The NewsRoom
Media Advisory
Release #:  3110
Date: July 20, 2004

Scientists to Launch the Most Comprehensive Deepwater Shipwreck Study in the World 

What happens to shipwrecks in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and why is the answer so important to the oil and gas industry?  A team of world-renowned, multidisciplinary scientists representing the federal government, academia, and industry will begin a biological and archaeological investigation of World War II shipwrecks in the deep waters of the Gulf that will address those questions and many more. 

Just as the importance of our oceans is being recognized and studied by several independent commissions, this research mission will provide new information to answer questions about some of the least studied areas of the Gulf.  The $1.2 million study will take 18 days and employ the use of a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to explore selected deepwater shipwrecks. 

In addition to the archaeological and historical aspects of the study, the biological questions -- Do manmade structures function as artificial reefs in deepwater?  What is the effect of the structure on the environment?  What effect does the environment have on the structure? -- have serious implications for the thousands of oil and gas platforms used in the Gulf. 

Scientists from the team will be on hand at the media availability in Houston this Thursday to discuss plans for the research cruise, use of the ROV, explain the public educational outreach component of the study, and answer questions. 

The announcement is being held at the Sonsub Facility to allow for filming and photo opportunity with an ROV and with a model of the sunken German U-boat that is part of the study along with video footage. 

What	Announcement of the most comprehensive study of deepwater shipwrecks ever undertaken and an opportunity to question the scientists involved.
When	Thursday, July 22, 2004 at 10:00 a.m.
Where	Sonsub Facility 15950 Park Row Houston, TX 77084 From downtown, travel approximately 16 miles west on I-10 (Katy Freeway) to Exit 751 State Highway 6 (SH-6_.  Exit the freeway and turn right onto SH6. At the first red light (Part Row) take a left.  The Sonsub facility is approximately one mile on the right on Park Row.
Media Contacts	Minerals Management Service Sonsub, Inc. Caryl Fagot Tracie Ross (504) 736-2590 (281) 552-5814
Partners in the Study	Minerals Management Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Oceaographic Partnership program C&C Technologies, Inc. Droycon Bioconcepts University of Alabama/Dauphin Island Sea Lab University of Alaska Fairbanks University of West Florida The PAST Foundation Montana State University Sonsub

The Minerals Management Service is the federal agency in the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages the nation’s oil, natural gas, and other mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf in Federal offshore waters.  The agency also collects, accounts for, and disburses mineral revenues from Federal and American Indian lands.  MMS disbursed more than $8 billion in FY 2003 and more than $135 billion since the agency was created in 1982.  Nearly $1 billion from those revenues go into the Land and Water Conservation Fund annually for the acquisition and development of state and Federal park and recreation lands.

The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources.  NOAA is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
 

Relevant Web Sites

MMS Main Website

Gulf of Mexico Website

NOAA Website

PAST Foundation Website
 

Media Contacts

Caryl Fagot
(504) 736-2590

MMS: Securing Ocean Energy & Economic Value for America
U.S. Department of the Interior