Pedal Sub Team Hopes to Restore French Pride

Pedal Sub Team Hopes to Restore French Pride

(July 29) -- Though the 2010 Tour de France has just ended, one yellow-clad wonder just wants to keep on pedaling in France. No, we're not talking about Spaniard Alberto Contador, winner of his third Tour de France. We're talking about the Scubster, a prototype pedal submarine developed by a team of French entrepreneurs.

The team plans to enter the sub in the 2011 International Submarine Race, a biennial competition featuring human-powered "wet" submarines, or subs that don't provide occupants with a dry environment. Because the Scubster is a wet sub, its lone pilot must wear SCUBA equipment.

That the 2011 race will be held in Bethesda, Md., adds extra incentive for the team.
Wait, What?Terence Dewaele, AP119 photos Tired of spinning class? The Scubster -- a new pedal-powered submarine -- might be your answer. Stephane Rousson of France takes this underwater vehicle for a spin in the waters near Nice, in southeastern France. The Scubster team will take part in next year's International Submarine Race, at the Naval Surface Warfare Center-Carderock Division in Bethesda, Md.(Note: Please disable your pop-up blocker)
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Wait, What?
Tired of spinning class? The Scubster -- a new pedal-powered submarine -- might be your answer. Stephane Rousson of France takes this underwater vehicle for a spin in the waters near Nice, in southeastern France. The Scubster team will take part in next year's International Submarine Race, at the Naval Surface Warfare Center-Carderock Division in Bethesda, Md.
Terence Dewaele, AP
Terence Dewaele, AP
Wait, What?
"We want to do the race to show people in the United States that we can do nice things, too," said team leader Stephane Rousson in an interview with AOL News.

The 14-foot Scubster, however, isn't built for speed. Instead, it's been built for maneuverability, and Rousson hopes the sub wins the race's maneuverability category.

"Most of the other subs in the race specialize in speed," Rousson explained. "But we're different. We want to specialize in [agility]. The Scubster can go up and down, left and right with ease. That's its specialty."

Should the Scubster perform well at the race, Rousson and his team hope to bring the sub to market as an accessory for large yachts. And if the Scubster proves a hit, the team would like to move on to building dry submarines, which provide a dry, airtight interior.

The Scubster took shape last August, when Rousson, his partner Minh-Loc Truong, and a team of student volunteers set out to design the boat. In November, the 20-person team built a small-scale model and in January, set to work on the real thing.

With the sub completed only a month ago, it's been tested seven times and spent a mere three hours in the water. The deepest dive so far is six meters. According to Rousson, the team still has a few tweaks to make. The Scubster's seat needs to be readjusted and the propellers need a substantial upgrade.

The Scubster isn't the first experimental cyclo-vehicle Rousson has been involved with. In 2008, he test-piloted "Zeppy," a pedal-powered airship that he intended to fly across the English Channel. The crossing was scrapped, however, due to dangerously high winds.

While Rousson is confident that he and his team will fare well in the International Submarine Race, the last time a French team made news at an international competition, the 2010 World Cup, things didn't go so well.

Could petulance and insubordination bring down team Scubster?

"No, no, we don't have any problem like this," Rousson said. "We're not as rich as soccer guys. If only we had the money that these players had, we could fund the whole project on two months' salary."

Ship lost for more than 150 years is recovered

Ship lost for more than 150 years is recovered

Hms Investigator AP – FILE - This 1851 illustration shows the HMS Investigator on the north coast of Baring Island in the Arctic. …
Wed Jul 28, 9:24 pm ET

TORONTO – Canadian archeologists have found a ship abandoned more than 150 years ago in the quest for the fabled Northwest Passage and which was lost in the search for the doomed expedition of Sir John Franklin, the head of the team said Wednesday.

Marc-Andre Bernier, Parks Canada's head of underwater archaeology, said the HMS Investigator, abandoned in the ice in 1853, was found in shallow water in Mercy Bay along the northern coast of Banks Island in Canada's western Arctic.

"The ship is standing upright in very good condition. It's standing in about 11 meters (36 feet) of water," he said. "This is definitely of the utmost importance. This is the ship that sailed the last leg of the Northwest Passage."

The Investigator was one of many American and British ships sent out to search for the HMS Erebus and the Terror, vessels commanded by Franklin in his ill-fated search for the Northwest Passage in 1845.

Environment Minister Jim Prentice said the British government has been notified that one of their naval shipwrecks has been discovered, as well as the bodies of three sailors.

Captained by Robert McClure, the Investigator sailed in 1850. That year, McClure sailed the Investigator into the strait that now bears his name and realized that he was in the final leg of the Northwest Passage, the sea route across North America.

But before he could sail into the Beaufort Sea, the ship was blocked by pack ice and forced to winter-over in Prince of Wales Strait along the east coast of Banks Island.

The following summer, McClure tried again to sail to the end of the Passage, but was again blocked by ice. He steered the ship and crew into a large bay on the island's north coast he called the Bay of Mercy.

There they were to remain until 1853, when they were rescued by the crew of the HMS Resolute. The Investigator was abandoned.

"This is actually a human history," said Bernier. "Not only a history of the Passage, but the history of a crew of 60 men who had to overwinter three times in the Arctic not knowing if they were going to survive."

The Parks Canada team arrived at Mercy Bay on July 22. Three days later, the ice on the bay cleared enough that researchers were able to deploy side-scanning sonar from a small inflatable boat over the site where they believed the wooden ship had eventually sunk. Within 15 minutes, the Investigator was found.

"The ship had not moved too much from where it was abandoned," said Bernier.

The masts and rigging have long been sheared off by ice and weather. But the icy waters of the McClure Strait has preserved the vessel in remarkably good condition.

"It's incredible," said Prentice from Mercy Bay. "You're actually able to peer down into the water and see not only the outline of the ship but actually the individual timbers.

Archaeologists have also uncovered artifacts on land left behind by the stranded sailors, who unloaded everything before abandoning the Investigator.

The graves of three sailors thought to have died of scurvy have been marked off and will be left undisturbed, said Bernier.

Bernier said the next step will be to send down a remote controlled video camera to get actual pictures of the wreck. There are no plans to bring it to the surface and all legal steps will be taken to ensure the site remains protected.

Bernier also said the team will use similar technology to find the Erebus and Terror.

The Underwater Engineering Feat of the 19th Century: The Transatlantic Cable

The Underwater Engineering Feat of the 19th Century: The Transatlantic Cable

In 1839, a couple of inventors, William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone unveiled to the world their telegraph and It wasn't long before the idea of constructing an underwater telegraph cable that would stretch across the Atlantic began to take hold.

SS Great Eastern

To some, it may have seemed as out-of-this-world as would the idea of sending humans to the moon a century later. But 19th century entrepreneurs soon proved the concept could work, albeit on a smaller scale. By the early 1850s, France and England were connected by underwater cable and other communications networks soon followed that would hook up the United Kingdom with Ireland and the Netherlands. And there was no shortage of motivation: prior to the building of a trans-Atlantic cable, the fastest ships of the day took a week to cross the ocean.

Attempting a project on such a grand scale brought with it a set unique technical and logistical challenges - not the least being the approximately 2,500 miles of ocean which separated the continents. It's estimated that the amount of wire which got laid on the ocean floor was equivalent to thirteen circumnavigations of the earth. Despite a series of setbacks, the cable was successfully connected after a third attempt in the summer of 1858. Unfortunately, glitches continued and it would take another eight years before the new and old worlds could count upon a reliable underwater cable connection between North America and Europe. On July 27 1866, chroniclers would note that cable was pulled ashore at Heart's Content, a small fishing village in Newfoundland.

