Post by Ocean Science Expeditions

🐋 TONGA 2025: Science & Swimming with Humpback Whales 🐋 We're thrilled to announce our expedition destination: the Kingdom of Tonga, where we'll be studying the remarkable recovery of Humpback whales as a lens into ocean health and climate resilience. Our interdisciplinary crew brings together cutting-edge science, storytelling and impact: 🔬 Sylvia Earle (Mission Blue) - Her Deepness, the legendary ocean scientist and explorer 🇹🇴 Lord Speaker Fakafanua Fatafehi - Tongan leader, Speaker of the Tongan Legislative Assembly ⛵️ Keith Tuffley (Ocean Science Expeditions) - Expedition Leader, ocean explorer 🦈 Arzucan Nur Askin (FRGS) (Anthroposea) - ocean scientist & National Geographic explorer  🧬 Dr. Kat Bruce (NatureMetrics) - eDNA scientist and explorer 🌍 Xiye Bastida - Indigenous climate & nature storytelling and youth advocacy  🐳 Jono Allen (Blue Vagabonds) - whale photographer 🩺 Dr Charlotte Harper & Dr Arabela Junqueira - Medical team, divers & explorers … together with a team of world-leading storytellers and filmmakers from Open Planet The Tonga humpback population's recovery from near-extinction to thriving numbers offers hope - but also urgent lessons. These whales are essential to ocean carbon cycling, fertilizing phytoplankton that absorb CO2 at planetary scales. Their story demonstrates both nature's resilience and our collective responsibility as stewards. This expedition will contribute to establishing a Hope Spot in partnership with local communities, while advancing field research methods that can be applied globally to monitor ocean health. Thank you to our core partners enabling this critical work: Mercuria, Silvania, OpenPlanet, Mission Blue, Anthroposea, NatureMetrics, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, BlueVagabonds, The Villars Institute, MSQ/Sustain 🌊 Follow our journey in real-time. #OSETONGA25 #OceanScienceExpeditions #ClimateTippingPoints #OceanScience Victoria Attwood Scott, Dr Tessa Hempson, Johan Rockström, Colin butfield, Claire Sharrock, Luca Pittalis, Michel André, Soraya Hidalgo, Lee Howell, Roman Guggisberg, Jessica Smith, Richard Armstrong, Rebecca Daniel, Bethany Hutchings, Huntley Penniman, Helena Sherman 💡, Ben Jefferies