Mapping an Underwater Archeology Site With an Electronic Grid

The National Geographic Society has been involved in the ROV surveys of several deep water wrecks, including the HAMILTON/SCOURGE, BREADALBANE and TITANIC. The final product of these surveys was still photographs and video tape. Never was any attempt made to accurately establish the position of the ROV on the site. This information would have added to the value of the visual material, and is a necessity if serious documented retrieval of artifacts is ever to be considered. In February 1987 a three week project is being conducted in the Chesapeake Bay to electronically map the sunken 1870 steamship NEW JERSEY. Three different acoustical methods of plotting the location of the National Geographic ROV at the site will be evaluated. Data points will be documented on computer correlated video stills. The end product should be data of a quality that archeologists are accustomed to acquiring in shallow water with measurements within a physical grid.