UU team uncover secrets of the deep

Ultra-modern underwater detection technology is helping University of Ulster experts uncover the secrets of the deep - and predict the future.

Once the preserve of powerful navies and exploration firms, state-of-the-art sonar technology is now in the armoury of the University’s Centre for Maritime Archaeology (CMA).

Based at the University’s Coleraine campus, the Centre plays a vital role in finding out more about ancient shipwrecks and shifting sands.

“Many old shipwreck sites and archaeological landscapes currently lie in deep water, or in areas where effective diver-investigations are limited by poor visibility," said Dr Rory Quinn, a lecturer at the CMA.

The science of maritime archaeology greatly benefits from the availability of sonar technology to relocate and map these shipwrecks and former occupation sites."

Colleague and maritime archaeology lecturer, Colin Breen added: “Recent developments in computing and low cost linear electronics now mean that marine sonar technology is available to universities and government agencies.

“The Centre for Maritime Archaeology at the University of Ulster is equipped with state-of -the-art sonar survey suites that are used in conjunction with satellite navigation systems to relocate and investigate submerged and buried sites,” Breen said.

Currently under examination by CMA are the results of a project which it carried out last year for Duchas, the Irish heritage agency, on a shipwreck thought to date to the Cromwellian era in Waterford Harbour.

Also being assessed is data from a survey on a site in Clew Bay, Co Mayo, which it conducted in conjunction with researchers from Queen’s University Belfast and National University of Ireland, Galway.

(MB)