From English News: Saving underwater relics
BEIJING, May 25 -- Chinese underwater archaeologists hope to make their ongoing efforts to salvage the sunken ship Nan'ao-1 off the coast of Guangdong province an exemplar for other underwater projects.
A total of 20 archaeologists have been working on the centuries-old shipwreck since early April, making it the biggest in-situ underwater archaeological excavation in China since the establishment of its first underwater archaeological team in 1987.
They hope to recover the ship's full load of over 10,000 pieces of antique porcelain by the end of July before the monsoon season arrives.
Over the past weeks, the excavation team has demonstrated great teamwork, with a clear division of work, according to Cui Yong, executive leader of the recovery team.
Each night, the team meets to discuss plans for the next day's operations, based on reports of weather conditions and tidal movements.
So far the team has recovered more than 2,000 artifacts from the sunken vessel.
The progress has been slower than expected thanks to many days when strong winds have led to waves rising 1.5 meters, says Cui.
"Both water temperature and weather have been less cooperative than expected," Cui says. "But this is exactly what defines underwater archaeological excavation - its vulnerability to weather conditions, to tidal movements and to the dynamic environment of the sea bed."
He is confident of greater progress in the coming month with more agreeable weather.
He believes this excavation effort, like that on the Nanhai-1, will serve as valuable experience for future excavations of more ancient shipwrecks in the South China Sea, whose number is estimated at around 2,000.
Nanhai-1 is believed to be the first ancient vessel discovered on the "Marine Silk Road" of the South China Sea, spurring China to preserve its underwater cultural relics lying along the ancient maritime trade routes.
As one of the oldest and largest medieval vessels sailing on the trade route, Nanhai-1 was found off the coast of Yangjiang in Guangdong in 1987.
The Underwater Archaeology Research Center of China (UARCC) was established and the country's first underwater archeology team soon followed in an attempt to prevent Nanhai-1 from becoming another Chinese ancient shipwreck falling into the hands of foreign treasure hunters.
By 2001, China's underwater archaeological team had 40 members, making it possible to resume full excavation of Nanhai-1.
In December 2007, the UARCC had to lift Nanhai-1 out of water because the sea in which it had sunk was too dark for divers to see and recover the artifacts. The ship today sits in a museum in Guangdong.
It was when UARCC was busy preparing to pull out Nanhai-1 that divers found Nan'ao-1, Cui says.
Unlike Nanhai-1, Nan'ao-1 is located in waters shallow enough to allow archaeologists to lift its wreckage directly from the seabed in the daylight.
The in-situ salvage effort on Nan'ao-1 is turning out to be as challenging as lifting Nanhai-1 out of the water entirely, says Cui.
(Source: China Daily)
Related:
Deep secrets uncovered
BEIJING, May 25 -- The in-situ excavation of the wreck of a 400-year-old merchant ship is causing great excitement among marine archeologists.
Accidentally discovered by local fishermen off the coast near Nan'ao Island of Shantou in Guangdong province three years ago, Nan'ao-1 is the best preserved ancient merchant vessel ever found on the historic maritime trade route linking southern China with Europe as well as Africa and Southeast Asia. Salvage of the ancient shipwreck and its cargo of over 10,000 pieces of blue-and-white porcelain from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), began on April 9
Since then each dive has become a breathtaking experience for the salvage team, yielding more and more answers about the ship and its final voyage.
In response to the public's growing curiosity, experts have developed some postulates, based on the nearly 2,000 artifacts that have been retrieved. They believe that the ship was probably bound for Asian countries and was probably flouting bans on foreign trade at that time.
Most of the artifacts that have been recovered are porcelain pieces, including wine cups, plates, jars and vases, and are mainly from Zhangzhou in Fujian province, whose history as a center of porcelain manufacture dates back to more than 500 years.
Experts believe that some big bowls found in the vessel were probably made for foreign trade because they were not commonly used in daily life in China at that time.
Since many of the relics already recovered bear Chinese characters, experts also conclude the destination of Nan'ao-1 was probably an Asian country which was influenced by Chinese culture.
