By
Alice Chambers |
Royal Caribbean Group has confirmed a four-year extension to its investment in the research-led OceanScope programme, which provides scientists with critical information to study climate and ocean conservation.
OceanScope was first launched in 2002 with funding from Royal Caribbean Group, which renewed its agreement to continuing investing in the programme on 8 June, coinciding with World Oceans Day. As part of the partnership, Oceanscope’s scientists have placed a comprehensive suite of oceanographic and meteorological instruments onboard Royal Caribbean Group ships to collect information about the structure of currents, sea surface temperature, carbon dioxide levels, and more.
“At Royal Caribbean Group, every day is World Oceans Day – and we are thrilled to renew a programme as impactful to oceanic research as OceanScope,” said Jason Liberty, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group. “We’re dedicated to sustaining our planet and delivering the best vacations, responsibly – and our decades-long support of this unique initiative is testament to that. We can’t wait to see how OceanScope and our scientific collaborators progress our understanding of ocean health and conservation.”
Research partners for the programme include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA and the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science.
So far, data has been collected from over 100,000 nautical miles to date from Royal Caribbean International’s Allure of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Flora and Celebrity Equinox. The group plans to share findings from the programme annually to increase ocean awareness in guests and the community.
“We are most grateful to renew our successful collaboration with Royal Caribbean Group,” said Dr Peter Ortner, research professor of marine biology and ecology at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science. “This is an extraordinary example of how private industry, academic research institutions and government agencies are collaborating to amass an incredibly valuable data set highlighting the intricate connection between the ocean, atmosphere and climate.”
Dr Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, research lead into climate variability and ocean physics at NASA, said: “NASA is excited to revive its long-standing partnership with OceanScope, which is a valuable player in the agency-led efforts to understand Earth climate today, and inform humanity for what waits tomorrow. Looking at Earth’s oceans from space and leveraging in situ observations enabled by projects like OceanScope is what allows us to build robust knowledge of ocean’s role in climate, which controls our planet’s heat, energy, and water.”
Royal Caribbean Group is also contributing to ocean conservation through its SEA the Future platform and sustainability initiatives to use cleaner fuels and smarter technologies onboard its ships.