Rowing Nude Across the Atlantic, for Charity

Welsh firemen rowed across the Atlantic
Jul 22 2010 by Ciaran Jones, Western Mail
Simon Evans and Mike Arnold tell Ciaran Jones about their 76-day Atlantic crossing in the rowing boat Pendovey Swift which is now on show at the Swansea Waterfront Museum

SWIMMING with dolphins, basking in the sunshine and eating freshly caught fish – it sounds like the ideal summer holiday.

But for two firefighters from Wales it became just part of a punishing expedition across the Atlantic which took them nearly three months to complete.

And now their exploits are being commemorated by the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea.

Mike Arnold and Simon Evans spent almost 76 days rowing across the vast ocean between the Canary Islands and Antigua earlier this year.

After raising £60,000 in just nine months to finance their gruelling challenge, they are now hoping to collect a further £10,000 for The Fire Fighters Charity.

Simon, 39, said taking on the Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race pushed them to the limit.

The father-of-four said: “We wanted to do it for different reasons. Mike was interested in the history of it as he had some knowledge of previous rowers who had attempted it. For myself it was because I like to undertake a challenge.”

The pair did not have much time to prepare for their adventure, however.

Simon, who is a crew manager in Morriston, said: “It was October 2008 when we decided to do it and the race was due to start in December 2009, and straightaway we realised we hadn’t left ourselves a lot of time.

“Most teams give themselves three years to prepare – by the time the fire service came back and said we could go, we only had nine months.”

Mike, a watch manager at Swansea West fire station, said the process had been an uphill struggle from start to finish.

“The build-up was difficult,” he said. “Finding the sponsorship meant it was like two challenges.

“We did it through things like charity events and supermarket collections.”

The pair had to raise the funds for their boat, the Pendovey Swift, as well as their equipment.

They were meant to leave La Gomera in the Canaries for their 3,000-mile voyage on December 6, but bad weather pushed the start date back to the beginning of January.

The delays left the duo fearing they would have to give up on their journey almost before it had begun.

Mike, who has two young children, said: “It was very stressful. If it had been delayed another couple of weeks we could have had to pull the plug and look to 2011.”

And Simon said the bad weather at the beginning was only a taste of things to come.

He said: “When we eventually started we found ourselves in a storm and that is how it was for the whole crossing – we suffered very badly with the weather. We had planned to do it in something like 50 to 55 days but it ended up taking 76.

“We lost sight of land within 24 hours of leaving. It’s an immense feeling not to be able to see land.”

Both men are familiar with spending time on the water, but Simon, who lives in Bryn Mill, Swansea, said the conditions were beyond anything they could have trained for.

“We are both surfers and I have been part of the Royal National Lifeboat Association for 14 years,” he said. “But within the first week there were 60 foot swells and there was nothing that could prepare us for that.”

They were rowing around the clock as they covered up to 70 miles a day.

“We would row 24 hours a day,” said Simon. “I would row for two hours and then Mike would row for two hours, on and off.

“In between you would be getting your head down and trying to sleep as much as possible, but on a good day you would only get about an hour and 40 minutes within the two hours.

“Sleep deprivation was very much an issue and we suffered the entire crossing. Very few people have really suffered it to the extent we did. It had a burden on your eating habits, on your ability to row – especially at night when you would just find yourself nodding off – and it had a bearing on our attitudes. We had a few words, which is inevitable I think. But we went out as good friends and we finished as good friends.”

At one point the conditions were so bad that both men were forced to hunker down in their cramped cabin for five days without being able to go outside.

“Everything we did had to be done inside the cabin, whether it was eating or going to the toilet,” said Simon. “All of it had to be done within the cabin.

“We didn’t have a functional toilet – just a bucket. There was no dignity on board. In the first week we tried to maintain it but it quickly went out the window.

“The breaking waves meant our clothes were constantly wet and our skin was suffering. It deteriorated quickly, and our feet and hands peeled and we had horrendous blisters on them. We also had pains, rubs and rashes on our bums. Wearing clothes just caused problems and in the end we just did away with them and rowed.”

There were two support yachts within an 800-mile radius at all times, but Mike said they relied on the radar system and radio communications while at sea. The 40-year-old, who lives in Pennard, Swansea, said: “We had one close encounter with a Russian oil tanker getting within about 500 metres of us.

“It was at night and I couldn’t raise them on the radio. We got a response after they had gone by – I think a lot of them were asleep. They just got too close for comfort.”

Their 24 foot by eight foot boat was stocked with enough food for 90 days. Simon said they resorted to catching fish from the ocean to add a bit of variety to their diet.

He said: “We were burning up 8,000 calories a day – we had to replace those, otherwise our bodies would deteriorate and we would lose muscles. The food was high calorie specialist food and was basically dehydrated.”

A special water maker took the salt out of the sea water, and a jet boiler meant they could cook some basic meals like curries and casseroles.

Simon added: “When you added the water you could have quite a palatable meal but by the end we were getting fed up of the same old things.”

They often had dolphins, whales and even sharks for company. While they would swim around with the dolphins, seeing a shark made them more fearful about entering the water.

“It wasn’t a huge thing but it was enough to keep me out of the water for a couple of weeks,” said Mike

When they arrived in English Harbour in Antigua in late March, finishing in 11th place, they received a rapturous welcome, particularly from their waiting families.

Simon – whose large beard meant his five-year-old son did not recognise him – said: “The welcome was just so special – it made you feel like a hero. To see our families after nearly three months was quite a tearful moment.”

Mike said his two daughters, Lauren and Caitlin, were overcome by his return.

“I think they were a little shell-shocked – they didn’t quite know how to take it. My eldest was quite emotional – I looked quite different with a big beard and long hair.”

And despite their gruelling exploits, both men are keen to take on more extreme challenges in the future.

Mike said he was considering climbing Mont Blanc next summer, while Simon is considering attempting the Sahara Desert Marathon. He is also tempted to do the Three Peaks Challenge for the second time – but this time by boat.

He said: “You travel by boat then hit land in Scotland and run to Ben Nevis. You sail down to Scafell Pike and then run up that and then sail down to North Wales for the last peak.

“I’ve got a few members of the fire service wanting to do it – now we just need someone with a boat.”

The exhibition charting their voyage is running at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea until November 7

Wearing clothes just caused problems and in the end we just did away with them and rowed

Extreme Archaeology: Divers Plumb The Mysteries Of Sacred Maya Pools

Extreme Archaeology: Divers Plumb The Mysteries Of Sacred Maya Pools

URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, Illinois -- Steering clear of crocodiles and navigating around massive submerged trees, a team of divers began mapping some of the 25 freshwater pools of Cara Blanca, Belize, which were important to the ancient Maya. In three weeks this May, the divers found fossilized animal remains, bits of pottery and – in the largest pool explored – an enormous underwater cave.

This project, led by University of Illinois anthropology professor Lisa Lucero and funded by the National Geographic Society and an Arnold O. Beckman Award, was the first of what Lucero hopes will be a series of dives into the pools of the southern Maya lowlands in central Belize. The divers will return this summer to assess whether archaeological excavation is even possible at the bottom of the pools, some of which are more than 60 meters deep.

"We don't know if it's going to be feasible to conduct archaeology 200 feet below the surface," Lucero said. "But they are going to try."

The Maya believed that openings in the earth, including caves and water-filled sinkholes, called cenotes (sen-OH-tays), were portals to the underworld, and often left offerings there. Ceremonial artifacts of the Maya have been found in pools and lakes in Mexico, but not yet in Belize.

Maya structures have been found near two of the eight pools the team surveyed.

"The pools with the most substantial and most obvious settlement at the edge also turn out to be the deepest that we know," Lucero said. The divers so far have explored eight of the 25 known pools of Cara Blanca.

