Page 18: of Marine Technology Magazine (October 2011)

Ocean Engineering & Design

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Project Shiphunt, developed by Sony and Intel Corp., began in May when five high school students from Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, Mich., embarked on an adventure in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Their mission: hunt for a historically meaningful sunken ship, investigate its identity, and document the journey for future generations. Led by world-renowned nautical archaeologist, Dr. James Delgado, the student team worked side by side with scientists and historians from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. The first web film "Shipwreck Alley" introduces the team and its objectives. The second film, "Discovering the M.F. Merrick", showcases their search successes. On July 13, 2011, the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) announced the discovery of two Great Lakes shipwrecks. The team located the 138-ft.schooner M.F. Merrick. In 1889, the schooner collided with a passingsteamer in a dense fog. The Merrick sank immediately, and claimed the lives of five crew members, including a female cook. Today, the intact hull of the schooner rests upright on the bottom of Lake Huron. The wreck of the steel freighter Etruria was also discovered and iden- tified by the researchers. Launched in February 1902 at West Bay City, Michigan, the 414-foot long Etruria sank in 1905, after colliding with asteamer in thick fog. Today, the steamer sits upside down in deep water. The project represents the first time Thunder Bay area shipwrecks have been filmed in 3D, and the team is working to incorporate the new data into the exhibits at the sanctu-ary's Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center. According to sanctuary superinten- dent Jeff Gray, the discoveries are an exciting opportunity to better under- 18MTROctober2011 Project Report Project Shiphunt Hauls in Two Shipwrecks The M.F. Merrick shipwreck visuali- zation was created by analyzing remote operated vehicle (ROV) footage taken during Project Shiphunt, combined with historicalinformation researched from the ?Labadie Collection? at Thunder Baylibrary. Rough sketches of the wreck/site plan are then generated into a precise model using 3D soft- ware. (Photo Credit: Mike Postons - Fourth Element/3deep) MTR#8 (18-33):MTR Layouts 10/10/2011 1:56 PM Page 18

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