MIAMI -- (AP) -- A Carnival Cruise Lines ship usually loaded with vacationers
now is also being used to carry a high-tech device scientists hope will give
them a good sense of the overall health of the world's oceans.
The cruise ship Carnival Triumph set sail Saturday afternoon on its weeklong
Caribbean cruise with the device aboard.
The monitor was developed under the direction of scientists at the University
of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science. It tracks a
broad range of data, including water temperature, salinity, oxygen levels, solar
radiation, as well as the surface air temperature, wind speed, barometric
pressure and relative humidity.
The module is mounted in the 2,758-passenger cruise liner's bow. It collects
information and transmits it via satellite researchers at the University of
Miami, which then can transfer the data to environmental groups and government
agencies.
The data can be used to determine pollution levels in the sea, and track
global climate changes.
Carnival officials said the cruise line's involvement in the project stems
from its recent affiliation with the International SeaKeepers Society, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to ocean preservation coordinating the project.
A module is being installed on Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Explorer of the
Seas and is planned for Holland America Line's Amsterdam, as well as other
cruise vessels, said Tom Houston, SeaKeepers CEO and president.
Monitoring units are already in use on more than 20 private yachts throughout
the world and SeaKeepers plans additional cruise ship placements.
Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of late ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, attended a
brief tour of the Carnival Triumph prior to its departure Saturday.
``Installation of this module demonstrates the cruise industry's commitment
to preserving, monitoring and helping to improve the quality of our fragile
resources,'' Cousteau said.
