Today, two groups basically finished working on the cannon and anchor site. My group was in charge of taking the compass bearings for each of the cannon and taking the distances between certain features on the site, including; three cannon, the two anchors, and the shore. To do this, we used a data scope which … Read more
After a successful day of diving and rectifying the spatial distances between each cannon yesterday, my team was confident that finishing the last of these measurements would go smoothly. While we were working on the first measurement, an un-numbered cannon was discovered. It seemed as if the cannon had been previously found on the free … Read more
Today, we set, what might be, the perfect baseline on a maritime archaeology site. We will be systematically mapping the Brick site using the baseline offset methodology. Hopefully, over the next few days we can draw a really accurate site map by taking measurements to artifacts from this baseline. – Scott
Today on our second site (The Brick Site), we were able to successfully lay our baseline! We originally snorkeled around the site to find the locations on which we would tie our polypropylene line. Then Jeremy, Devin, and I were able to go down on SCUBA and secure the line to a head of coral … Read more
Today’s diving consisted of low visibility, persistence, and good communication. Visibility varied between <1 foot to 1 ½ feet depending on of the amount of diver activity in an area and the surge. Two teams attempted and completed trilateration measurements between datum points on the cascable and muzzle of each cannon in piles found so … Read more
After a full day of being stuffed into vehicles with little, or no, leg room (oh, the hard life of a tall man), beginning our first day of work in the water felt like a blessing. After a breakfast of eggs, beans, rice, and fresh fruit (the fruit tastes way better here than stateside), we … Read more
During this morning’s dive, the group was tasked with using proforma to mark, measure, and sketch the cannon we found the previous day. This task was made increasingly difficult because of the large surge underwater and low visibility. Each cannon was measured along the shaft, muzzle, and cascabel. In total, eight cannons have been found … Read more
I have been fortunate enough to be involved in several ECU projects. This year, I am a crew chief. The position is offered to select second and third year graduate students to give us a leadership opportunity and the chance to act as mentors to the new class. Crew chiefs have the interesting dilemma of … Read more
Scientific diving is one of the major components of preparing for field school. Besides packing, making sure you have enough of the essential sun screen, and coordinating travel arrangements, we have to complete checkout dives. The dives consist of five days in a controlled environment (a nearby quarry—Fantasy Lake), with two days in the ocean … Read more
http://youtu.be/y0IXqexFdh8 Here are clips taken during two days of Nitrox dives on the Indra. Located off the coast of North Carolina, USS Indra was a landing craft repair ship sunk in 1996 after it was decommissioned from the Navy. The site is 60 feet deep at its maximum and visibility varies. These dives gave us the opportunity … Read more