The case in summary: Color Fantasy, a cruise ship, is used by the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) to monitor the Oslo Fjord. The ship has sensors and meters in the engine room that measure oxygen, salinity, colour, temperature and how turbid the water is every minute. This data is sent to NIVA in real time. These measurements helped the researchers discover a massive bloom of a harmful alga that turned the Oslofjord brown earlier this summer. The chief engineer at Color Fantasy, Tommy Andersen, expresses his pleasure at being able to contribute to the monitoring of water quality. The measuring equipment has been on the passenger ship for 20 years, and the information collected from the sea can also be followed by the passengers. It is particularly popular with German passengers. Despite emissions from cruise ships, Andersen assures that Color Fantasy has large treatment plants on board and that they do not release anything until they are far removed. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. While some relax in the piano bar, and others head for the duty-free shops, the work begins down in the ship’s engine room. – Down here. It is the main intake. That’s according to senior engineer Louise Valestrand at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA). VARIED DATA: Oxygen, salt content, colour, temperature and how turbid the water is in the Oslo Fjord are measured every minute. The information is sent in real time to researchers. Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / news Earlier this summer there was an algae that colored the Oslofjord brown. The researchers were concerned about the massive bloom of the algae. But now there are brighter times in the fjord, according to Valestrand: – Fortunately, the amount of phytoplankton and algae has decreased. The harmful bloom that colored the Oslofjord brown is over. Scientists know that thanks to the cruise ship Color Fantasy. FOLLOWS: Senior engineer Louise Valestrand at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research is pleased with the latest measurements from Color Fantasy. Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / NRKFOLGER WITH: Senior engineer Louise Valestrand at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research is pleased with the latest measurements from Color Fantasy. Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / news – No life The large passenger ship is equipped with sensors and many gauges in the engine room. Oxygen, salinity, colour, temperature and how cloudy the water is measured every minute. This is sent to the researchers at NIVA in real time. – I call it my slow-motion TV. I see when there is a strong bloom, Valestrand explains and adds: – Algae can grow quickly and become massive, and then they suddenly disappear the next day. It was these meters on Color Fantasy that showed that there were large amounts of harmful algae in the fjord. PRECISE: Valestrand takes a look at the measuring instruments in the engine room of the large passenger ferry. Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / news Valestrand says that when all these algae die, they sink to the seabed. There they are broken down by bacteria. – It will require oxygen. So in a fjord where there is already little oxygen, it will get even less. And no oxygen, no life. To the delight of many – We think it is very nice to be able to contribute to being able to know the state of the water quality around us. That’s what chief engineer Tommy Andersen says at Color Fantasy. In 2019, a study showed that Norway is one of the countries worst affected by pollution from cruise ships. According to the EU’s emissions register for maritime transport, Color Fantasy released just over 97,000 tonnes of CO₂ in 2023. When asked about emissions and sewage in the fjord, Andersen replies that he thinks it’s a wrong angle. He says that they have large treatment plants on board. – We don’t release anything until we are on the outside of twelve nautical miles, which means that we are far outside and far from land and have nothing to do with the Oslofjord as a whole. CONTRIBUTOR: The chief engineer on Color Fantasy also likes to follow the state of the sea around the ship. Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / news Popular among Germans For NIVA and chief engineer Valestrand, the biggest advantage is that you get so many measurements. Usually they monitor the ocean with a research vessel that goes to one particular station on one particular date. While the monitoring here takes place on a ship that sails in and out of the Oslofjord every other day. – As we can see straight away what is happening, says Valestrand. The measuring equipment has been on the passenger ship for 20 years. Those traveling with the Kiel ferry can also follow the information that is picked up from the sea. AVAILABLE: Passengers on the Kiel ferry can also follow the state of the sea. Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / news – It’s popular. We see from the statistics that a lot of people visit, says Valestrand. The information is translated into several languages. Among other things German, English and French. – The Germans are very interested. They look at it a lot here. This is a ferry box NIVA has developed so-called “ferry boxes” which are installed in a number of ships in various sea areas. All automatically measure temperature, salinity and oxygen in the water. They also measure the amount of phytoplankton, how cloudy the water is and how much organic material it has. The measurements are taken at a depth of four to seven meters along the ship’s fixed route. The measurements are taken every 500 metres. The ships can also take water samples for further analysis in the laboratory. Some of the ships have equipment for measuring blue-green algae and ocean acidification. The data from several of the ships is transferred to NIVA in real time. The information is used in national and international research and monitoring projects. The Norwegian Environment Agency uses the information to monitor Norwegian coastal waters. The specialist councils for the inner and outer Oslofjord use the data in their monitoring programmes. Hurtigruten also has a ferry box. source: Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) Published 19.07.2024, at 07.35 Updated 19.07.2024, at 10.13
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The Kiel ferry measures water quality and monitors the condition of the Oslofjord – Greater Oslo
