
P&O help scientists study at sea
Because the Pride of Bilbao sails a regular route across the true deep ocean on its crossings between Portsmouth and Bilbao, scientists from the National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton (NOCS) approached P&O Ferries to explain that they could use our ship to collect valuable information about ocean conditions.
NOCS is a collaboration between Southampton University and the National Environment Research Council, and as such is the nation’s focal point for oceanography.
We’re pleased to report that we now have a box of instruments installed on the Pride of Bilbao that automatically samples water and transmits data back to scientists at Southampton for analysis.
Water temperature, salinity, and qualities such as nutrient levels and the density of plankton can all be sampled as rapidly as every few seconds.