Round-the-world ocean races such as The Ocean Race and the Vendée Globe expose sailors to some of the planet’s most remote and extreme marine environments, creating a unique opportunity to study both environmental conditions and human responses to them. In this comment we highlight how these events can function as mobile climate laboratories, enabling the simultaneous collection of oceanographic and atmospheric data alongside human biometric information, including physiological, psychological, and cognitive indicators. Integrating disciplines such as climatology, oceanography, ecology, and human health sciences enables investigation of how humans adapt to environmental stressors while also improving environmental monitoring. Establishing coordinated interdisciplinary research programs could strengthen climate resilience research, enhance ocean and human health monitoring, and support more sustainable engagement with marine environments. |
