit: Judith
We arrive under big barnums ordered next to the tourisme office and the covered market, closed this day. On the other side is organised the bi-annual canoe race with a presenter who is fully committed to their role. The scientific team is welcomed with a breakfast featuring chicken samosas and ginger tea (there were also pastries and pancakes – yum yum!). The stands take place : posters, disposition of rocks come from yesterday’s dredging, and preparation of diaporamas or videos. During this time, without going too far, Faymida takes us to enjoy the view on the harbour.
Picture 2. The two of us at the start before to take the taxi. Credit Laëtitia
Around 9.30am, and after have taken some photos in front of the #<3Mamoudzou, the conferences can begin. It is Anne Lemoine who kicks things off with a presentation about the observation of the seismic and volcanic crisis in link with the creation of the new Fani Moare building. We take place at the control room to thin the presentations’ transitions and also to take pictures of the event.
Picture 3. Mamoudzou’s slum, on the side of the Laka’s Island in the foreground on the left. Credit Judith
Presentations follow one after another and come the moment of the introduction of educational projects. The University of Mayotte event begins with personal accounts of their respective experiences and feelings whilst on a scientific mission, with the added bonus of an excerpt from their video clip edited by Aboubacar. Faymida concludes the presentation with a speech in Shimaore (Photo 4, right).
Pictures 4-5. Isabelle and Jean-Christophe (mission heads) during the conference and Faymida during the University of Mayotte’introduction. Credits Laëtitia and Judith.
It is our turn next, Floating University, to sharing our experience like youg scientists on board of a monitoring campaign. The introduction is short but anables us to intruduce ourselves to the a small audience still present. It is Isabelle wo finish the morning’s conference with a general introduction of the geology around Mayotte.
Animations migrate to the stands : associations, prevention, science… Some lacals people, alone or in family, are curious and make a detour.
The BRGM’s stand works well and enable to visualize the sebed throught a mock-up. Next, a Game of the Goose version Game of the Seahorse interess youngs from the island. Finally, the rocks recovered from the dredging are also making an impression, and Marin explains their origin to the small groups.
Picture 6: Fabien explains why operates a volcano with a diagram to a young man from Mayotte on the BRGM’s stand. Credit Laëtitia
The time pass quickly and it is already the time to set off again to the Marion Dufresne, who impress by this size, the same than the little island behind it. The first group go around 3pm and we wait the second boat which takes us back. We’d barely arrived when we found our colleagues in the middle of a treasure hunt! We didn’t want to disturb them; we’d have time to chat later.
Picture 9. The Marion from the taxi boat. Crédit Judith
The pilot come back on the ship to enables us to leave the lagoon and we, we enjoy the start to say good bye at the island, which we’ll see only from far whilst admiring the sunset on the deck.
2) Under the lagoon’s sun (on board)
With Lucie, we wake up at 4am. During that someone are finishing their watch or are going to bed, we are getting ready to attend the arrived of the Marion Dufresne in the Mayotte’s lagoon, on the occasion of the Resilience’s day organised this October 5th. The pilot-boat comes on time, 5am, and the pilot comes aboard whereas the ship continues to navigate. An unforgettable experience! We have the luck to watch a superb sunrise, around 5.45am, a rare and privileged moment (but not for everyone!), shared with some courageous people already on the boat.
Upon entering in the Mayotte’s lagoon, the spectacle is breathtaking: turquoise waters, a golden light…but also a little smell of burning which is surprising. It comes frome the slash-and-burn farming, still practicated on the island, like said during the Seminary 2. Around 7.30am, the navire drop the anchor in the Mamoudzou’s bay. The 24 participants to the day on the ground wait to board the water taxi, which is accessed from the sea via a very steep ladder – a little aventure in itself!
During that Judith and Laëtitia take part of the activities on the ground, other students take advantage to catch up on a few hours’ sleep or try to make progress with their work (writing seminar papers, revising, etc.). We even get to watch canoe races – a moment that’s as spectacular as it is unexpected!
After the lunch, the atmosphere relaxes on board: a treasure hunt is organised by Cloé and Lisa, two PhD students from the dredging team. Two teams face off: The Marine Worms and the Goldfishes. After a fiercely contested match, particularly after battling through the rough terrain, victory went (unsurprisingly!) to the Marine Worms!
By their side, some students roll up their sleeves and lend a hand to the crew, in between activities (Picture 11). During the end of the day, at 4pm, an appointment is made at the Science PC for a guided tour of the ship. Some spaces are introduced – an immersion you can discover in the section Crews on board.
Picture 11. Raphaëlle and Jules are helping the crew. Credit Léa
Attention, vous utilisez un navigateur peu sûr !