The use of these pools at the end of the Late Classic period (roughly A.D. 800-900) corresponds to an enduring drought that deforested parts of Central America and – some believe – ultimately drove the Maya from the area.

The need for fresh water could have drawn the Maya to the pools, Lucero said. No vessels other than water jars were found in the structures built near the pools.

"They could have been making offerings to the rain god and other supernatural forces to bring an end to the drought," she said.

Patricia Beddows, one of the divers and a hydrologist and geochemist at Northwestern University, found that the chemistry of the water in each of the pools was distinct. She also found that the water in Pool 1, the pool with the huge cave and a Maya structure at its edge, held the freshest water of the pools surveyed. But the water contained a lot of soluble minerals, Lucero said, making it problematic for anyone who used it as their primary water supply. Those who drank the water over an extended period would have been at risk of developing kidney stones, she said.

The divers extracted core samples of the sediment at the bottoms of two of the pools. An analysis of the soil, debris and pollen in the cores will offer insight into the natural history of the cenotes and the surrounding region.

Lucero recruited expert cave exploration divers for the expedition. She provided food, lodging and other basics, but the divers donated their time and expertise. The dive team included Robbie Schmittner, Kim Davidsson (an independent cave dive instructor), Bil Phillips, and videographer Marty O'Farrell, who produced the video.

The research team also included archaeologist Andrew Kinkella, of Moorpark College. In Pool 1, Kinkella and diver Edward Mallon recovered ceramic jar shards in the wall of the pool just below the Maya structure.

Three more divers, Steve Bogaerts, James "Chip" Petersen and still photographer Tony Rath will join the project this summer.

Lucero has studied Maya settlements and sacred sites in Belize for more than 20 years, and works under the auspices of the Institute of Archaeology, which is part of the National Institute of Culture and History, Government of Belize.

Egypt scours bed of Lake Qarun in search of antiquities

From PhyOrg: Egypt scours bed of Lake Qarun in search of antiquities

Egyptian experts have begun to explore the depths of Lake Qarun south of Cairo using remote sensing radars in search of sunken artefacts, antiquities officials told AFP on Wednesday. Antiquities supremo Zahi Hawass, pictured in April 2010, said the work was launched a few days ago. "It is the first time ever that the antiquities department carries out an archaeological mission in Lake Qarun."

Egyptian experts have begun to explore the depths of Lake Qarun south of Cairo using remote sensing radars in search of sunken artefacts, antiquities officials told AFP on Wednesday.

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Antiquities supremo Zahi Hawass said the work was launched a few days ago. "It is the first time ever that the antiquities department carries out an archaeological mission in Lake Qarun."

Khaled Saeed, who heads the department of pre-historic affairs at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the team under his supervision hopes to pinpoint "huge basalt rocks" at the bottom of Lake Qarun.

According to Saeed, the discovery of the rocks was first made by Egyptian-American scientist Faruq al-Baz, a veteran of NASA's Apollo programme, five years ago.

Baz, who now runs the Centre for Space Studies at Boston University, was carrying out a satellite survey of Egypt's Western Desert when he and his team discovered in the Lake Qarun area "a large number of huge blocks of rock."

"I believe that these huge slabs are made of basalt (volcanic rock) which were eventually moved upstream to the Giza plateau for the construction of the Great Pyramid," Saeed said.

Teams of divers are examining a 10-kilometre (6.2 mile) long stretch of sea bed in Lake Qarun, Saeed added.

The lake is the third largest in Egypt and is part of the Fayyum Oasis, more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Cairo, and part of the ancient Lake Moeris, once a body of sweet water.

Fayyum is known for a series of colourful funerary portraits -- masks painted on wood tablets and dating from the Roman period (1st to 3rd centuries AD) which were used to cover the face of the deceased.

Expedition to Andrew Doria makes ‘significant find’

Lake Havasu, Arizona News-Herald: Searching for sea treasures
Havasu resident leads expedition to famous shipwreck; crew makes ‘significant find’

Pitch black, icy water, 230 feet below the surface and inside a 54-year-old collapsing ship.


Lake Havasu City resident Joel Silverstein descends to the shipwrecked Andrea Doria in strong currents at 220 feet in 2006 off the coast of Nantucket.

That combination would scare most people, but for Havasu resident Joel Silverstein, the dive down to the famous Andrea Doria shipwreck is as good as it gets.

“You have to be able to work in the dark, you have to be able to work alone and you need a fair amount of resolve. This is a very dangerous location and fatalities do happen,” said Silverstein, vice president and COO of Havasu’s Tech Diving Limited. “Sometimes it’s flat calm and perfect down there. Other days it’s a washing machine.”

But the famous ocean liner shipwreck that sunk in 1956 after colliding with the Swedish liner Stockholm in the waters off Nantucket still gives up treasures, Silverstein said. On June 25 aboard Capt. David Sutton’s R/V Explorer on the Silverstein/Sutton 2010 Andrea Doria Expedition, New Jersey divers Ernest Rookey and Carl Bayer located and recovered the “crow’s nest bell” from the Andrea Doria. The bell is considered to be “one of the most significant finds in the history of the wreck,” Silverstein said.

“This is an outstanding and historic find,” said Silverstein, the expedition leader during the find, in June. “In my 18 years of diving the Doria, this is probably the most significant artifact found.”

Andrea Doria historian and author Gary Gentile, who found the wreck’s stern bell in 1985, was also aboard the Silverstein/Sutton expedition.

“There was never any proof that a crow’s nest bell existed until today,” said Gentile in June.

Gentile has been diving the wreck since 1974 and has more documented dives on the Andrea Doria than any other diver, according to a press release. Fewer than 1,000 divers have visited the wreck from all over the world and 13 have lost their lives. Silverstein said the dangers, depth, isolation, freezing temperatures and strong currents have combined to earn the Andrea Doria the nickname as “the Mount Everest of dives.”

“The danger and the intrigue of finding something significant make it one of the most famous dives in the world,” Silverstein said, adding that he’s made 14 dives on the wreck since 1992. Silverstein’s wife and Tech Diving Limited President Kathy Weydig has made several dives as well. “We take a lot of precautions before heading out and safety is our absolute first priority. Finding artifacts is actually easier now than it used to be because it has collapsed and they’re just spilling out. Most divers don’t enter the inside anymore.”

Finding the crow’s nest bell was a combination of “great skill and a little bit of luck,” Silverstein said. The 75-pound bronze bell, which holds the Andrea Doria name, was largely covered in sand and debris on the ocean floor when Bayer and Rookey first saw it.

“The currents are so strong and move back and forth, so some days it’s covered and some days it’s not,” Silverstein said. “But we had flat seas, calm conditions and big fish (Maako sharks) and everything else that makes this a once-in-a-lifetime dive.”

The feeling of seeing the bell on the surface after Bayer and Rookey collected it is a feeling Silverstein said he won’t soon forget.

“So I’m standing on the deck with the others when this bag comes up and we look at it and we’re all star struck,” Silverstein said. “We’ve been diving this thing forever, and these guys on their first trip find the bell. And at that moment we knew this bell would change them for the rest of their lives.”

Sutton agreed.

“This was their first expedition to the Andrea Doria,” Capt. Sutton said in June. “Andrea Doria expeditions are hard-core adventures. A discovery like this one just makes it all that more special.”

But the most memorable moment on the trip, Silverstein said, was the moment when Sutton rang the bell eight times to signify the changing of the guard.

“From what we can gather, this bell was used on the crow’s nest to signal fog. So it’s quite possible that the last time it had been rung was when the Doria was about to collide with the Stockholm in the fog,” he said. “So when he hit it, it was the first time the bell had been struck since it sank in 1956. It was pretty moving when you realize that almost 1,700 people almost lost their lives in the shipwreck. When you hear a sound that hadn’t had a voice in over 50 years, it’s pretty emotional.”

