Cargo Business Newswire

Friday, April 25, 2014

12-story semi-submersible ship will study climate (video)

The SeaOrbiter, an ocean explorer that has sparked comparisons to the Starship Enterprise, is about to begin construction this spring. Conceived by French architect Jacques Rougerie, the 190-foot-tall semisubmersible vessel will be the results of almost 30 years of Rougerie's research and development.

Six of the SeaOrbiter's 12 floors are below sea level, which facilitates underwater observation. Although the ship's main mission is to research the biodiversity and climate of the sea, Rougerie says his real object is to give the public a better understanding of how vital the ocean is to Earth's health.

The SeaOrbiter can host 22 people, typically a mix of crew and scientists. Voyages will last three to six months, providing ample time to collect data and perform experiments.

The underwater area, known as the hyperbaric lab, features an observation deck made of transparent polycarbonate panels, allowing for direct underwater observation.

The ship is built from 500 tons of Sealium, a recyclable aluminum designed for marine environments. It was designed mainly to float with the ocean's natural currents, so that researchers can study the relationship between those currents and climate.

Since conditions underwater mimic those in space in terms of pressure and isolation, the SeaOrbiter will be used by NASA for protocol training as well as for physiological and psychological experiments.

The French government and the private sector financed 99 percent of the $50 million project. To spark interest, Rougerie is "crowdfunding" the last 1 percent of the project. "The more humans understand about the underwater world, the more respect they will have for it," he says.

For more of the Inc.com story: inc.com