"The patterns of these relics reflect Confucian culture," says Chen Huasha, researcher of Palace Museum who has been studying the recovered relics. "Therefore, the Nao'ao-1 was most likely heading for places influenced by Confucian Philosophy, such as Japan, the Korean Peninsula and other countries in Southeast Asia."
Experts also found the fact that most of the porcelain on the vessel was made during Ming Dynasty Emperor Wanli's reign (1573-1620), of particular interest as the administration of Wanli had imposed a ban on sea trade.
The Ming Dynasty restricted private sea trade to deter piracy, which had imposed huge hardships on legitimate sea traders, and ensure maritime security along Chinese coastal areas.
This means the Nan'ao-1 was probably flouting bans on foreign trade at the time, says Sun Jian, head of the salvage team.
Sheet copper and coins found during the salvage operation also indicate that the ship might have been smuggling copper too, Sun says.
Many ancient Chinese dynasties, including the Ming Dynasty, banned the export of copper, as the metal was precious and used to manufacture coins, a major currency, in ancient China, according to Sun.
Aside from the blue-and-white porcelain plates, archeologists have discovered an item, which looks like a ring, or an earring, as well as a batch of circular copper ingots.
Some experts believe that the porcelain artifacts might be ballast, as it was common to carry inferior products to balance the ship and make it steadier, in which case more valuable relics may be found as the operation continues.
Experts hope to tell the reasons behind the ship's sinking as the excavation continues, gradually revealing the overall structure of the ship.
Jiang Bo, an expert from the Institute of Archaeology under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says the ship might have encountered extreme weather and lost control and rammed into the hidden rocks, abundant in the Nan'ao sea area.
"In ancient times, Chinese merchant vessels relied mainly on seasonal winds to travel," Jiang says.
This reliance on seasonal winds increased their risk of bumping into extreme weather, Jiang explains.
Overloading and strong currents in the Nan'ao sea area are other possible reasons.
Except for its deck most of the ship is in good shape and experts say that the ship is far more important than the goods it carried, as there are few records of the shipbuilding technology 400 years ago in China.
It is hoped that a detailed study on the shipwreck will shed light on shipbuilding during the Ming Dynasty and provide an insight into the design and construction of the renowned fleet of Treasure Boats.
Commanded by Zheng He these ships completed seven cross-Indian Ocean voyages in the early Ming Dynasty. This fleet was built 200 years before Nan'ao-1.
"We seldom see genuine examples of ocean-faring vessels from the Ming Dynasty," says Mao Peiqi, a historian from the Beijing-based Renmin University. "We are very interested in this."
The salvage team is still devising a plan to hoist the vessel from the water.
"It is still too early to tell when and how we are going to lift the ship out of the water," says Cui Yong, executive leader of the ship's underwater recovery mission. "Our pressing task is to recover as much as of cargo before the monsoon season arrives in July."
The excavation was scheduled to begin on September 26, 2009, but was postponed due to the severe weather conditions.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Sunken treasure - divers recover the stunning artefacts of Cleopatra's palace
From Mail Online: Sunken treasure - divers recover the stunning artefacts of Cleopatra's palace
Divers in the waters off Alexandria today recovered stunning artefacts from the submerged ruins of a palace and temple complex belonging to Egyptian queen Cleopatra.
The international team is painstakingly excavating one of the richest underwater archaeological sites in the world, and retrieving amazing riches from the last dynasty to rule over ancient Egypt before the Roman Empire annexed it in 30BC.
Using advanced technology, the team is surveying ancient Alexandria's Royal Quarters, encased deep below the harbour sediment, and confirming the accuracy of descriptions of the city left by Greek geographers and historians more than 2,000 years ago.
Since the early Nineties the topographical surveys have allowed the team, led by French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio, to conquer the harbour's extremely poor visibility and excavate below the seabed.
They are discovering everything from coins and everyday objects to colossal granite statues of Egypt's rulers and sunken temples dedicated to their gods.
Divers in the waters off Alexandria today recovered stunning artefacts from the submerged ruins of a palace and temple complex belonging to Egyptian queen Cleopatra.