Rookey and Bayer recently said they considered selling the bell, but expect to put it on permanent loan to be featured in diving exhibitions following its restoration.

“It’s a significant find because it has the words Andrea Doria on it, so it’s more important than the dishes and trinkets found on previous expeditions,” Silverstein said. “In the world of maritime collectors, the bell could probably yield upwards of $50,000 if it was sold.”

Those interested in learning more about the expeditions to the Andrea Doria and those looking for photos of the crow’s nest bell are encouraged to visit www.techdivinglimited.com. To hear and see Sutton ring the bell, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ_ipSJPvEE&feature=player_embedded.

Crews to prepare recovery site for WWII plane

Sign On San Diego: Crews to prepare recovery site for WWII plane

SAN DIEGO — City of San Diego ranger-divers on Tuesday will begin preparing the recovery site to lift a vintage World War II fighter plane that has been at the bottom of Lower Otay Lake since it crashed there in 1945.

Capt. Bob Rasmussen, director of the Florida-based National Naval Aviation Museum, said he should have an exact date for the recovery operation by the end of the week.

“We’re going to give it a shot, and we’re looking at the middle of August right now,” Rasmussen said.

That news set off a chain reaction in San Diego, where the city, which owns the reservoir and water, will prepare a triangular boom that will be used to collect any fuel, oil or other toxins that may leak from the plane when it’s being recovered. A&T Recovery, based in Chicago, will conduct the complex operation of cleaning debris from inside and around the plane. Divers and engineers will then work off a plan drawn up by Taras Lyssenko and his engineers from A&T Recovery.

“The first thing we have to do is pull all the mud back and from inside the plane and around it,” Lyssenko said. “We have to see what the structure and integrity of the plane is like before we attempt to lift it. We have to see if there is any fuel or toxins there.”

Lyssenko said the salvage could be done in stages. For instance, if the engine is off the plane or not secure, it may come up separately. If it can be secured, then divers will do that and raise it with the plane.

“We won’t know anything until we pull the mud back,” he said. “We need to make sure everything on the plane is attached and secure. It’s not a simple thing.”

Nelson Manville, assistant city lakes manager in charge of the ranger-diver team, said that on Tuesday his divers will set three large anchors that will hold a triangular boom on buoys in place for the recovery operation.

“These are the standard anchors we place off our docks to hold them in place,” Manville said. “They are 55-gallon drums, filled with concrete, and have a large piece of pipe in them.”

Manville said two of the anchors will be set near the plane and one will be placed closer to shore to form a triangular boom to catch potential toxins. Manville said the boom itself absorbs oil, fuel and toxins, and there is a giant pad available that will serve as a backup absorbent.

It’s been nearly a year and a half since two bass fishermen, Duane Johnson and Curtis Howard, discovered the SB2C-4 Helldiver on their Humminbird Fish Finder in 85 feet of water southwest of the boat dock at Lower Otay Lake.

The plane had sat unnoticed and undisturbed since May 28, 1945. On that date, pilot E.D. Frazar was forced to ditch in the lake when the big plane’s engine failed. Frazar and his passenger, Army gunner Joseph Metz of Ohio, survived the water landing and swam a couple hundred yards to shore.

When Johnson and Howard found the plane, they alerted Bryan Norris, reservoir keeper at Otay, who then summoned Manville and his ranger-diver crew. Divers Mark Miller and Kevin Kidd-Tackaberry made the initial dive, but when they saw the Navy’s insignia on the plane, they alerted military officials. Soon, the National Naval Aviation Museum was brought in, and it hired A&T Recovery to dive and see whether the historic plane could be recovered. There are fewer than five of the Helldivers left from the estimated 7,000 that were made during World War II. The Navy doesn’t have one in its collection and covets this plane.

Encrusted Conglomeration Yields Artifacts Of Wealth And War: Pieces Of Eight And 'Gunner's Dice'

Underwater Times: Encrusted Conglomeration Yields Artifacts Of Wealth And War: Pieces Of Eight And 'Gunner's Dice'


KEY WEST, Florida -- The five pound encrusted conglomeration of Santa Margarita shipwreck artifacts discovered in the Florida Straits in May by W. Keith Webb's Blue Water Ventures, though still in conservation, has thus far yielded two prime examples of 17th century Spanish presence in the America's—money and weaponry.

The money appears in the form of seven silver "pieces of eight" treasure coins; the weaponry are ten "gunner's dice." John Corcoran, chief conservator for Mel Fisher's Treasures—Blue Water's joint venture partner—explained that gunner's dice are approximately 1"x1" bits of square-cut iron that were wrapped into a bundle—sometimes mixed with pieces of broken spike—and fired from cannon.

One never knows what might be discovered in a conglomeration of shipwreck material. Even though gold does not typically become encrusted in sea water, it can if it is near another metal such as iron, so a conglomeration can include a variety of artifacts, such as hull spikes, weaponry, silver and gold coins, chains and jewelry.

The near-mint condition, Mexico City minted silver "piece of eight" coin in the accompanying photograph is from the conglomeration discovered in May by BWV diver Kris Goodner and represents one of about 80,000 coins still to be discovered on the sunken 1622 Tierra Firme Fleet galleon Santa Margarita. Mexico Mint coins are particularly rare on the Santa Margarita as they were actually part of the cargo of an altogether different fleet, the New Spain Fleet—whose admiral made the unfortunate decision to transfer valuable coin cargo from his fleet to the better-armed, but doomed, Tierra Firme fleet ships to carry.

Cauldron from rare wreckage will shed light on St. Augustine’s colonial heritage

Jacksonville.com: Cauldron from rare wreckage will shed light on St. Augustine’s colonial heritage

It sure didn’t look like the proverbial pot at the end of a rainbow as it emerged from an estimated 250-plus years of slumber 30 feet under the waves off St. Augustine.

Encrustations of century’s-old mud marred the cauldron’s shape as it was hauled onto the dive boat Wednesday by the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program team.

But there could be historical gold in the pot removed from a shipwreck within sight of the St. Augustine Lighthouse. Chuck Meide, Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program director, found what could be a spoon stuck inside.

See more photos of LAMP workers bringing the 300-year-old cauldron to the surface

Meide is hoping the cauldron will unlock a time capsule to a rare ship from St. Augustine’s bustling 1800s colonial period. He said only one colonial shipwreck has ever been found off Northeast Florida.

“This particular shipwreck was even harder to find because it was completely buried under the sand,” Meide said. “It makes it harder to find, but it also makes it a really great find because no one has ever dived it before and we don’t think anyone knows about it.”

Placed in an electrolysis tank to leach salt from its iron to preserve it, the cauldron could soon be on display at the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum as it undergoes up to two years of cleanup. More artifacts should be pulled up soon by the team and its high school interns in what lighthouse museum Executive Director Kathy Fleming said is another step in bringing the region’s maritime history to the community.

“It would be nice if it were a Spanish wreck. We don’t know. It might be British,” Fleming said. “We will find out more about the colonial period, engage more students and we will probably do more in the community.”

The Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program is the research arm of the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum, seeking and preserving the underwater history offshore of the nation’s oldest city.

Archaeologist John Morris and his team’s first underwater survey in 1996 targeted more than 50 possible wrecks. One was the British sloop Industry, sunk in 1764 while entering St. Augustine’s harbor inlet, then just south of the current lighthouse. They recovered numerous artifacts including a cannon and tools that never made it to St. Augustine’s then British outpost.

State funding helped archaeologists do a more refined search on this ship last summer when a diver stuck a probe into the sandy bottom. Work exposed the cauldron and hundreds of lead shotgun pellets, a kind made only in the 17th and 18th centuries. Then there’s the 15-inch-high cauldron, a design dating from 1740 to 1780, meaning this might be an 18th-century merchant run afoul of a sandbar.

