2006
Maritime Haritage ROV Cruise
The
sanctuary conducted a 7 day remotely operated vehicle (ROV) cruise
in July 2006 in partnership with the National Undersea Research
Center at the University of Connecticut (NURC-UConn). This annual
ROV cruise visited a number of maritime heritage resources which
lie in the sanctuary's deeper waters. Project scientists returned
to shipwrecks such as the steamship Portland, schooners
Frank A. Palmer/Lousie B. Crary, and the granite wreck to
further investigate and document the sites and also monitor the
shipwrecks for manmade or biological changes or impacts. Annual
monitoring of historic resources allows the sanctuary to better
management its resources and study the impacts to sites from a
variety of sources from oceanographic currents to fishing.
The
NURC-UConn ROV Hela (left) onboard the research vessel
Connecticut, operated by the University of Connecticut,
(right) was the primary research tool used for this project.
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The
project also documented several new shipwreck sites to determine
the extents of the site and record diagnostic characteristics.
This information will be used to date the vessel and help
in further historical research to identify the shipwreck
and uncover its story. The data is also important to determine
the shipwreck's historical and archaeological significance
and for future National Register of Historic Places nominations.
The ROV was outfitted with lights, a forward looking video
camera, a downward looking video camera, a Scorpio digital
still camera, and a strobe to capture features at a variety
of angles. Images and video gathered with the ROV will be
used for outreach and education materials to better interpret
the sanctuary's maritime past.
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Underwater
image of large granite blocks on the granite wreck. The
granite blocks were used in the construction
of sidewalks and sewer system and were the vessel's cargo.
Courtesy of NOAA/SBNMS and NURC-UConn
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NURC-UConn
ROV pilot Craig Bussel navigates the vehicle away from the ship
(left) while SBNMS maritime archaeologist Matthew Lawrence and
NURC-UConn's NOAA Hollings Scholar Freshteh Anmadian (right) monitor
the ROV control systems inside the vessel.
The
project documented new features on the shipwrecks such as lanterns
on the steamship Portland (left) and the captain's sink and toilet
on the Frank A. Palmer (right). Courtesy of NOAA/SBNMS and NURC-UConn.
Project
personnel also conducted two 30 minute live broadcasts from the
schooner Frank A. Palmer to the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center
and over the World Wide Web during this project to better interpret
the sanctuary historical and biological resources to the public.
Click
here to learn more about the 2006 Live Dive
This
project was made possible through support from NURC-UConn and
the University of Connecticut. Additional assistance was supplied
by the Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources
and Benthos, Inc
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