Shipwreck Science Program a Success!
Fifteen talented Erie area high school students in the Minority College Experience / Women in Science and Engineering (MCE/WISE) program through Penn State Erie, participated in the Bayfront Center's first expedition of the Shipwreck Science Program on June 12, 2009. The students learned not only about some of the shipwrecks in our local waters, but also about navigation, boat handling, history and technology. Using sophisticated engineering equipment including a Side Scan Sonar and an Underwater Remote Operating Vehicle (ROV), the students were introduced to some of the skills and instruments used in today's underwater exploration technologies.
Students in the new Shipwreck Science Program underway aboard the motor vessel Canadian Sailor watch as the side scan sonar signals resolve on a video screen, while learning about underwater exploration equipment and technology.
Using the BCMS Side Scan Sonar, which was towed behind the Canadian Sailor, the students got a first hand look at modern underwater surveying equipment as they locate not only shipwrecks and their associated artifacts, but also geological formations and underwater debris.
Students launch the Side Scan Sonar to aid in their investigation of the bottom of the lake while hunting for a shipwreck.
Output from the Side Scan Sonar clearly shows the young scientists the sound reflections and shadows created by the shipwreck on the bottom of Lake Erie.The students also get information about the lake bottom, useful for surveying, underwater exploration, and investigative work.
The Remote Operating Vehicle was then maneuvered from on deck the research vessel to get a close up look at the shipwreck. The same kind of equipment was famously used to take the first pictures of the wreck of the Titantic, and the technology is used in any multitude of underwater work. In this trip, the ROV was used to explore the Philip P. Armour, which sank off of Erie on November 13, 1915 in a gale which caused 20-25 foot waves in the lake. All ten crew members were saved by the Coast Guard. The Armour was a 264 foot vessel that was carrying a load of coal from Ashtabula to Welland, Ontario.
The ROV is used by the students to take real time color video of the historic shipwreck.
Real time color video imagery from the ROV provides a clear view of one of Erie's many shipwrecks as it is piloted around the wreck site.
Besides getting a chance to see and use equipment engineered for underwater exploration, the students learned about some of the history surrounding Erie's maritime heritage, navigated to and from the site using GPS and navigational charts, and took turns at the helm of the Canadian Sailor in Lake Erie while going around Presque Isle State Park. Call BCMS at 814-456-4077 to schedule your school or company trip. Some grant money is available to help fund this science and technology excursion for youth groups.
A young scientist at the helm of the Canadian Sailor while looking for a shipwreck near Erie, Pennsylvania.
A special thanks to Lakeshore Towing, our partner in the Shipwreck Science Program, and the Erie Community Foundation.
An extra special thanks to the members and donors of the Bayfront Center of Maritime Studies, whose generous donations were instrumental in providing this program. Click here to visit our donations page.