The international team is painstakingly excavating one of the richest underwater archaeological sites in the world, and retrieving amazing riches from the last dynasty to rule over ancient Egypt before the Roman Empire annexed it in 30BC.
Using advanced technology, the team is surveying ancient Alexandria's Royal Quarters, encased deep below the harbour sediment, and confirming the accuracy of descriptions of the city left by Greek geographers and historians more than 2,000 years ago.
Since the early Nineties the topographical surveys have allowed the team, led by French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio, to conquer the harbour's extremely poor visibility and excavate below the seabed.
They are discovering everything from coins and everyday objects to colossal granite statues of Egypt's rulers and sunken temples dedicated to their gods.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Any more piracy in the Baltic Sea?
In a plot right out of Cussler, or any number of other techno-thriller writers, this is an article about a hijacking that happened last year.
Sweden warns of Baltic pirate danger in wake of Arctic Sea hijack
Shipping companies have been told to exercise the same vigilance in the Baltic Sea as they would off the coast of Somalia after the freighter Arctic Sea was hijacked off Sweden last month. [Meantime, the Somalia pilots, in 2010, continue to act with impunity since deadly force is not allowed to be used against them. I wonder if the ships sailing near that coast have thought to arm themselves with guns firing pigs blood and pig fat - since Muslims can't touch pork?]
Sweden warns of Baltic pirate danger in wake of Arctic Sea hijack
Shipping companies have been told to exercise the same vigilance in the Baltic Sea as they would off the coast of Somalia after the freighter Arctic Sea was hijacked off Sweden last month. [Meantime, the Somalia pilots, in 2010, continue to act with impunity since deadly force is not allowed to be used against them. I wonder if the ships sailing near that coast have thought to arm themselves with guns firing pigs blood and pig fat - since Muslims can't touch pork?]
The Swedish Shipowners Association told its members that while the hijacking, on July 24, was probably an isolated incident, such events could create an epidemic effect by inspiring copycat attacks.
Tryggve Ahlman, head of security at the Gothenburg-based association, said: "We've talked with the companies that are active in these waters.
"They’ve come to us with questions and its only natural that they increase their readiness. The procedures they have in the Gulf of Aden should be observed everywhere."
Pirates have seized 28 ships in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia so far this year [2009], and 136 piracy events have occurred, according to the US Navy.
After the release of the Italian-owned Buccaneer earlier this month, pirates were holding eight ships and at least 163 seamen, according to Ecoterra, an environmental group that monitors Somali piracy.
Sweden has provided warships and soldiers to the European Unions antipiracy operation, Atalanta, in the Gulf of Aden.
The Russian navy located the Arctic Sea, operated by Helsinki-based Oy Solchart Management AB, on August 17 near the Cape Verde Islands off west Africa, detaining eight suspected hijackers.
The armed group had boarded the freighter off Sweden on July 24, then forced the crew to change course toward Africa and turn off the navigational equipment, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said.
The ship, with a crew of 15 Russian sailors, had been en route from Finland to Algeria.
The hijackers demanded a ransom of $1.5 million from the ships insurer, Renaissance Insurance, Vladimir Dushin, the company’s vice president for security, said yesterday. Renaissance received a call on August 3 from a person speaking English and claiming to be an intermediary for the hijackers, Dushin said.
Russias Defense Ministry today confirmed that a ransom demand had been made, and that the hijackers threatened to blow up the boat if it wasn't paid, Interfax reported.
The Arctic Seas 25-day odyssey sparked a wave of international speculation about its fate, including a reported sighting at the Spanish port of San Sebastian and a possible second attack off Portugal.
Swedes were shocked by the attack in their waters, since hijackings had been unknown off the country's coast since the 17th and 18th centuries, Ahlman said.
Some Swedish shippers said that while they were monitoring the security situation, their fleets were safe.
Were following developments with interest, but we see no threats against any of our ships, Haakan Thorell, chief executive officer of Karlstad-based Ahlmark Lines AB, said.
Ahlmark ships wood and petroleum products, steel, salt and coal between Sweden and the U.K, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium and France.
Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the Russian governments newspaper of record, reported that the 98-meter (322-foot) Arctic Sea was steered to the Cape Verde area because the waters there are difficult for submarines to navigate.
