Gulf of Mexico SCHEMA: Studying the Effects of a Major Oil Spill on Submerged Cultural Resources. Where Do We Go From Here?

Leila Hamdan; Melanie Damour; Christopher Horrell

Gulf of Mexico SCHEMA: Studying the Effects of a Major Oil Spill on Submerged Cultural Resources. Where Do We Go From Here?

Author(s): Leila Hamdan; Melanie Damour; Christopher Horrell

Year: 2015

Summary

As a result of this project, we better understand microbial communities' role in biofilm formation, wood degradation, and metal corrosion in the deep biosphere; however, new questions were raised. More information is needed to understand the ecosystemic role of shipwrecks and long-term impacts from oil spills. The diversity of micro- and macro- infauna and their response to environmental events indicates the suitability of shipwrecks as ecosystem monitoring platforms. Microbial response to hydrocarbon exposure can inform scientists about ecosystem recovery over time while long-term monitoring and quantification of shipwreck degradation and corrosion using 3-D laser/sonar data can inform scientists about site formation processes. A biogeochemical and archaeological approach to studying shipwrecks and microbial response allows for assessment of micro- to macro-scale impacts. Interdisciplinary studies such as this benefit from the knowledge provided by diverse fields of science while imparting appreciation for the biological, historical, and cultural importance of shipwrecks.

Cite this Record

Gulf of Mexico SCHEMA: Studying the Effects of a Major Oil Spill on Submerged Cultural Resources. Where Do We Go From Here?. Leila Hamdan, Melanie Damour, Christopher Horrell. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Seattle, Washington. 2015 ( tDAR id: 433805)