“A sea captain who has already waited two weeks for a good wind and tide to come together to get into the harbor might be impatient, and that happened a lot,” said Sam Turner, director of archaeology. “They took the risk.”

Cheers and champagne was poured when the cauldron was raised from the bottom Thursday morning. More dives this summer could uncover the ship’s cargo, even enough hull to determine when and where the ship was built.

The team also plans to dive on other promising sites targeted last summer near the original inlet site, a state-protected preserve.

The 'Other' Silk Road: China Peers Into Maritime Past

From NPR: The 'Other' Silk Road: China Peers Into Maritime Past

In China, it is hard to imagine just how much history lies right under your feet. The country has long been a goldmine for archaeologists.

Until recently, they have been confined to digging on land. But in recent years, China has grown into a powerhouse of nautical archaeology, combing its vast coastline for undersea shipwrecks, treasure, and traces of a trade route known as the "Maritime Silk Road," a less-known parallel to the fabled overland passage.

About 1,000 visitors a day flock to one of China's newest museums, in Guangdong province's Yangjiang city. It is called the Maritime Silk Road Museum, and it is on the beach, facing the South China Sea.

The museum houses one of the world's oldest known merchant ships, dating from the Southern Song Dynasty in the 13th century. It's been dubbed the South China Sea No. 1.

Museum guide Liu Jinxiu explains that Chinese and British explorers discovered the ship by accident in 1987 while looking for a sunken vessel belonging to the British East India Company.

"The explorers used a claw to fish out more than 200 pieces of fine Chinese porcelain," she says. "From this, they deduced that the ship was Chinese, and not British, and the two sides ended their cooperation."

At the time, China lacked the means to salvage the ship. Archaeologist Zhang Wei of the National Museum of China remembers how he went about setting up the field of nautical archaeology for his country.

They remind us that the world's peoples have never been as isolated from each other, or on as tense terms, as we might think.

"I had previously spent five years as a field archaeologist," he recalls. "But I switched careers because China wanted to get into underwater archaeology. At the time, we had no personnel, no equipment and no knowledge. We had to start from scratch."

Two decades later, after Zhang received training at Texas A&M University, he assembled and trained a team of underwater archaeologists, and helped secure $40 million from the government to salvage the South China Sea No. 1.

His team returned to the site of the shipwreck, which lay under about 80 feet of water and six feet of silt. The vessel was first enclosed in a huge steel container. Then a massive derrick was used to hoist the container off the ocean floor — ship, silt, seawater and all — weighing more than 3,000 tons. It was then rolled ashore and put into the museum.

Zhang Wei notes that this is not how nautical archaeology is usually done.

"Shipwrecks are usually supposed to be left in place," he points out. "But we feared that everyone knew this ship's location, and if we didn't salvage it, it might be looted."

Though it is sitting in the museum, the ship remains hidden under the silt and water in its container. Archaeologists are still deciding on just how to excavate it.

Museum curator Ma Haizao says archaeologists want to get as much information as they can from the ship about ancient China's shipbuilding and maritime commerce. When exactly they excavate the boat doesn't matter much, he says.

"We don't have a definite schedule yet," Ma says. "But I am confident that the South China Sea No. 1 will one day appear before the eyes of the world. There's no question about that."

Ma says as the ship is being excavated, archaeologists will make a full-scale replica of the craft. At about 112 feet long, it's a medium-size boat by the standards of the Song dynasty. It was an average commercial vessel, as was its cargo.

Archaeologists believe the ship sailed down China's southeast coast, stopping at major ports to take on crates of porcelain, gold ornaments, iron cooking woks and other merchandise. It was probably en route to Indonesia when it sank for unknown reasons.

In the 13th century, porcelain was hi-tech stuff, and China had a monopoly over it. Archaeologists say that at the time much of the world was still eating out of wooden plates and bowls.

Liu, the museum guide, points to one piece of porcelain in a museum display case.

"This wide-mouthed vessel is different from what we use in China," she observes. "This leads archaeologists to believe that Southeast Asian peoples used these to hold pepper and other spices. Foreign merchants may have come to China and had these vessels made to order for export to Southeast Asia."

In other words, China was exporting its wares around the world some eight centuries before Apple started making the iPhone here.

Liu Wensuo is an archaeologist at Sun Yat-sen University in the provincial capital, Guangzhou. He says that the South China Sea No. 1 may yield clues about the Maritime Silk Road, which connected China to India, Africa and Europe as early as 1,400 years ago. He says that Chinese merchants usually took their wares as far as southern India and Indonesia, where Indian or Arabian traders bought them and took them farther west.

"The greatest significance of the Silk Roads is that they remind us that the world's peoples have never been as isolated from each other, or on as tense terms, as we might think," Liu says. "At least, due to the profit motive, people-to-people exchanges have existed continuously."

Liu adds that the land-based Silk Road was always the bigger and better known of the two routes.

China has always been first and foremost a continental power, he says, with a somewhat inward-looking and authoritarian character. But Liu notes that the Maritime Silk Road remained a vital East-West conduit, not just for trade and transport, but also for ideas and beliefs.

Treasure hunter finds huge Roman coin hoard in Britain

Treasure hunter finds huge Roman coin hoard in Britain
by Amanda Fox

When David Crisp saw an odd response on his metal detector the 63 year old Brit had no idea he was going to find anything much different that the usual items he unearths in his pursuits as an amateur treasure hunter. He did know he found something larger than he usually stumbles across, but he never expected to find a hoard of 52,500 Roman coins bearing the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius dating back to the third century. All told, the haul weighed some 350 pounds and carries an estimated value of $5 million dollars (3.3 million pounds) at first estimate.

Crisp was very smart about his treasure hunting to the delight of archaeologists around the world as he did what few people could do in such an exciting and clearly profitable position - he stopped digging once he realized what he had found. After investigating the source of the signal his metal detector picked up, Crisp dug into the soil about a foot or so deep where he discovered a clay pot. He fished around inside of it to find a small coin about the size of his fingernail. He then went back in for a second look and found about another twenty coins. That was when he knew he had found something big and something potentially very important.

Archaeologists from Somerset County Council were then notified and quickly came to the scene to complete the investigation. To their amazement they began pulling out one clay pot after another each filled with coins. The coins were supposedly collected as a part of a religious tithe during the twenty years Carausius was the British Emperor as appointed by the coalition of the Emperors Maximian and Diocletian.

The question on most people's minds - particularly Crisp - is what is going to happen with the coins now. A formal inquest will be held to determine whether or not the discovery is subject to the Treasure Act. In all likelihood that will be the determination and will subsequently formalize a price that must be paid for any institution that wishes to acquire the Crisp discovery which has now been classified as one of the largest in British history of its kind. While the tiny bronze coins may not inspire excitement among some as gold is always what grabs the most attention, this is still as historically significant a discovery as any Britain has seen in quite awhile.

Under the provisions of the Treasure Act, a treasure is the discovery of any object over 300 years old which is not a coin but has metallic content which is at least 10% precious metal by weight. In specific reference to coins, at least two must be discovered together to qualify as a treasure. Of course the interpretation cannot be left as simple as that as subsection after subsection provides alternate definitions for what defines a treasure, and it is all subject to change at the discretion of the Secretary of State without explanation. In regards to ownership which equals compensation, it goes to prior interests first, the franchisee if there is one next, or in most cases it falls under the domain of the Crown. In this case it is believed the Crown will almost assuredly claim ownership of the Somerset haul.

