HONOLULU, USA - Ocean scientist are enlisting cargo and cruise ships to measure water temperatures, ocean currents and even the height of clouds.

The goal is to collect decades of data at a cheaper cost to understand vast oceans’ secrets.

Peter Ortner is chief scientist with the Atlantic Ocean Marine Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

He says data gathered by the cruise ships in the next few years will change the way the ocean looks.

It will allow scientists to begin addressing questions of large ocean patterns, such as the changing path of the Gulf Stream.

Thomas Rossby is professor at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography.

He says the long-term data that commercial ships can furnish is what has been historically so difficult to obtain.

The volunteer programs are also cheaper than the more than 15 thousand dollars it costs to rent a dedicated research vessel for a single day.

Scientists spoke about the project this week at the biannual ocean sciences meeting of the American Geophysical Union.