By
Rebecca Gibson |
Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Equinox has become the third Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd (RCL) ship to join the University of Miami’s OceanScope programme.
The University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science has installed equipment onboard Celebrity Equinox to capture and analyse oceanographic and atmospheric data as she sails on her itineraries in the Mediterranean Sea, across the North Atlantic and along the Iberian Peninsula.
As part of the project, scientists will record ocean temperature, salinity and chlorophyll concentration, as well as properties of the ocean’s surface, such as reflectance and absorbance. In addition, they will measure meteorological properties including wind speed, wind direction, barometric pressure and humidity. By anaylsing this data, the scientists will be able to monitor, understand, and predict climate change and how it affects various marine ecosystems.
“This data is proving to be of invaluable assistance in calibrating and verifying the American and European satellites monitoring climate change throughout the ocean,” said Dr Peter Ortner, director of the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. “Smaller packets of data are transmitted on an hourly basis through Royal Caribbean’s regular satellite link and large data sets will be sent back via Internet connection when the ship is in port.”
Since 2000, the University of Miami’s OceanScope equipment on Explorer of the Seas has tracked ocean circulation dynamics as the ship sails through the North Atlantic basin on her itineraries from the US to Bermuda and the Caribbean. Scientists have tracked similar conditions as Allure of the Seas sails through the Eastern and Western Caribbean since 2012.
The university’s OceanScope equipment is partially funded by RCL’s Ocean Fund, which was founded in 1996 to support marine conservation organisations in safeguarding the health of the world’s oceans and coastal communities. It aims to help restore and maintain a healthy marine environment, minimise the impact of human activity on the environment and promote awareness of ocean and coastal issues and respect for marine life. Since establishing the fund, RCL has donated more than US$13 million to around 75 organisations around the world for projects that relate to ocean science, climate change, key marine species, education and innovative technologies.
“Royal Caribbean is extremely proud of the collaboration with the OceanScope programme to foster greater understanding of the global climate system and the oceans on which our ships sail,” said Rich Pruitt, vice president of safety and environmental stewardship at RCL. “Our business depends on ocean health and part of protecting ocean health is understanding the atmosphere and its effects.”