Climate Action
CLIMATE ACTION
Swan Hellenic encounter dramatic evidence of global heating and climate change on our travels, which spurs us on to combat their causes and alleviate the effects. As well as taking extensive climate action in our own operations, dedicated initiatives also mean our guests have the chance to join us in contributing to conservation and climate research.
COLLECTING CLOUD DATA
One such initiative is our work with NASA’s citizen science program. These collaborations between scientists and interested members of the public – volunteers known as citizen scientists – have helped make thousands of important scientific discoveries.
- Guests on voyages to the Antarctic Peninsula, Svalbard Archipelago and Greenland have the chance to be part of the citizen science program by collecting cloud data for climate research.
- Clouds affect how much sunlight is absorbed by the Earth and how much heat escapes back into space.
- Observing and recording cloud data, timed to NASA satellite flyovers, helps scientists understand how surface and air temperatures are affected by cloud cover, and how clouds respond to climate change.
- Guests are accompanied to the ship’s top deck twice a day by their designated expedition guide when the NASA satellite is passing over.
- Then, during each 10–15-minute session, they upload Cloud Observations and Atmospheric Measurements to the NASA Globe Observer App.