Scientists study shipwreck sites to better understand ecological processes like succession, zonation, connectivity, energy flow, disturbance, and degradation. In the future, shipwrecks may provide opportunities to establish a global monitoring network for studying these processes in aquatic environments. Illustration by Alex Boersma.

Scientists Study Shipwrecks to Understand Underwater Ecology

1/28/2024 - By coastalscience.noaa.gov. In a newly published paper in BioScience, NCCOS scientists collaborated with an international team of ecologists and archaeologists to describe how shipwrecks provide a unique opportunity to study complex ecological processes. The synthesis focuses on a range of fundamental ecological functions and processes and how they manifest on and around shipwrecks.… SEE MORE
Endurance22, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Extreme Heat Uncovers Lost Villages, Ancient Ruins and Shipwrecks

8/17/2022 - By Kevin Simauchi. In an eerie twist, volatile weather and heat-induced drought are unearthing glimpses of lost archaeological treasures and forgotten history. Extreme heat this year has triggered wildfires, drought and melting glaciers. Less expectedly, it’s also revealed some weird and dark things about our past—shipwrecks, corpses, ghost villages, ornamental… SEE MORE