SEA 



SCIENCE 



A 



J- \& the dive safety officer on 

 the 2000 USS Monitor expedition off Cape 

 Hatteras, Doug Kesling never knew when 

 the Atlantic Ocean would "create havoc." 



"I know why this part of the ocean — 

 where the Gulf Stream and Labrador 

 currents converge — is called the 

 'Graveyard of the Atlantic,' " says Kesling 

 of the National Undersea Research Center 

 at the University of North Carolina at 

 Wilmington. 



"You can have visibility anywhere 

 from 100 feet plus to zero from day to day. 

 The surface water currents vary from slack 

 tides to 3 knots. The sea states can range 

 up to 12 feet." 



Each day from May to August, 

 Kesling had to make sure conditions were 

 safe for diving near the historic Civil War 

 ironclad — which sank during a storm in 

 1862 just 16 miles off the coast in 240 feet 

 of water. He had to follow these strict 

 safety guidelines: current no greater than a 

 knot, sea state five feet or lower and clear 

 visibility on the bottom. 



The wreck site of the Monitor 

 was discovered in 1973. 

 Two years later, the Monitor 

 site was designated the first 

 National Marine Sanctuary. 

 NOAA began the first expedition 

 in 1977. The first artifact 

 found was a brass ship's lantern 

 lying partly buried on the ocean 

 bottom near the turret. 



24 WINTER 2001 



"We also had a safety standby diver 

 onboard UNC-W's research vessel, R/V 

 Cape Fear, ready to go to the bottom in an 

 emergency," says Kesling. "We were lucky 

 because there were no emergencies last 

 summer." 



No divers had to be treated for the 

 "bends" — caused by the release of gas 

 bubbles in blood and body tissue upon too 

 rapid decrease in pressure while surfacing, 

 he added. 



To coordinate the efforts of 30 

 National Atmospheric and Oceanic 

 Administration (NOAA) divers, several 

 organizations worked with NOAA's 

 National Marine Sanctuary Program. The 

 U.S. Navy provided rigging and operations 

 for stabilization of the hull. The Cambrian 

 Foundation in Florida provided many 

 divers from its volunteer network and 

 worked with NOAA and UNC-W on the 

 self-contained scuba dives. In addition, East 

 Carolina University's Program in Maritime 

 Studies provided divers with archaeological 

 training. 



"It's a team effort," says Kesling. "It 

 requires proper training, top-side support 

 for the divers and rigid procedures. It also 

 requires personal commitment because of 

 time involved and the depth of dives. It is 

 not your typical scuba dive to the bottom." 



To follow safety procedures, all diving 

 tasks had to be rehearsed, says expedition 

 dive supervisor Tenence Tysall of the 

 Cambrian Foundation. "All divers had to be 

 ready to dive at the same time." 



Even with careful monitoring of the 

 weather conditions, divers can face adverse 

 conditions before they reach the bottom 

 where the hull lies upside down, resting on 

 its famous revolving tunet with guns. 



In 1999, ECU archaeologist Frank 

 Cantelas had good visibility as he left the 

 diving platform, says Tim Runyan, director 

 of the maritime studies program. "By the 

 time, Frank got 240 feet down, he bumped 

 into the Monitor and never knew it," adds 

 Runyan. "The bottom was so sthred up 

 from the cunents that there was no 

 visibility." 



Navy divers prepare to enter the rough waters. 



