Scope of the U.S.S. Monitor Expedition

The U.S.S. Monitor has the odd distinction of being the first Iron Clad vessel to have sunk off the coast of the United States. She sunk in one of the most unique places in the entire Atlantic Ocean, just 18 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras. Hatteras is unique due to the collision of two significant ocean currents. Coming from the South is the Gulf Stream , a warm ocean current that originates in the Caribbean and travels along the Eastern Coast of the United States towards the United Kingdom . This current has its own specific properties and carries with it its own biosphere. Meeting the Gulf Stream is the Labrador Current a cold water current that comes from the northern latitudes, traveling southward along the eastern coast of North America. The Labrador Current has its own specific water properties and carries a cold water biosphere

Each of these currents carries with it specific life forms adapted and suited for survival. The Gulf Stream favors the warm water tropical organisms and the Labrador Current carries favors cold water organisms. Due to the dynamic nature of this collision, warm and cold water currents, it naturally brings to the wreck a rotatiing variety of species that match the specific type of water on the wreck at a specific time. This site offers and astounding opportunity to determine the numbers and types of indigenous and invasive species that reside on the wreck depending on the lense of water present.

Since the sinking of the Monitor and the subsequent recovery of some of the artifacts and structure, the archeology of the wreck site has been well investigated and documented. The recovery of the gun turret, steam engine, and propeller has caused damage to the wreck, which N.O.A.A. deemed acceptable for the benefits received, as well as natural degredation. During the duration of the artifiact recovery expeditions there have been exhaustive efforts at cataloguing the site as well as the artifacts found. All of these procedures fall within standard archeological practices and have brought forth a wealth of information that would have otherwise been lost to the sea.

Interestingly one of the scientific areas of the Monitor that seems to have been overlooked is its Biosphere. As of this writing there has yet to be an inventory of the marine life found on the wreck. This includes all marine forms including Fish, Crustaceans, Mollusks, Cnidarians and Porifera.

During the term of our expedition we plan to undertake a complete non-destructive, non-invasive inventory of the animals that reside on or near the wreck of the Monitor. This would establish a baseline of organisms on the wreck that can be updated and modified as time and further expeditions allow.
Of particular interest will be the number of native species we find, their distribution and population, and health. Further we will attempt to identify and determine the population of invasive species like the Lionfish.

Some of the tools we intend to utilize on this expedition are fish identification cards from the NC Aquarium, tally sheets for counting the number of fish within a type, digital photography and digital videography. All of the findings and materials recorded at the site will be turned over to N.O.A.A. for further analysis. This baseline determination is necessary in order to determine the health of the Biome on the wreck and also the track how the Biome evolves as the wreck further degrades. It may also be of benefit to N.O.A.A. to determine what types of fish are being illegally poached from the site.

Due to the nature and scope of this expedition we are not initiating any procedures aimed at artifact recovery. If we discover a significant artifact in peril due to environmental factors or loss. We will photograph the artifact from a minimum of two different angles, video tape the artifact, record it’s exact location and inform the proper authorities.