Sea Technology

FEB 2015

The industry's recognized authority for design, engineering and application of equipment and services in the global ocean community

Issue link: http://sea-technology.epubxp.com/i/461521

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 50 of 83

www.sea-technology.com February 2015 / st 51 E very day, thousands of people visit the historic World War II Valor in the Pacifc National Monument in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to look back on the day that U.S. Presi- dent Franklin D. Roosevelt dubbed "a day that will live in infamy." The monument's most iconic and recognizable symbol, the USS Arizona Memorial, straddles its sunken namesake warship, small portions of which still protrude above the surface, giving an eerie reminder of the sail- ors still trapped beneath. Sunday, December 7, 1941 will forever be remembered as the day that thrust the United States into WWII, and the day that so many gave the ulti- mate sacrifce to protect our country. 73 years later, the warships that went down in the Pearl Harbor bombing sit partially submerged. The Na- tional Park Service has operated the USS Arizona Memorial since 1980, the USS Oklahoma Memo- rial since 2007, and the USS Utah Memorial on nearby Ford Island since 2008. All three memorials were incorporated into the World War II Valor in the Pacifc National Monument in 2008. Addition- ally, the monument includes six mooring quays along Battleship Row, six historic Chief Petty Off- cer bungalows on Ford Island, and the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center. The monument is world renowned and one of the most visited national parks in the U.S. Survey History During the week of October 20, 2014, a team of individ- uals from multiple companies converged on the monument to do something that has never been done before: conduct a comprehensive survey utilizing a multitude of data acquisi- tion techniques and provide a baseline for long-term man- agement of the USS Arizona and USS Utah. The only other attempt at surveys was done in the early 1980s. Today, much of the wrecks have changed. They are teem- ing with marine life, with patches of a rare species of coral. At the time of the initial surveys, coral did not exist on the ships; divers with measuring tapes and artists completed the frst surveys, with the end result being crude artists' rendi- tions with minimal georeferenced properties. The survey work was never used as a legitimate tool for management of the monument. One of the goals for long-term management was to see how the corals affected the ships' longevity, and how the ships have responded to coral growth. "All growth happens in a logarithmic scale, and what we're trying to do is fnd USV Surveys Historic USS Arizona And USS Utah at Pearl Harbor H-1750 With MBES Creates Baseline Surveys for Memorial Management By A.J. Cecchettini (Top) The H-1750 USV's shallow drafting and maneuverability made it a suitable ft for the shallow waters above the sunken warship USS Arizona. (Bottom) The H-1750 USV was easily transported to Ford Island in the back of a small truck to run surveys at the partially submerged USS Utah. (Photo Credit: A.J. Cecchettini) (Photo Credit: Shaan Hurley)

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Sea Technology - FEB 2015
loading...
Sea Technology
Welcome!
If you're not a subscriber, please click here for a free subscription.