Le Figaro Lyon
This is a first. Divers from Lyon have just taken the road to the Swiss glaciers to explore the lake located at the foot of the place where the Rhône is formed, at 2429 meters above sea level. A descent three meters under the ice that, as surprising as it may seem, had never been achieved before. "Homo sapiens kept this feeling of conquistador. He looks far away and sometimes he forgets what is near him, "says Lionel Rard, founder and animator of Odysseus 3.1, the association at the initiative of the expedition.
A project matured in recent years to discover the source of the 2nd tributary of the Mediterranean Sea which crosses Lyon from north to south. "I inquired about this source and learned that it had never been explored. It seemed obvious to me then that we had to be the first to go there because we always remember the first times when it comes to exploration, "says Lionel Rard.
Scientific, ecological and artistic objective
Because beyond the pioneering side of this dive, it will have an important scientific interest and is supported, among others, by the University of Geneva, INRAE or the Rhone sediment observatory. "We don't have any data today on the sediments at the bottom of the lake. Our vocation is to be the armed arm of science, especially at a time when we are surrounded by fake news," continues the founder of Odysseus 3.1.
The expedition will also aim to raise awareness of global warming and melting ice, as the Alps, Europe's water tower, are particularly threatened by rising temperatures. "According to studies, by 2100, 90% of the mass of glaciers will have melted. Over the past 40 years, 3000,<> lakes have formed in the Alps as a result of this melting," says Lionel Rard.
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However, the exploration promises to be perilous. The first drilling of the ice above the lake is expected to begin Wednesday before a first dive probably Thursday. A descent under the ice and water made more complicated by the altitude that forces to have slower ascents to the surface with longer landings and more spaced durations between dives.
As usual and as it had done for the exploration of the lake of the Parc de la Tête d'Or in 2020, a first too, Odysseus 3.1 has embarked in its team a director to produce a video at the end of the expedition. But also an acoustic artist, Julie Rousse, who will capture the sounds of the glacier, the water and the snowpack.