Russia initially planned to involve its submarine fleet, the newspaper said. Radio contact was lost when the freighter was off the coast of Portugal.
Friday, May 21, 2010
The Mystery of Plum Island
Okay, it's not really a "treasure hunter" type story, but it is a Clive Cussler type story.... or at least the germ of a plot for a technothriller writer...
Lab's move begins to lift mystery around NY island
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Hannibal Lecter, the fictional villain in "Silence of the Lambs," said it sounded "charming." Author Nelson DeMille made it the centerpiece of his 1997 thriller about deadly viruses and hidden treasure.
Since the infancy of the Cold War, Plum Island has been the site of an animal disease laboratory; access is limited to scientists, support personnel and, on rare occasions, invited guests. Because of its remote location a mile and half off the eastern tip of Long Island's north fork, it frequently has been the target of rife speculation about what really goes on there.
The general public could someday get access to the 840-acre pork chop-shaped oasis now that the federal government is moving its animal disease research functions to a new lab in Manhattan, Kan. With a "For Sale" sign about to go up at Plum Island, the General Services Administration is seeking community input on what should be done with the property. A hearing was held Wednesday in Connecticut and another is scheduled for Thursday on Long Island.
Besides the laboratory, the island is home to a defunct U.S. Army base and a charming little lighthouse that looks out onto Long Island Sound. And, as Agent Clarice Starling told Lecter: "There's a very, very nice beach. Terns nest there."
DeMille, whose 1997 book "Plum Island," about a fictional detective investigating the murders of two biologists who worked at the lab, said in an interview with The Associated Press this week that he'd like the government to retain ownership.
"The most obvious thing to do would be to make it into a federal park and nature preserve," he said. "You could turn the lab into a visitors center."
DeMille is hardly nostalgic about the lab moving to Kansas, calling Plum Island "a terrorist target waiting to happen."
His concerns were shared by federal officials. The U.S. Government Accountability Office told Congress in a 2007 security report that Plum Island's vulnerability was apparent after the 9/11 terror attacks. The GAO said new laws and rules were enacted, tightening access to the facility to help protect animal health and reduce the possibility of bioterrorism. Plum Island was transferred from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Department of Homeland Security and plans were begun to replace it with a "higher-level biosecurity facility."
The GAO said Plum Island scientists research such pathogens as foot-and-mouth disease, which is highly contagious to livestock and could cause "catastrophic economic losses" and imperil the nation's food supply.
"Other pathogens known to have been maintained at Plum Island could also cause illness and death in humans," the GAO said.
Amy Kudwa, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, which operates the island, declined to provide specific details of security, but said it includes security patrols, checkpoints, cameras, radar, locks and fences.
"The closer you get to the items you want to protect, the more intense the security becomes," she said.
Before any discussions about development at Plum Island can proceed, officials must first determine the extent of any damage to the soil and water, environmentalist Adrienne Esposito said.
"Any time a government facility is cloaked in secrecy, you have to wonder about what went on," said Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment. "The more you look, the more you find. This would be the first time a comprehensive examination of the island would be pursued."
U.S. Rep. Timothy Bishop, whose district includes Plum Island, is not convinced the move to Kansas is a good idea. He said in a letter to a House homeland security subcommittee this week that the sale of Plum Island could fetch $50 million to $80 million — not counting cleanup costs. Bishop said that would hardly cover the costs of building a new $650 million lab in Kansas.
"Before we cross a point of no return, I want everyone to open their eyes and look at what we're doing here," Bishop said. "Rather than pour hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars down a sinkhole in Kansas and open the Pandora's Box of decommissioning Plum Island, we should ... make use of existing facilities that continue to serve this nation well."
Last year, Congress appropriated $32 million for a new 520,000-square-foot National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Kansas, most of it for planning and design, though it did order a safety study. The new lab will allow research on diseases that can be passed from animals to humans, something currently not done at Plum Island.
The safety study was prompted by some who questioned the wisdom of opening an animal disease lab in the so-called Beef Belt because hoof and mouth and other contagious diseases are researched by Agriculture Department scientists.
