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monitor
'01
aegean
'01
hunley
'01
defence
'00
black
sea '00
black
sea '99
ashkelon
'99
black
sea '98
midway
'98
skerki
'97
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EXPEDITIONS
Expeditions put DeepArch researchers
and students to the test, putting theoretical research and laboratory
experiments through practical experiments. Members go to sea every year
to participate in a wide variety of projects, as we test, demonstrate,
and improve our systems and techniques. Past projects include the discovery
of ancient shipwrecks on Skerki Bank; subbottom investigations of Phoenician
shipwrecks off Ashkelon, Israel; remote sensing surveys in the Black Sea;
acoustic investigation of the CSS Hunley; and surveys of the USS
Monitor. Each project teaches us something new about our instruments
and methods, and we look forward to further development through sea trials.
Below are several recent and
upcoming projects. Click on the links to the left to learn more about
the expeditions that we have taken part in.
MONITOR ’03
The purpose of the May 2003 expedition was to deploy a precision navigation
system (EXACT) designed by DeepArch’s D. Mindell and B. Bingham,
by which the DSL/WHOI AUV “SeaBED” could conduct a high-precision
photomosaic survey across the site of USS MONITOR. Two EXACT transponders
were deployed off the southern side of the wreck site, and during drift
tests provided reliable readings for distances over 150 m. Acoustic Doppler
Current Profiler (ADCP) readings provided a map of evolving currents between
the sea surface and sea bed. Weather conditions and high currents interfered
with the successful deployment of SeaBED.
The operations consisted of two trips to the MONITOR Marine Sanctuary
from Hatteras, NC on the R/V Cape Fear (UNC-Wilmington). DeepArch and
DSL/WHOI teams were funded by NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration.
BLACK SEA ’03
In July and August 2003 DeepArch will be part of the deep-water archaeology
research expedition returning to submerged sites off the coast of Turkey
(see “Black Sea ’00”). Plans to investigate several targets
identified during the 2000 expedition will include studying an ancient
and extraordinarily well-preserved shipwreck, and what may be an antediluvian
habitation site. Deployed from the R/V KNORR, the ROV HERCULES (IFE) will
be equipped with newly developed sensors and instruments (DSL/WHOI/MIT)
to enable deep-water excavations.
Watch this space for updates!
ASHKELON ’03
In August 2003 DeepArch will participate in the second phase of the deep-water
archaeology expedition begun at the Black Sea, returning to the eastern
Mediterranean coast near Ashkelon to further investigate the site of an
eighth century BC Phoenician shipwreck, first discovered and documented
in 1999 (see “Ashkelon ’99”). DeepArch’s Mindell will
deploy a new version of his high-frequency, narrow-beam sub-bottom profiler
to record beneath the amphora mound and covering sediments. Excavation
by means of the DSL/WHOI instruments will constitute the deepest excavation
effort yet attempted following archaeological standards.
Watch this space for updates!
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