The Science Behind Cruise Ships
February 28, 2006
Reading and napping by the onboard pool? Of course. Having a margarita while you watch the Caribbean Sea from your balcony? Sounds about right. Playing blackjack in the cruise ship.s casino? That.d be good fun. Conducting complex scientific experiments? Sure, why not!
Cruise ships are now taking part in more than family fun on the seas. Some of the world.s top ocean scientists have been using cruise ships to measure water temperatures, ocean currents, and even find the height of clouds, in the hopes that the data will help reveal some of the oceans' well-kept secrets.
"They're going to change our view over the next few years of the way the ocean actually looks," said Peter Ortner, chief scientist with the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
And Thomas Rossby, professor at the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography, states that long-term data that cruise ships can furnish are what has been historically difficult to obtain. "Presently, we basically depend on archived historical data to make inferences about change over a long time...You're hostage to the limited amount of data available in the past."
Some cruise lines have found ways to integrate these sophisticated scientific programs into the possible onboard activities that cruise ship passengers can experience. For example, while working with the University of Miami, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line International built its stunning Explorer of the Seas, a ship that offers cruises through the Caribbean, with oceanographic and atmospheric laboratories for scientists and a science learning center that passengers can feel free to use.
About 60,000 people have attended popular scientists' lectures on the ship, said Rod Zika, professor and chief scientist of the Explorer of the Seas Program at the University of Miami. "Some people even stay on when they're in port. Rather than go on and buy the trinkets, they stay on to do this," Zika said.
Michael Sheehan, spokesman for Royal Caribbean, said the policy began in order to give back to the environment, but quickly grew into a comprehensive program that is used by many visiting researchers, such as those from NASA and NOAA. "It's blossomed into something I'm not sure any of us considered at the beginning," he said. You have to wonder if those NASA guys are any good at blackjack when they.re not collecting data.
Also, Costa Cruises is working in conjunction with the European Union (EU) to monitor air pollution over the Mediterranean Sea. The Costa Cruises ship Costa Fortuna was outfitted with an air pollution monitoring station that will accumulate