But for now, the move to Kansas appears on track, which leaves the future of Plum Island an open question.
The town supervisor in Southold, where the lab is located, said he would like to replace the 300 or so scientists working on animal research with some type of renewable energy center.
"I'd like to keep a research component," Scott Russell said. "Another high-end subdivision development there seems unrealistic."
Longtime north fork real estate broker John Nickles agrees with DeMille that the best use of the island would be as a nature preserve.
"It's always had a type of stigmatization, especially if you listen to the idiots who speculate about what goes on there," Nickles said. "I have always thought it was a great addition to our community. Some people are happy to see it go, I'm not."
Gary DePersia, a top real estate broker in the Hamptons on Long Island's south fork, said once issues concerning environmental cleanup are settled, the possibilities for the island are nearly unlimited.
"It could make an awesome resort, with condos and room for a golf course," DePersia said. "We don't really have a major destination resort on eastern Long Island."
Esposito, the environmentalist, said the island's current management may not be aware of possible transgressions from previous decades.
"There could have been mishaps or illegal dumping or the unreported disposal of materials around the island," she said. "It's going to be fascinating to look and see what's there."
On whether she thinks germ warfare research ever happened, Esposito said: "Rumors are rampant, but the evidence is scarce."
The facility began as Fort Terry, established in 1897 as an artillery post during the Spanish-American War. It was used on and off until the end of World War II and was operated by the U.S. Army Chemical Corps from 1951 to 1954, when it was officially deactivated.
In the book, "Deadly Cultures: Biological Weapons Since 1945," Piers Millett wrote in a chapter on anti-animal biological weapons that Fort Terry's mission was "to establish and pursue a program of research and development of certain anti-animal (BW) agents."
John van Courtland Moon, an author and history professor emeritus at Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts, said his research has found that animal testing for germ warfare was conducted at Plum Island in the 1950s.
"The problem is the stuff that went on is not available in the public record," he said. "Exactly what took place? I would imagine sheep, I would imagine goats and rats and rabbits" had been tested.
A spokesman for the U.S. Army at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, where the U.S. Army Chemical Corps is based, said they were looking into the historical record but had no immediate comment.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the agency could not speak to the U.S. Army's time on the island. The current lab is focused on foreign animal diseases and emphasizes research of foot-and-mouth disease, she said.
Ret. Col. David Huxsoll, a veterinarian who served as the lab's director from 2000 to 2003, said anthrax was among the diseases studied at Plum Island. "It was done in containment," he said, adding there were concerns anthrax could be used as a weapon to target the livestock industry.
"If it ever broke out in the cattle industry in this country, it would be disastrous," he said.
Lab's move begins to lift mystery around NY island
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Hannibal Lecter, the fictional villain in "Silence of the Lambs," said it sounded "charming." Author Nelson DeMille made it the centerpiece of his 1997 thriller about deadly viruses and hidden treasure.
Since the infancy of the Cold War, Plum Island has been the site of an animal disease laboratory; access is limited to scientists, support personnel and, on rare occasions, invited guests. Because of its remote location a mile and half off the eastern tip of Long Island's north fork, it frequently has been the target of rife speculation about what really goes on there.
The general public could someday get access to the 840-acre pork chop-shaped oasis now that the federal government is moving its animal disease research functions to a new lab in Manhattan, Kan. With a "For Sale" sign about to go up at Plum Island, the General Services Administration is seeking community input on what should be done with the property. A hearing was held Wednesday in Connecticut and another is scheduled for Thursday on Long Island.
Besides the laboratory, the island is home to a defunct U.S. Army base and a charming little lighthouse that looks out onto Long Island Sound. And, as Agent Clarice Starling told Lecter: "There's a very, very nice beach. Terns nest there."
DeMille, whose 1997 book "Plum Island," about a fictional detective investigating the murders of two biologists who worked at the lab, said in an interview with The Associated Press this week that he'd like the government to retain ownership.
"The most obvious thing to do would be to make it into a federal park and nature preserve," he said. "You could turn the lab into a visitors center."