Regarding rewards for such a discovery, the Secretary of State must first determine if a reward will be paid at all. In most cases, that is the determination if for no other reason than to avoid a lashing in the press. While the Secretary of State is encouraged to get a market value for the treasure from a reputable source like the Museum of England or entity that would be considered an authority on whatever has been discovered that is not a requirement. The Secretary of State then determines a percentage of that estimated sum to be doled out as a reward payment which cannot exceed the total market value along with following guidelines for shared payments of the treasure haul that consider any potential claimant like the land owner the treasure was discovered on, museums, potential heirs to original owners, foreign governments, etc...

What is expected is that Crisp will realize a reward payment of somewhere in the neighborhood of a half million dollars (330,000 pounds) - before taxes of course. Taxes can be waived, however that is an extreme rarity. If the coins were to be offered by a major auction house on the open market it has been estimated that the total sum realized could be double the current estimated value although it is almost certain that none will see the auction block for quite some time if ever.

Sinking Oil Threatens Historic Gulf Shipwrecks

Sinking Oil Threatens Historic Gulf Shipwrecks
Gulf Lined With Wooden Shipwrecks
CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press Writer

TIMBALIER ISLANDS, La. -- Not just flora and fauna are getting caked in oil. So is the Gulf of Mexico's barnacled history of pirates, sea battles and World War II shipwrecks.

The Gulf is lined with wooden shipwrecks, American-Indian shell midden mounds, World War II casualties, pirate colonies, historic hotels and old fishing villages. Researchers now fear this treasure seeker's dream is threatened by BP PLC's deepwater well blowout.

Within 20 miles of the well, there are several significant shipwrecks - ironically, discovered by oil companies' underwater robots working the depths - and oil is most likely beginning to cascade on them.

"People think of them as being lost, but with the deepsea diving innovations we have today, these shipwrecks are easily accessible," said Steven Anthony, president of the Maritime Archaeological and Historical Society.

"If this oil congeals on the bottom, it will be dangerous for scuba divers to go down there and explore," Anthony said. "The spill will stop investigations; it will put a chill, a halt on (underwater) operations."

The wrecks include two 19th-century wooden ships known as the "Mica Wreck" and the "Mardi Gras Wreck." The German submarine U-166 and ships sunk by other German submarines during World War II are within the spill's footprint.

The Mica was a 200-year-old, two-masted schooner that sank sometime before 1850, according to a report by the Minerals Management Service. It was discovered about 2,500 feet deep in the Mississippi Canyon during work to lay a pipeline.

In 2002, the Mardi Gras wreck was discovered by oilfield workers in even deeper waters: About 4,000 feet down about 35 miles off the Louisiana coast. The wreck got its name from the pipeline project where the wreck was found: the Mardi Gras Gas Transmission System, a huge deepwater pipeline system.

Researchers with Texas A&M University believe the sunken ship may have been a gun runner or British trader during the War of 1812.

BP played a part in finding the U-166, a German U-boat sunk in World War II off the Louisiana coast. Then, as now, the Mississippi River was an important corridor for merchant shipping.

Crews surveying a pipeline project for BP and Shell in the Mississippi Canyon region came across U-166 in 2001. On July 30, 1942, the German submarine torpedoed the passenger-freighter Robert E. Lee, and then itself was sunk by depth charges from the Navy escort PC-566.

This week, oil washed ashore in the Florida Panhandle, where the USS Oriskany aircraft carrier lies off the coast of Pensacola, Fla. The Navy sank it in May 2006 to make an artificial reef. Sen. John McCain once flew bombing runs off the ship's deck.

The tedious task of examining the wrecks for damage is beginning, though it's uncertain whether BP will be held responsible for ruining underwater sites.

Dave McMahan, Alaska's state archaeologist and an Exxon Valdez oil spill veteran, said federal environmental surveys and the courts would likely decide the matter.

"I would say for the folks working on cultural resources - or any resource - document everything," McMahan advised.

Archaeologists are fanning out to assess the spill's effect. The Gulf shoreline is chock full of history and to a trained eye, the bounty springs out.

"This is like Christmas Day for me," said Courtney Cloy, an archaeologist mapping the Timbalier Islands, a barrier island chain on Louisiana's central coast. "I am finding ceramics all over the surface out here."

The origin of the ceramics was unclear. Perhaps they washed in from a shipwreck just offshore. Or they might have come from a hotel or home that once stood on the badly eroded barrier islands.

For now, the Timbalier islands are safe: Oil contamination has been modest and cleanup crews are being kept at bay.

But archaeologists have grave concerns for other locations.

Oil has begun washing up on Pensacola's beaches, where in 1886, Geronimo, the Apache warrior, was imprisoned in Fort Pickens, the largest of four forts built to defend Pensacola Bay.

On the Mississippi coast, Ship Island was the only deep-water harbor between Mobile Bay and the Mississippi River for 300 years; thousands of Europeans first set foot in North America there, earning the nickname Plymouth Rock of the Gulf Coast.

During the Civil War, Ship Island was Union Adm. David Farragut's base of operations, where he successfully launched an attack on New Orleans in April 1862.

On Grand Terre Island, just west of the Mississippi River, archaeologists have found remnants of a colony set up by Jean Lafitte, the pirate who helped Andrew Jackson win the Battle of New Orleans.

Archaeologist hope to avoid the mistakes made during the Exxon Valdez cleanup.

"We learned from Exxon Valdez that there were incidents of looting by cleanup workers, equipment being brought in, destroying the ground," said John Rawls, marine archaeologist with Earth Search Inc., a firm hired by BP to do archaeological surveys.

In one incident, cleanup workers stumbled across a prehistoric Chugachmiut burial cave containing wooden artifacts.

"Cleanup workers found the cave, which was unknown to archaeologists, and removed some of the bones and then called a supervisor," McMahan said. He said Exxon security collected more of the bones and state troopers raked remains into a body bag and carted them away. "The site was pretty much trashed," he said.

McMahan said cleanup workers need to be trained to be aware of their surroundings and to tread lightly on the landscape.

Archaeologists worry the push to clean the BP spill as fast as possible is causing damage. Bulldozers and dredges are being used to build barrier islands and erect sand dams, and thousands of workers are raking tar balls and crude off beaches.

"Avoidance is No. 1," Cloy said. "We want to keep our footprint on these sites as minimal as possible."

Gold, silver from 1715 Spanish fleet found in shallow water off Treasure Coast

Gold, silver from 1715 Spanish fleet found in shallow water off Treasure Coast

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A gold-rimmed portrait necklace, several gold and silver coins and numerous artifacts from a 1715 Spanish fleet have been discovered in about 10 feet of water off the aptly named Treasure Coast.

The June 19 find just off Indian River Shores was revealed last week by a firm that also said it has acquired the salvage rights to the sunken ships from the heirs of world-famous treasure hunter Mel Fisher.

In 1715, an 11-ship fleet set sail from Cuba laden with gold bars, coins, diamonds, emeralds and pearls bound for King Philip V of Spain. The bounty included the dowry for Philip's new bride, Elisabeth. The ships sank in a hurricane.

"The ships were blown into the reefs and sank, so they're relatively close to shore," said Brent Brisben of Sebastian, who with his father, William Brisben of Jupiter Island, formed Queen's Jewels and bought the U.S. admiralty custodianship of the Spanish fleet and the right to salvage the wrecked ships from Fisher's heirs.

The sites of six of the sunken ships have been found, some in only 10 feet to 20 feet of water. But the bulk of the treasure — including the queen's jewels, estimated to be worth close to $900 million — still hasn't been recovered.

Fisher earned the right to salvage the 1715 fleet after a 1982 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court gave him official admiralty custodianship of the wrecks, a right subcontractor Greg Bounds compares to registering a claim with the government to pan for gold.

