Information processing in marine archaeology

Abstract

At the Oceans'95 conference the authors presented a paper entitled Applications of remotely controlled equipment in Norwegian marine archaeology. That paper discussed the use of remotely controlled equipment in Norwegian marine archaeology, and more specifically a project that studies the wreck of a Russian navy ship which sank in 1760 off the coast of mid-Norway. This wreck, located in 280 meters water depth, has been examined by ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) for the last couple of years. The project came along as a result of a Norwegian oil company's plan to lay a pipeline from one of its platforms to the shore. According to Norwegian law, a survey of the pipeline route had to be carried out, and this revealed the wreck of the Russian ship called the Unicorn. This paper will discuss the latest results of the project. However, the focus will primarily be on the information processing aspects of the project. Having a number of sensors mounted on the remotely controlled vehicle, considerable amounts of information have to be stored, processed and interpreted. The aim of the paper is to explain how this task was solved. The information processing sub-project was initiated with an analysis of the general activities in marine archaeology: Surveying, localisation, documentation and identification. Information needs were specified for each of these activities and an information processing model was defined. This served as a basis for the definition of requirements for the information system. The computer based information processing system developed by Fjellanger Wideroe AS and the project team at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology is then presented. This system utilises digital maps, offers real-time tracking capability of both the ship and the ROV, and has a link to a database which stores information about objects found etc. The advantages and limitations of such an automated information processing system in underwater work and the possibilities it offers to increase the effectiveness of marine archaeology are discussed.