GenSea

Chemical pollution is an invisible but persistent threat to marine ecosystems. Industrial processes, agriculture, mining and energy production release contaminants that can travel long distances, remain in the environment for decades and accumulate in marine food webs.

In this episode of the GenSea Podcast, Rhea and Camille speak with Sacha Boubet, a PhD researcher at the Pelagis Observatory in La Rochelle, France. Sacha studies chemical contamination in stranded cetaceans in the Bay of Biscay. Her research examines how contaminants accumulate in different species and how diet and ecology influence exposure and vulnerability.

The conversation covers persistent organic pollutants—including PCBs, DDT and PBDEs—as well as metals such as mercury and cadmium. Sacha explains why scientists analyse blubber, liver and kidney tissue, what long-term stranding records reveal about pollution, and how this research can contribute to conservation and environmental policy.

In this episode

Thank you to Sacha Boubet for joining the GenSea Podcast and sharing her research. Follow GenSea on Instagram for more information about the episode and the featured scientific paper.

Cover Credit: Noemi Merz / Ocean Image Bank

In their #3 episode, Rhea and Camille explore the growing impact of tourism on Antarctica, one of the world’s most fragile ecosystems. They discuss the rise of “last-chance tourism,” the environmental and biosecurity risks of visitors, and whether seeing climate change firsthand can really change people’s perspectives.

Drawing on their experiences as scientists and Antarctic field researchers, they also discuss the role tourism can play in supporting research and citizen science, the realities of working in Antarctica, and whether current governance is enough to protect the continent.

In this episode, we discuss:

Picture Credit: Alexandre Herbrecht, Studio PONANT / Ocean Image Bank

In their #2 episode, Camille and Rhea explore the journey from the laboratory to the negotiation table with Valentin Dettling, a PhD student specializing in deep-sea microplastic pollution and an active participant in the United Nations Global Plastics Treaty negotiations.

Valentin shares how his background in biology led him to environmental science, why archived museum specimens offer a unique window into the history of plastic pollution, and how interdisciplinary research has shaped his career. He also takes us behind the scenes of the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, explaining how scientists contribute evidence, communicate with negotiators, and navigate the complex world of international diplomacy.

Guest

In this episode, we discuss:

Picture Credit: Nico Marin / Ocean Image Bank

In this episode of GenSea, meet your hosts, Rhea and Camille. They introduce themselves, share a bit about their backgrounds and interests, and talk about what they're excited to bring to the podcast. Tune in to get to know the voices behind the mic and what's in store for future episodes.

Can planting trees on land change the oceans? Join Lennard and Charlotte this week as they dive into surprising research exploring how large-scale reforestation doesn't just pull CO2 from the air, but also alters Earth's energy balance and affects the blue planet. Here comes a fascinating example of how numerical models allow scientists to explore unimaginable futures of forested and tree-less worlds.

Additional show notes: the Portmann et al. (2022) study considered different tree functional types based on pre-industrial distribution, so yes, the model is set up to consider different forest types, such as coniferous forest and broadleaf forests.

Furthermore, Lennard and Charlotte were indeed talking about the same thing. The North Atlantic Warming Hole is also referred to as the 'Cold Blob'.

Find the two studies we discuss here:

Portmann, R., Beyerle, U., Davin, E. et al. Global forestation and deforestation affect remote climate via adjusted atmosphere and ocean circulation. Nat Commun 13, 5569 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-33279-9

Banville, P. E., MacIsaac, A. J., and Zickfeld, K.: Ocean dynamics amplify remote warming effects of reforestation, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4000, 2025.

Don't hesitate to contact Charlotte in case you have questions, or with suggestions for further podcast episodes on the topic ([email protected], www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-walter-6930791aa)).

Today’s episode dives into one of the biggest questions in climate science: How much can we trust future climate projections? Climate models are powerful tools, but they’re not crystal balls. To understand what they can tell us, and also where their limits lie, we explore how these models work, why uncertainty is built into them, and what that means for interpreting their results.

We break down the key sources of uncertainty, from the chaotic nature of the Earth system to the assumptions scientists must make about future emissions, land use, and population growth. These choices shape the scenarios that models simulate, and ultimately the futures they reveal. But don't you worry! When all these factors are accounted for, our climate models are a great resource to understand our possible futures.

Don't hesitate to contact us in case you have questions, or with suggestions for further research and podcast episodes on the topic ([email protected], www.linkedin.com/in/lennard-montag)).