Brisben declined to say how much he and his father paid for the salvage right; but he's serious about safeguarding his 300-square-mile stake, which extends from the low-tide mark into the ocean.

"People who might be considering 'pirating' artifacts from our claim should know that to do so is a federal offense," Brisben said.

Still, Bounds said, anyone who has serious treasure fever "can hunt on the beach all they want."

"The state gets 20 percent of the haul," Bounds said, "and gets to pick the pieces it wants first. The rest will be split 50-50 between the owners (the Brisbens) and the subcontractors who found it."

Brisben admitted he and his father, both experienced real estate developers in Cincinnati, are "neophyte treasure hunters."

"The treasure is the lure, but it's the history that's so fascinating," he said. "To be involved with the archaeological recovery of these treasures is the adventure of a lifetime and something we couldn't pass up."

Search for Franklin's lost ships to resume

Search for Franklin's lost ships to resume

Canadian officials will return to the Northwest Passage this summer in search of Sir John Franklin's long-lost ships, after efforts were postponed last year.

Federal searchers say they will take sonar equipment to the waters southwest of King William Island, in the Northwest Passage, in the hopes of finding the ships underwater.

Parks Canada began a three-year effort in 2008 to find the famed British explorer's ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, which went missing more than 160 years ago in the High Arctic.

The government-sponsored search was postponed last summer because Parks Canada could not get on a military or Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker.

This time, federal searchers say, they will be on board the coast guard icebreaker Sir Wilfrid Laurier for three weeks in August. The icebreaker will deploy two smaller vessels that will carry sonar equipment on board.

"There's little doubt that Franklin's lost ships are probably the most sought-after shipwrecks in Canada," Ryan Harris, a senior marine archeologist with Parks Canada, told CBC News on Monday.

Ships may be intact
Historians have been fascinated with Franklin's doomed 1845 journey to the Northwest Passage, but previous search expeditions have not found the Erebus and Terror.

Inuit historian Louis Kamookak speaks at a 2008 announcement unveiling the federal government's three-year search effort for the Erebus and Terror. (CBC)
The Parks Canada search team will focus this summer on the waters southwest of King William Island in the Queen Maud Gulf, where Inuit oral history suggests the ships may have sunk intact.

"One of the ships drifted to the west and was crushed in ice," said Inuit historian Louis Kamookak of Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, who has been working with the federal team.

"The other ship managed to go down the channel towards the southwest of King William Island into the safer waters, where there's less current and the ice movement is a lot calmer in the area in the summer," he added.

The federal searches were in the same area for six weeks in 2008, primarily mapping out the ocean floor. Harris said that this year searchers will use the sonar instruments to search for the wrecks.

Ships, crew disappeared
In 1845, Franklin had set out from England aboard the vessels, in hopes of exploring and mapping the Northwest Passage. Neither he nor any of his 128 crewmen ever returned.

By 1848, two ships and an overland party were searching for traces of the ships and crew.

A total of eight expeditions were launched in the 12 years following Franklin's disappearance, funded by a range of financial backers, from the British Navy to the Hudson's Bay Company to Franklin's wife.

Only traces of the expedition have ever been found.

"It's a very exciting story — Victorian, Gothic, a horror story that essentially unfolded across the Arctic expanse," Harris said.

Arctic underwater vehicle tests OK'd (Musn't disturb Franklin's ships)

Arctic underwater vehicle tests OK'd

A Canadian archeological firm has been cleared to test robotic submersibles in Larsen Sound this summer, provided it does not disturb the possible resting place of Sir John Franklin's lost ships.

Nunavut regulators have approved a revised proposal from ProCom Marine Survey and Archeology's to test AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles) in the sound, located 195 kilometres northwest of Taloyoak in western Nunavut.

Earlier this year, the Nunavut Impact Review Board rejected ProCom's original proposal, partly over fears the company's work might disturb an area where the wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror are believed to be located.

Archeologists have long been searching for the Erebus and Terror, which vanished — along with Franklin and his crew — during the British explorer's doomed expedition to the Northwest Passage in 1845.

Committed to protect area
When ProCom was invited to resubmit its application for the AUV project, the company was asked to address how it would avoid disturbing the shipwrecks should they be discovered during the tests.

"There was a commitment that should any such site be encountered that an appropriate buffer would be established immediately," review board official Ryan Barry told CBC News. "The location would be reported to the Government of Nunavut, and no further work would be done in that area."

Other guidelines issued to ProCom to prevent possible damage include not dropping an anchor

Barry said ProCom was also asked to explain why it picked Larsen Sound for the AUV tests.

In response, Barry said two scientists — including one from the Geological Survey of Canada — wrote letters of support for the project, saying they are interested in knowing how the AUVs would perform in the area.

The scientists also expressed interest in the multibeam sonar ProCom plans to use because it could identify features of the seabed, of which little is known in Larsen Sound, Barry added.

In an email to CBC News, ProCom president Rob Rondeau confirmed the company has been cleared to do its work.

If ProCom staff come into any contact with any cultural resources during their work, they will notify the Nunavut government, he added.

Nunavut:
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was officially separated from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993. The creation of Nunavut – meaning "our land" in Inuktitut – resulted in the first major change to Canada's map since the incorporation of the new province of Newfoundland in 1949.

Nunavut comprises a major portion of Northern Canada, and most of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, making it the fifth-largest country subdivision in the world. The capital Iqaluit (formerly "Frobisher Bay") on Baffin Island, in the east, was chosen by the 1995 capital plebiscite. Other major communities include the regional centres of Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay. Nunavut also includes Ellesmere Island to the north, as well as the eastern and southern portions of Victoria Island in the west and Akimiski Island in James Bay to the far south.

Nunavut is both the least populous and the largest in geography of the provinces and territories of Canada. It has a population of 29,474, mostly Inuit, spread over an area the size of Western Europe. Nunavut is also home to the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world, Alert.


Geography
Nunavut covers 1,932,255 km2 (746,048 sq mi) of land and 160,935 km2 (62,137 sq mi) of water in Northern Canada. The territory includes part of the mainland, most of the Arctic Archipelago, and all of the islands in Hudson Bay, James Bay, and Ungava Bay (including the Belcher Islands) which belonged to the Northwest Territories. This makes it the fifth largest subnational entity (or administrative division) in the world. If Nunavut were a country, it would rank 15th in area.

Nunavut has land borders with the Northwest Territories on several islands as well as the mainland, Manitoba to the south of the Nunavut mainland, Saskatchewan to the southwest – thereby forming a quadripoint at 60°00′N 102°00′W / 60°N 102°W / 60; -102 (Four Corners (Canada)) with these three aforementioned regions – and a tiny land border with Newfoundland and Labrador on Killiniq Island. It also shares maritime borders with the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba and with Greenland.

Nunavut's highest point is Barbeau Peak (2,616 m (8,583 ft) on Ellesmere Island. The population density is 0.015 persons per square kilometre, one of the lowest in the world. By comparison, Greenland has approximately the same area and nearly twice the population.

History
The region now known as Nunavut has supported a continuous indigenous population for approximately 4,000 years. Most historians identify the coast of Baffin Island with the Helluland described in Norse sagas, so it is possible that the inhabitants of the region had occasional contact with Norse sailors.

In September 2008, researchers reported on the evaluation of existing and newly excavated archaeological remains, including yarn spun from a hare, rats, tally sticks, a carved wooden face mask depicting Caucasian features, and possible architectural material. The materials were collected in five seasons of excavation at Cape Banfield. Scholars have determined these are evidence of European traders and possibly settlers on Baffin Island not later than 1000 CE. They seem to indicate prolonged contact, possibly up to 1450 CE. The origin of the Old World contact is unclear; the article states: "Dating of some yarn and other artifacts, presumed to be left by Vikings on Baffin Island, have produced an age that predates the Vikings by several hundred years. So [...] you have to consider the possibility that as remote as it may seem, these finds may represent evidence of contact with Europeans prior to the Vikings' arrival in Greenland."

