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We are just past the half-way point and this field project has
already proved to be an exciting opportunity for all participants. NOAA
believes this joint project will expand our knowledge in areas such as
management and preservation of historic shipwrecks and other cultural
resources. At the same time, this expedition has shown through ocean
exploration and interdisciplinary oceanographic research that we still
have a great deal to learn about Earth’s oceans and their effect on our
lives.
There are a
reported 7,000 shipwrecks located in the great expanse of the Gulf of
Mexico. Although most of these vessels pose no threat to the
environment, many carrying cargoes of fuel and other materials may lose
their structural integrity over time. NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary
Program is conducting and coordinating research directed at
understanding the nature and rate of natural processes affecting the
deterioration ferrous-hulled vessels lost off the coasts of the United
States.
T
Reported shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico.
I am
seeing many factors at play at the varying depths we’ve explored that
affect the condition of sunken vessels lost in the Gulf of Mexico and
forgotten over time. In the shallow sites, concretions covering the
ships hull have acted to protect the vessel structure and slowing the
degradation process of these steel structures. At the
Gulfpenn site, concretion layers were
reduced significantly and the amount of exposed rusticles and obvious
areas of metal corrosion were in evidence. It will be interesting to see
if this process continues over the next four deep-water sites.
Rusticle formation adjacent to visible hull seam
corrosion. Courtesy MMS/NOAA OE Deep Wrecks Project.
Coming Soon:
Party-time on
HOS Dominator: A roomful of leading
research scientists spends a wild evening at sea, recording the date and
location on 600 Styrofoam cups. The cups will be carried to the site of
the deepest wreck, Alcoa Putritan,
where the pressure at 6,400 feet will squeeze them down to about the
size of a sewing thimble. The cups will become part of classroom lessons
on the effects of water pressure in the deep sea. One participant was
heard to ask, "hey -- you think we can get these pre-printed next time?"
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