Case study of the Admiral : an example of monitoring a 20th-century steel tugboat and the involvement of citizen science in maritime archaeology

Abstract

Shipwrecks and other underwater cultural heritage sites need to be monitored appropriately to be protected and preserved for future generations. There are many methods to preserve underwater sites properly; however, most of the methods do not focus on low visibility, cold temperature sites with specific time constraints, and budget. The goal of this study was to compare the results from two possible methods, photogrammetry and citizen science, and establish if either method could be used to monitor the Admiral adequately. The Admiral is a significant site within Lake Erie due to its devastating story and unique ship design. The photogrammetry method was inspired by the work done on the Oostvoornse Meer 8, while the citizen science data was acquired from The Maritime Archaeological Survey Team (MAST). MAST is an accomplished underwater archaeology citizen science group located in Lake Erie. Both methods were tested with a low budget and a limited time period. The results of each method yielded noteworthy results and concluded that both methods need to be further explored for more conclusive results.