The written historical accounts of Nunavut begin in 1576, with an account by an English explorer. Martin Frobisher, while leading an expedition to find the Northwest Passage, thought he had discovered gold ore around the body of water now known as Frobisher Bay on the coast of Baffin Island. The ore turned out to be worthless, but Frobisher made the first recorded European contact with the Inuit. Other explorers in search of the elusive Northwest Passage followed in the 17th century, including Henry Hudson, William Baffin and Robert Bylot.

Cornwallis and Ellesmere Islands feature in the history of the Cold War in the 1950s. Concerned about the area's strategic geopolitical position, the federal government relocated Inuit from the High Arctic of northern Quebec to Resolute and Grise Fiord. In the unfamiliar and hostile conditions, they faced starvation but were forced to stay. Forty years later, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples issued a report titled The High Arctic Relocation: A Report on the 1953-55 Relocation.[14] The government paid compensation to those affected and their descendants, but it did not apologize.

In 1976, as part of the land claims negotiations between the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (then called the "Inuit Tapirisat of Canada") and the federal government, the parties discussed division of the Northwest Territories to provide a separate territory for the Inuit. On April 14, 1982, a plebiscite on division was held throughout the Northwest Territories. A majority of the residents voted in favour and the federal government gave a conditional agreement seven months later.

The land claims agreement was completed in September 1992 and ratified by nearly 85% of the voters in Nunavut. On July 9, 1993, the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act and the Nunavut Act were passed by the Canadian Parliament. The transition to establish Nunavut Territory was completed on April 1, 1999.

Demographics
Ten largest communities Municipality 2006 2001 growth
Iqaluit 6,184 5,236 18.1%
Rankin Inlet 2,358 2,177 8.3%
Arviat 2,060 1,899 8.5%
Baker Lake 1,728 1,507 14.7%
Igloolik 1,538 1,286 19.6%
Cambridge Bay 1,477 1,309 12.8%
Pangnirtung 1,325 1,276 3.8%
Pond Inlet 1,315 1,220 7.8%
Kugluktuk 1,302 1,212 7.4%
Cape Dorset 1,236 1,148 7.7%

As of the 2006 Census the population of Nunavut was 29,474, with 24,640 people identifying themselves as Inuit (83.6% of the total population), 100 as First Nations (0.34%), 130 Métis (0.44%) and 4,410 as non-aboriginal (14.96%).

The population growth rate of Nunavut has been well above the Canadian average for several decades, mostly due to birth rates which are significantly higher than the Canadian average, which is a trend that continues to this day. Between April and July 2009, Nunavut saw the highest population growth rate of any Canadian province or territory, at a rate of 0.68%. The second highest was Alberta, with a growth rate of 0.59%. However, Nunavut has a large net loss from migration, due to many native Inuit leaving the territory for better economic opportunity elsewhere.

Language
Along with Inuktitut; Inuinnaqtun, English, and French are also official languages.

In his 2000 commissioned report (Aajiiqatigiingniq Language of Instruction Research Paper) to the Nunavut Department of Education, Ian Martin of York University states that a "long-term threat to Inuit language from English is found everywhere, and current school language policies and practices on language are contributing to that threat" if Nunavut schools follow the Northwest Territories model. He provides a 20-year language plan to create a "fully functional bilingual society, in Inuktitut and English" by 2020.

Religion
The largest denominations by number of adherents according to the 2001 census were the Anglican Church of Canada with 15,440 (58%); the Roman Catholic Church (Roman Catholic Diocese of Churchill-Baie d'Hudson) with 6,205 (23%); and Pentecostal with 1,175 (4%).

Economy
Lupin Mine—1982–2005—gold (located near the Northwest Territories boundary near Contwoyto Lake)
Polaris Mine—1982–2002—lead and zinc (located on Little Cornwallis Island, not far from Resolute)
Nanisivik Mine at Nanisivik—1976–2002—lead and zinc (near Arctic Bay)
Rankin Inlet Mine—1957–1962—nickel and copper
Jericho Diamond Mine—2006–2008— diamond (located 400 km, 250 mi, northeast of Yellowknife)
Miramar Mining Corporation—n/a–present—Doris North Gold Mine, the mine received environmental approval from the Nunavut Impact Review Board and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada in September 2006 and a water use licence from the Nunavut Water Board in 2007.
Cumberland Resources (Meadowbank Mining Corporation)—n/a–present—Meadowbank Gold Mine has received a water use licence from the Nunavut Water Board and expects to have open-pit mining started by the end of 2008 or the beginning of 2009
Northern Transportation Company Limited, owned by Norterra, a holding company jointly owned by the Inuvialuit of the Northwest Territories and the Inuit of Nunavut.

Government
Nunavut's Chief Executive is a Commissioner appointed by the federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. As in the other territories, the commissioner's role is symbolic and is analogous to that of a Lieutenant-Governor. While the Commissioner is not formally a representative of Canada's head of state, a role roughly analogous to representing The Crown has accrued to the position.

The members of the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Nunavut are elected individually; there are no parties and the legislature is consensus-based. The head of government, the premier of Nunavut, is elected by, and from the members of the legislative assembly. As of November 14, 2008, the premier is Eva Aariak.

Faced by criticism of his policies, former Premier Paul Okalik set up an advisory council of eleven elders, whose function it is to help incorporate "Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit" (Inuit culture and traditional knowledge, often referred to in English as "IQ") into the territory's political and governmental decisions.

Owing to Nunavut's vast size, the stated goal of the territorial government has been to decentralize governance beyond the region's capital. Three regions—Kitikmeot, Kivalliq and Qikiqtaaluk/Baffin—are the basis for more localized administration, although they lack autonomous governments of their own.

The territory has an annual budget of C$700 million, provided almost entirely by the federal government (ie.e. Canada). Former Prime Minister Paul Martin designated support for Northern Canada as one of his priorities for 2004, with an extra $500 million to be divided among the three territories.

In 2001, the government of New Brunswick collaborated with the federal government and the technology firm SSI Micro to launch Qiniq, a unique network which uses satellite delivery to provide broadband Internet access to 24 communities in Nunavut. As a result, the territory was named one of the world's "Smart 25 Communities" in 2006 by the Intelligent Community Forum, a worldwide organization which honours innovation in broadband technologies.

Licence plates
Muskox on Victoria IslandThe Nunavut licence plate, originally created for the Northwest Territories in the 1970s, which is shaped like a polar bear, has long been famous worldwide for its unique design. Nunavut opted to use the same licence plate design in 1999 when it became a separate territory.

Notable Nunavummiut
Susan Aglukark is an Inuit singer and song writer. She has released six albums and has won several Juno Awards. She blends the Inuktitut and English languages with contemporary pop music arrangements to tell the stories of her people, the Inuit of Arctic.

On May 3, 2008, the Kronos Quartet premiered a collaborative piece with Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq Gillis, entitled "Nunavut", which makes use of an Inuit folk story. Tagaq is also known internationally for her collaborations with Icelandic pop star Björk.

Jordin John Kudluk Tootoo (born February 2, 1983 in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada) is a professional ice hockey player with the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League. His middle name Kudluk (kalluk in standard Roman spelling) means "thunder." Although born in Manitoba, Tootoo grew up in Rankin Inlet, where he was taught to skate and play hockey by his father, Barney. Growing up in Rankin Inlet also allowed Tootoo to learn the traditional Inuit lifestyle that includes hunting and camping. As the first Inuk to play in the National Hockey League he has become a role model for youth in Nunavut.