Jean-Pierre Gattuso

The story of Jean-Pierre Gattuso, CNRS research director at the Villefranche-sur-Mer oceanography laboratory (Sorbonne University/CNRS), is a vivid illustration of how a childhood passion can shape an entire career and become the driving force behind a life dedicated to understanding and preserving the oceans.

Jean-Pierre Gattuso, from Antibes, has fond memories of his teenage years, when he was a fan of Commander Cousteau. His parents, understanding the importance of this budding passion, bought him all the books published by the famous commander, and he would be glued to his television documentaries, particularly the series "The Odyssey of Captain Cousteau." "Like many people of my generation, this generated a great interest in the sea, in fish and marine animals," he explains.

From then on, Jean-Pierre Gattuso had one goal: to become an oceanographer and follow in the footsteps of his idol. "I wanted to be an oceanographer so much that my mother wrote to Captain Cousteau, then director of the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco, to ask him what I should study. It was his deputy director who replied to the young boy's mother by directing him to a school information service in Nice.

Determined, Jean-Pierre Gattuso followed the classic academic path, taking a scientific baccalaureate, then studying at the University of Nice and the University of Marseille, specialising in biological oceanography. "I then returned to Nice for my Masters course and my thesis". His thesis focused on tropical corals and led to missions to Saudi Arabia and Jordan. "I've always found corals particularly beautiful, even though before my first mission to the Red Sea, I'd only seen them through the screen of my television".

A traveller’s soul

Jean-Pierre Gattuso has always wanted to explore the world and work abroad. For his post-doctorate, he flew to Australia, heading for the Institute of Marine Sciences in Townsville, which is also home to James Cook University, renowned for its training programmes in ocean sciences, and the port authority that manages the Great Barrier Reef. "When I got the phone call at 5am telling me I'd been accepted, I was so happy. At the time, this institute was a Mecca for scientists working on coral reefs," recalls the researcher. Jean-Pierre Gattuso stayed there for two years, with one goal in mind: to join the CNRS. "Joining the CNRS without a post-doc was almost mission impossible. I had to travel back and forth between France and Australia to defend my application and stand before the members of the jury.

Back in France, and now affiliated with the CNRS, he was posted to one of the largest coral reef laboratories, in Perpignan. "This lab had a research station in Moorea, in French Polynesia, where I went on a several missions.
It was also, at this time— the end of the 1980s—that the scientific community began to question the role of coral reefs in the carbon cycle."
Were they sinks or sources of CO2 for the atmosphere? It was a divisive subject... In Moorea, we were lucky enough to take the first measurements of carbon dioxide flows, which showed that over a 24-hour cycle and in different seasons, coral reefs emit CO2 into the atmosphere!”

In the mid-1990s, Jean-Pierre Gattuso decided to join the Centre scientifique de Monaco, where he was given the chance to set up his own research team, still working in his favourite field: corals. For five years, his research missions took him to Australia and Japan.
But at the dawn of the new millennium, the researcher wanted more stability and less travelling to faraway lands.
"Obviously, it was difficult and costly to work on corals from France. You need well-funded projects if you are to head off on missions. So I decided to change my field of research so that I could stay in France." He left Monaco and chose to be affiliated to the Institut de la Mer in Villefranche-sur-Mer, under the dual supervision of the CNRS and Sorbonne University. Jean-Pierre Gattuso now focuses his work on the carbon cycle in temperate ecosystems in the Mediterranean, the North Sea, Denmark and Belgium.

But it’s hard to shake what comes naturally... “In 2004, I went to the United States to further my research: six months at a university in New Jersey and a further seven at a research centre in Colorado.” A few years later, he also completed several missions in Ny-Ålesund, the world's most northerly international scientific village.

Raising awareness among decision-makers

Gattuso’s work led to his involvement with the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), where he played an active role in drafting key reports on climate change and ocean-based solutions. As co-author of the 5th report and coordinating author of the 2019 report, as well as a contributor to the 1.5°C warming report published in 2018, Jean-Pierre Gattuso has played a crucial role in raising awareness among political decision-makers of the urgency of the climate crisis.
"It's a lot of work, but it's extremely rewarding. You learn so much from other colleagues. You also feel that you're doing something useful for society, even if in reality the IPCC produces a lot of reports that don't do much to influence the strategies of governments and the private sector.

Just a few years away from retirement, Jean-Pierre Gattuso, who plans to become an emeritus researcher, wants to stay involved in oceanographic research. His big upcoming project is co-chairing an international scientific conference, organised by the CNRS and Ifremer, to be held in Nice in 2025, just before the United Nations conference on the ocean, co-hosted by France and Costa Rica.
The aim of this conference is to provide heads of state and government with a list of recommendations based on the latest scientific advances for protecting and implementing solutions for the ocean. "As a researcher, I am convinced of the importance of passing on knowledge to the general public and decision-makers. The environmental challenges are urgent, and we need to be attentive watchdogs, highlighting the problems but also proposing solutions."

Despite the obstacles he has encountered, Jean-Pierre Gattuso remains driven by an overwhelming passion for his work. "I'm extremely lucky to be able to do what I love. There's no doubt that it's an exciting job. Between research in the field or in a lab, supervising young researchers, analysing results, writing publications, communicating our advances... There's never a dull moment!