ECU partners with NOAA on shipwreck research
NAGS HEAD, N.C. (July 15, 2008) – Researchers from East Carolina University will work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) this month to study the wrecks of three German submarines off the North Carolina coast.
U.S. forces sank the German U-boats in 1942 during the Battle of the Atlantic in an area now known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. The U-352 is 24 miles off the coast of Morehead City. The U-85 and U-701 are 14 and 40 miles, respectively, off the Nags Head coast.
Faculty and alumni with ECU’s program in maritime studies will provide historical and technical support for the project. Nathan Richards, a nautical archeologist at ECU, said divers plan to do a “cultural heritage assessment” of the sunken submarines.
Researchers will survey and photograph visible sections of the ships using non-invasive methods, now through July 26. The submarines will not be disturbed or recovered in accordance with international policy.
Preservation is a key part of the expedition. Divers will assess damages at the sites with the hope of better protecting the historical features in the future, Richards said.
“We’re trying to educate people that there is no such thing as ‘finders keepers’ at a shipwreck. If we can do this work and engender a preservationist attitude among divers, then future generations will be able to enjoy these sites,” he said.
The expedition is part of a multi-year project to explore shipwrecks that occurred during World War II off the coast of North Carolina. Phase two of the project, scheduled for summer 2009, will investigate the Allied wrecks in the Graveyard of the Atlantic.
The study is being conducted by NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, in partnership with ECU, the Minerals Management Service, the National Park Service, the state of North Carolina and the University of North Carolina Coastal Studies Institute.
For more information, visit http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/battleoftheatlantic/welcome.html.
# # #