RESOURCES:

CarbonBrief's climate modelling explainers:

Model comparison against observations – RealClimate posts by Gavin Schmidt and colleagues:

Information about CMIP6 Geoengineering and Carbon Removal Model Intercomparison Project (MIP):

Keller, D. P., Lenton, A., Scott, V., Vaughan, N. E., Bauer, N., Ji, D., Jones, C. D., Kravitz, B., Muri, H., and Zickfeld, K.: The Carbon Dioxide Removal Model Intercomparison Project (CDR-MIP): Rationale and experimental protocol for CMIP6, Geosci. Model Dev., https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2017-168, 2018.

Kravitz, B., Robock, A., Tilmes, S., Boucher, O., English, J. M., Irvine, P. J., Jones, A., Lawrence, M. G., MacCracken, M., Muri, H., Moore, J. C., Niemeier, U., Phipps, S. J., Sillmann, J., Storelvmo, T., Wang, H., and Watanabe, S.: The Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (GeoMIP6): simulation design and preliminary results, Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 3379-3392, doi:10.5194/gmd-8-3379-2015, 2015

Lennartz, S. T., Keller, D. P., Oschlies, A., Blasius, B., & Dittmar, T. (2024). Mechanisms underpinning the net removal rates of dissolved organic carbon in the global ocean. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 38, e2023GB007912. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GB007912

Information about the emission scenarios – old and new:

https://open.substack.com/pub/theclimatebrink/p/on-the-death-of-rcp85?utmcampaign=post-expanded-share&utmmedium=web

Today's episode is all about the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a recurring pattern in the tropical Pacific. It is characterised by a cyclic pattern of warm and cold events, El Niño and La Niña. These have globally felt impacts, necessitating good predictions and a better understanding of its processes. This is the topic of Lennard's master thesis in which an interactively coupled modelling system, also referred to as a Supermodel, is evaluated for its ability to simulate the ENSO.

RESOURCES:

Williams, A., Santoro, C. M., Smith, M. A., & Latorre, C. (2008). THE IMPACT OF ENSO IN THE ATACAMA DESERT AND AUSTRALIAN ARID ZONE: EXPLORATORY TIME-SERIES ANALYSIS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDS . Chungara: Revista de Antropología Chilena, 40, 245–259. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27802523

In this episode, Charlotte walks us through her research on how differences in sea ice models affect the biological processes in an Arctic ocean model. She breaks down how sea ice influences phytoplankton dynamics in the real world and in numerical model simulations. If you're navigating your own thesis project or feeling the pressure of an approaching deadline, the episode closes with a dose of support and motivation to help you keep going!

Update: As the planet keeps turning, NOAA’s latest Arctic Report Card (December 2025) revealed that March 2025 marked the lowest annual Arctic maximum sea ice extent in the 47 years of available satellite record.

Don't hesitate to contact Charlotte in case you have questions, or with suggestions for further research and podcast episodes on the topic ([email protected], www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-walter-6930791aa)).

RESOURCES

**Arctic amplification **

**Arctic sea ice extent **

**Increase in Arctic biomass production **

**Sea ice models **

During this weeks episode, we are meeting you on a personal note, talking about our educational

Contact:

Charlotte

No matter where you go, there will always be a tale about the ocean; whether it is to warn you about danger, to share the story of the community or to teach a lesson, ocean storytelling has always been present in the heart of our coastal societies. On this episode of GenSea, Joelle, Charlotte, Lennard and Gilbers sit around to share different stories coming from very different parts of the world like Greece, Japan, Scotland and the pacific ocean to illustrate that everywhere on the world, there will always be an ocean story to be told, you just to ask about it.

First, Charlotte will talk to us about Greek myths and how they influenced Mediterranean cultures and what is known as western society. Who hasn’t heard of Poseidon and the oceanids ? Then, Joelle takes us to the other side of the world to share with us how Japanese folklore found an explanation to the catastrophic earthquakes and tsunamis they sustained thanks to an enormous fish that doesn’t come often to the surface. Afterwards, Lennard tells us about how Polinesian people explained the phenomenon of a vanished island on the pacific ocean. Atlantis, is that you ?. Lastly, Gilbers takes us to Scotland and Ireland, where the tale of the selkie people came to be. If you see a seal, be aware, because you might fall in love with its human version. As the episode is wrapped up, the importance of storytelling is brought to the table as well the importance of keeping myths, legends and tales alive as they define a society, specially a coastal one.

This episode is a handover episode to let the floor to your new host for the next months, Lennard and Charlotte, two great scientists with a lot of great new topics to bring to the table. Joelle and Gilbers will come back later in the year and thank every single listener they have had over the last few months as well as all their invites. Keep connected for more!