Hard Science on Hard Steel: Scientific Studies of the USS Arizona

Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Hard Science on Hard Steel: Scientific Studies of the USS Arizona," at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The USS Arizona was a Pennsylvania-class battleship that served in the Pacific Fleet during World War II. The vessel was hit multiple times in the first few minutes of the attacks on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. A bomb penetrated the deck near the ammunition magazines causing a massive explosion that killed 1,177 servicemen. As stewards of the USS Arizona, the National Park Service (NPS) has developed a novel multidisciplinary scientific research program to manage the site and active memorial. NPS has also collaborated with academic and research institutions to evaluate metallurgical corrosion rates, oil leakage, microbial communities and corrosion, and the structural integrity of the wreck of the battleship. Submerged vessels from World War II provide unprecedented opportunities to study site formation processes, corrosion rates, and to create mass loss models to inform future preservation of modern metal shipwrecks.

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-6 of 6)

  • Documents (6)

Documents
  • Finite Element Modelling of the Wreck of USS Arizona (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Tim Foecke.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Hard Science on Hard Steel: Scientific Studies of the USS Arizona" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Finite element modeling (FEM) is a method for predicting the stresses in a body under load. We are building a model of USS Arizona to use as a conservation tool - a virtual way of predicting future degradation and trying out conservation schemes. Results will be shown of initial modeling efforts and how we...

  • Initial Insights Into The Geochemistry of the Surface Sheens Emanating From The USS Arizona (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Christopher Reddy. Jagos Radovic. Robert Nelson. Glenn Frysinger. Gregory Hall. Richard W Sanders. Scott Pawlowski.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Hard Science on Hard Steel: Scientific Studies of the USS Arizona" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Surface sheens are an iconic reminder of the ongoing history of the USS Arizona wreckage. Yet, little is known about the sources within the battleship that create the sheen and what is the chemical composition of the sheen and whether it varies. Our initial results indicate that the oils found within the USS...

  • Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Research on USS Arizona: 40+ Years of Hard Science (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Daniel J. Lenihan. Larry Murphy. Matthew A. Russell. Dave Conlin.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Hard Science on Hard Steel: Scientific Studies of the USS Arizona" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. This paper discusses the intellectual and managment rationales that have focused interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research on USS Arizona form more than 4 decades. The talk will focus on successes, lessons learned and pathways forward for the nex 40 years and then next generations of underwater...

  • Resource Management and Scientific Research at Pearl Harbor National Memorial (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Katie M.C. Bojakowski.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Hard Science on Hard Steel: Scientific Studies of the USS Arizona" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Pearl Harbor National Memorial is a tribute to the servicemen and civilians killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 and a recognized symbol of American service and sacrifice on Oahu and throughout the entire Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II. The National Park Service (NPS)...

  • USS Arizona Preservation Project- Corrosion (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Donald Johnson. Dave Conlin. Medlin Dana.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Hard Science on Hard Steel: Scientific Studies of the USS Arizona" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. During a visit to the USS Arizona Memorial in 1998, samples from Wapio Point, Pearl Harbor were provided the author and delivered to the UNL Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering for metallurgical examination. Subsequent field operations in 2002 focused on potential/ pH measurements and...

  • USS Arizona Short-Term Mass Loss Studies (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Richard W Sanders.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Hard Science on Hard Steel: Scientific Studies of the USS Arizona" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Corrosion rates for the USS Arizona, based on seventy-eight years of exposure in Pearl Harbor, are used by the National Park Service to assess the current and future state of this ship. To support ongoing efforts to improve corrosion models, short-term mass loss studies have been undertaken by cadets at the...