Researchers from the University of the Basque Country have been involved in a unique scientific expedition, sailing around the world to chart changes in the marine ecosystem and study its biodiversity.

The Malaspina 2010 scientific circumnavigation expedition — a project spearheaded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Spanish Navy — is named in honor of explorer Alesandro Malaspina, who led the first Spanish scientific expedition around the world in the late 1700s.

Basque researcher Iñigo Azua, who sailed on the first stage of the journey from Cadiz, Spain, to Rio de Janiero, has been replaced by researcher Begoña Ayo, the university said in a statement. Ayo will oversee a team of five researchers from different institutions during the second stage of the voyage from Río de Janeiro to Capetown.

In all, 40 researchers are aboard the sailing vessel Hespérides, which will be making 21 scientific stops on the second leg of the expedition.

For more information about the history of Basque explorers and mariners, check out Euskal Kazeta’s Basques in the Americas series.