DeMille is hardly nostalgic about the lab moving to Kansas, calling Plum Island "a terrorist target waiting to happen."
His concerns were shared by federal officials. The U.S. Government Accountability Office told Congress in a 2007 security report that Plum Island's vulnerability was apparent after the 9/11 terror attacks. The GAO said new laws and rules were enacted, tightening access to the facility to help protect animal health and reduce the possibility of bioterrorism. Plum Island was transferred from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Department of Homeland Security and plans were begun to replace it with a "higher-level biosecurity facility."
The GAO said Plum Island scientists research such pathogens as foot-and-mouth disease, which is highly contagious to livestock and could cause "catastrophic economic losses" and imperil the nation's food supply.
"Other pathogens known to have been maintained at Plum Island could also cause illness and death in humans," the GAO said.
Amy Kudwa, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, which operates the island, declined to provide specific details of security, but said it includes security patrols, checkpoints, cameras, radar, locks and fences.
"The closer you get to the items you want to protect, the more intense the security becomes," she said.
Before any discussions about development at Plum Island can proceed, officials must first determine the extent of any damage to the soil and water, environmentalist Adrienne Esposito said.
"Any time a government facility is cloaked in secrecy, you have to wonder about what went on," said Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment. "The more you look, the more you find. This would be the first time a comprehensive examination of the island would be pursued."
U.S. Rep. Timothy Bishop, whose district includes Plum Island, is not convinced the move to Kansas is a good idea. He said in a letter to a House homeland security subcommittee this week that the sale of Plum Island could fetch $50 million to $80 million — not counting cleanup costs. Bishop said that would hardly cover the costs of building a new $650 million lab in Kansas.
"Before we cross a point of no return, I want everyone to open their eyes and look at what we're doing here," Bishop said. "Rather than pour hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars down a sinkhole in Kansas and open the Pandora's Box of decommissioning Plum Island, we should ... make use of existing facilities that continue to serve this nation well."
Last year, Congress appropriated $32 million for a new 520,000-square-foot National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Kansas, most of it for planning and design, though it did order a safety study. The new lab will allow research on diseases that can be passed from animals to humans, something currently not done at Plum Island.
The safety study was prompted by some who questioned the wisdom of opening an animal disease lab in the so-called Beef Belt because hoof and mouth and other contagious diseases are researched by Agriculture Department scientists.
But for now, the move to Kansas appears on track, which leaves the future of Plum Island an open question.
The town supervisor in Southold, where the lab is located, said he would like to replace the 300 or so scientists working on animal research with some type of renewable energy center.
"I'd like to keep a research component," Scott Russell said. "Another high-end subdivision development there seems unrealistic."
Longtime north fork real estate broker John Nickles agrees with DeMille that the best use of the island would be as a nature preserve.
"It's always had a type of stigmatization, especially if you listen to the idiots who speculate about what goes on there," Nickles said. "I have always thought it was a great addition to our community. Some people are happy to see it go, I'm not."
Gary DePersia, a top real estate broker in the Hamptons on Long Island's south fork, said once issues concerning environmental cleanup are settled, the possibilities for the island are nearly unlimited.
"It could make an awesome resort, with condos and room for a golf course," DePersia said. "We don't really have a major destination resort on eastern Long Island."
Esposito, the environmentalist, said the island's current management may not be aware of possible transgressions from previous decades.
"There could have been mishaps or illegal dumping or the unreported disposal of materials around the island," she said. "It's going to be fascinating to look and see what's there."
On whether she thinks germ warfare research ever happened, Esposito said: "Rumors are rampant, but the evidence is scarce."
The facility began as Fort Terry, established in 1897 as an artillery post during the Spanish-American War. It was used on and off until the end of World War II and was operated by the U.S. Army Chemical Corps from 1951 to 1954, when it was officially deactivated.
In the book, "Deadly Cultures: Biological Weapons Since 1945," Piers Millett wrote in a chapter on anti-animal biological weapons that Fort Terry's mission was "to establish and pursue a program of research and development of certain anti-animal (BW) agents."
John van Courtland Moon, an author and history professor emeritus at Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts, said his research has found that animal testing for germ warfare was conducted at Plum Island in the 1950s.
