Fall Field Schools

This last month, our second years split up to conduct research in the fall field schools. One group, under the guidance of Dr. Bradley Rodgers and DSO Mark Keusenkothen, traveled to Wisconsin to conduct a phase II pre-disturbance survey on Fleetwing. Fleetwing is a schooner built in Manitowoc, Wisconsin in 1867. The group--Katie Clevenger, Lauren Christian, Kelsey Dywer, Mitch Freitas, Victoria Kiefer, and Sydney Swierenga--documented five pieces of the wreck to compare them to previous mapping done on the site. While there, the students also got to explore the stunning country side of Wisconsin and shipwreck trials established by the state.

Swierenga recording a section of Fleetwing

Garrett Bay

The second field school stayed in North Carolina and explored three different sites in different creeks off of the Pamlico River. The students--Elise Carroll, Jim Kinsella, Patrick Merrigan, Bettie Pratt, Allyson Ropp, Sara Spatafore, and Devin Urban--split into three groups each taking a creek. Under the guidance of Dr. David Stewart, each site was recorded as best they could be in the black muddy waters of the Pamlico. The sites included a logging containment area, a centerboard schooner, and a flat bottom vessel. While the students were limited by the conditions of the Pamlico River area, they practiced different techniques of recording and surveying, such as side scan sonar, and dealt with sites many did not know of.

Dr. Stewart driving the boat

Students watching sonar feed, looking for potential targets

Scenic view of Blounts Creek