Echoes from the Deep: Inventorising shipwrecks at the national scale by the application of marine geophysics and the historical tekst

Marine geophysics is locating shipwrecks across the seabed of the globe, using 3D models and historic text to identify them. A study in the Irish Sea identified 80% of unknown ships, including rare designs, national importance, and naval graves. This research has major implications for seabed dynamics and site formation processes, creating better models for the placement of windfarms and tidal generators. It is important for marine scientists, environmental agencies, hydrographers, heritage managers, maritime archaeologists, and historians worldwide.

Format: Hardback
Length: 270 pages
Publication date: 27 September 2022
Publisher: Sidestone Press

Marine geophysics is a field that has revolutionized our understanding of the seabed by locating the remains of thousands of shipwrecks across the globe. This research project aimed to identify all shipwrecks in a given geographic region by studying their 3D models and shipping loss records. The study area was a 7,500sqm section of the Irish Sea, and the shipwrecks were surveyed using multibeam echosounder. The methodologies developed to identify the wrecks enabled names to be given to 80% of the unknown ships, verified by their dimensions, geographic position, and archival descriptions. In all, 87% of the ships in the study are now identified. The newly identified wrecks include a wide range of vessels, from trawlers and cargo vessels to submarines and ocean liners, as well as rare ship designs, losses of national importance, and naval graves. The accurate dating of so many wrecks in one area has a major impact on the study of seabed dynamics and site formation processes, creating better models for the placement of windfarms and tidal generators. This research is important because the seabed of the world is being increasingly mapped in detail, and shipwrecks are being located in large numbers. It developed a low-cost means of inventorising shipwreck datasets across entire national zones without costly physical interaction with each wreck site, making it of key interest to marine scientists, environmental agencies, hydrographers, heritage managers, and maritime archaeologists.

Weight: 790g
Dimension: 264 x 187 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789464261172