"The problem is the stuff that went on is not available in the public record," he said. "Exactly what took place? I would imagine sheep, I would imagine goats and rats and rabbits" had been tested.
A spokesman for the U.S. Army at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, where the U.S. Army Chemical Corps is based, said they were looking into the historical record but had no immediate comment.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the agency could not speak to the U.S. Army's time on the island. The current lab is focused on foreign animal diseases and emphasizes research of foot-and-mouth disease, she said.
Ret. Col. David Huxsoll, a veterinarian who served as the lab's director from 2000 to 2003, said anthrax was among the diseases studied at Plum Island. "It was done in containment," he said, adding there were concerns anthrax could be used as a weapon to target the livestock industry.
"If it ever broke out in the cattle industry in this country, it would be disastrous," he said.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Touch WWI with your left hand, WWII with your right
Guam.
The Cormoran is a WWI ship, the Tokai Maru is a WWII ship, which coincidentally were sunk practically touching stern to stern.
You can dive on both these ships, and their sterns are so close togethr that you can touch them simultaneously. Guam is the only place in the world where a WWI wreck and a WWII wreck are in such close proximity.
From wikipedia:
SMS Cormoran
The 290' Cormoran lays in 120 feet of water on her right (starboard) side directly beside the Tokai Maru (which went down in 1943). The easiest way to reach the Cormoran (and dive on two ship from two different wars at the same time) is to follow the midsection hull of the Tokai over the side until you see the Cormoran at 80 feet. The hull of the Cormoran is intact. The engine room is easily accessible through the skylights, and most of the superstructure is relatively intact. Visibility averages 35-40', but can vary due to the tide and large ship traffic in the harbor. A good average diving depth to see all of the port side would be 80-100 feet. Visibility averages 35-40', but can vary due weather and tidal flow in the harbor.
Tokai Maru
The Tokai Maru is a large ship, over 440 feet long. She rests in 120 feet with an 85 degree list to port (left). The shallowest part of the ship is the upper forward bridge area at a depth of 40 feet. A torpedo has blown a hole in the port #3 cargo hold, and this is undoubtedly the torpedo that sunk her. There is damage on the starboard bow, but this is believed to have been inflicted on the first attack in January, 1943. The cargo holds contains remains of truck frames, beds, scrap steel, and misc objects. The engine room is huge, and both of her engines, catwalks, and panels are intact. The after deck house in the stern of the vessel contains at least 4 depth charges, which are plainly visible from the top of the structure. DO NOT attempt to touch or move these depth charges. Visibility averages 35-40', but can vary due to the tide and large ship traffic in the harbor. A good average diving depth to see all of the Tokai would be 60-80 feet.
The Cormoran is a WWI ship, the Tokai Maru is a WWII ship, which coincidentally were sunk practically touching stern to stern.
You can dive on both these ships, and their sterns are so close togethr that you can touch them simultaneously. Guam is the only place in the world where a WWI wreck and a WWII wreck are in such close proximity.
From wikipedia:
SMS Cormoran
The 290' Cormoran lays in 120 feet of water on her right (starboard) side directly beside the Tokai Maru (which went down in 1943). The easiest way to reach the Cormoran (and dive on two ship from two different wars at the same time) is to follow the midsection hull of the Tokai over the side until you see the Cormoran at 80 feet. The hull of the Cormoran is intact. The engine room is easily accessible through the skylights, and most of the superstructure is relatively intact. Visibility averages 35-40', but can vary due to the tide and large ship traffic in the harbor. A good average diving depth to see all of the port side would be 80-100 feet. Visibility averages 35-40', but can vary due weather and tidal flow in the harbor.
Tokai Maru
The Tokai Maru is a large ship, over 440 feet long. She rests in 120 feet with an 85 degree list to port (left). The shallowest part of the ship is the upper forward bridge area at a depth of 40 feet. A torpedo has blown a hole in the port #3 cargo hold, and this is undoubtedly the torpedo that sunk her. There is damage on the starboard bow, but this is believed to have been inflicted on the first attack in January, 1943. The cargo holds contains remains of truck frames, beds, scrap steel, and misc objects. The engine room is huge, and both of her engines, catwalks, and panels are intact. The after deck house in the stern of the vessel contains at least 4 depth charges, which are plainly visible from the top of the structure. DO NOT attempt to touch or move these depth charges. Visibility averages 35-40', but can vary due to the tide and large ship traffic in the harbor. A good average diving depth to see all of the Tokai would be 60-80 feet.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Forum Boards Shouldn't Be Responsible for What People Say...
From TechDirt: Scuba Diving Organizer Sues Web Forum After Debate Over Scuba Death Liability
When will companies learn? Blaine points us to a story that's now a few months old, but still worth talking about. Apparently, two years ago, there was a scuba diving accident where someone died and some others were injured. On a particular scuba diving forum, ScubaBoard.com, there was a discussion about the incident. Apparently there had already been some other somewhat negative postings about the travel agency, Maldives Scuba Diving, that organized (and potentially ran) the trip, and from there the conversation spiraled. The person who owns the travel agency decided to sue just about everyone, including ScubaBoard.com. For ScubaBoard, it seems like this should be a quick Section 230 dismissal based on safe harbors, but the site's owner is apparently still scrounging up the money to deal with this. Also, the complaint apparently tries to get around this by claiming that commenters on the message boards are "all agents or employees of Intermedia [ScubaBoard's owner], or made the postings at issue at Intermedia's direction." That's an argument that is likely to get laughed out of court.
There may be some cases against individual posters, but the comments sound like your ordinary comment board opinion and hyperbole. At least in the quoted comments, it's difficult to see anything that's actually defamatory. Upsetting? Perhaps, but not defamatory. It sounds like something bad happened, and whether or not the operator of this company was responsible, there were plenty of better ways to respond. However, busting out the lawsuit, suing the message board itself, as well as 100 posters, just seems to reinforce the problems and bring even more attention to the accident and the concerns people have with this woman's company.
'Ghostly' pictures of Great Wall of China taken from underwater
From Telegraph.co.uk: 'Ghostly' pictures of Great Wall of China taken from underwater
The Great Wall of China has been photographed from underwater by a photographer, Mathieu Meur, who carried hundreds of kilograms of equipment to take the ghostly images.
The section of wall lies under the surface of Panjiakou reservoir about three hours drive northeast of Beijing.
A team of professional divers braved the murky conditions to get some ghostly shots of the wall which ran from 13 metres below the surface to the bottom at 35 metres.
Though urban legend has it being the only man-made object visible from space this one part is lying up to 100 feet below a valley flooded when a dam was built.
Mr Meur, the expedition photographer, said just getting the 500kg of equipment down hundreds of steps to the water's edge was a challenge in itself.
"The lake itself is rather barren, with only a couple of species of freshwater fish and shrimps," he said.
"The real stars here really are the ruins. The wall is in amazingly good condition considering that it is several hundred years old, and is underwater.
"The top of it was at around 13m depth, and we located a guard tower, with openings on all sides, which created underwater tunnels."
He added: "Throughout the dives, the weight of history was very present on our minds. It was incredible to navigate the wall and guard posts, thinking that centuries ago soldiers were walking the same location, keeping China safe from intruders."
"We did two dives on the Wall and wanted to do more but were plagued by technical problems.
"The diving was challenging as it was 25 centigrade on the surface but dropped to just six degrees when you got 35 metres down on the bottom.
"Visibility was limited to about 1-5 metres maximum, as the bottom is very silty. If you stir the bottom, you end up diving in soup."
The parts of the wall that are best known date from the mid 16th century, although the first great wall was ordered to be built in 214 BC.
The most comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has recently concluded that the entire Great Wall, with all of its branches, stretches for 8,851.8 km (5,500.3 miles).
This is made up of 6,259.6 km (3,889.5 miles) of sections of actual wall, 359.7 km (223.5 miles) of trenches and 2,232.5 km (1,387.2 miles) of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers.
Panjiakou reservoir was created in 1977 during the grip of the cultural revolution when the valley near Tangshan was flooded, submerging a village and wall to create a dam.
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