Oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico

This study is intended to approach one basic question:  Do manmade artificial structures or objects (i.e., shipwrecks) function as artificial reefs in deep water?  Although there is not yet a complete understanding of how artificial reefs function on the continental shelf, particularly in the photic zone above 100 m, it is generally accepted that artificial reefs can serve a positive function by the creation of new hard-bottom habitat in areas where hard-bottom is naturally lacking (most of the Gulf of Mexico).

In the case of fish, artificial reefs can act both as attraction devices and as new habitat where new fish biomass is created and exported, meaning production.  The fouling community growing on new hard-bottom provided by artificial substrate is unquestionably new production for those organisms that require hard substrate.  Although artificial structures alone do not add food or nutrients to the marine environment, the biofouling community may be very efficient in stripping both nutrients and suspended material from passing water and plankton and building a high-standing stock community.  The trophic linkages between the flux of organic material to deepwater fouling communities and potentially related fish communities have not been investigated.

Vessel Name Cargo Depth in Feet Anona Potatoes 4,160 Gulf Penn Fuel Oil 1,751 Virginia Gasoline    280 U-166 Military 4,800 Robert E. Lee Passengers 5,000 Alcoa Puritan Bauxite 6,500 Halo Crude Oil    470

Vessels selected for investigation for MMS study 73095.

The ideal laboratory for this study exists in the Gulf of Mexico where 56 ships were sunk by German submarines during World War II, most within a few months of each other in 1942.  Seven of these vessels, located during oil and gas surveys, were selected for this study because they represent a range of depths (from 280 feet to 6,500 feet) and carried a variety of cargoes.  Because of the range of water depths, representing different ecological niches, and the fact that most of the vessels were sunk within a few months of one another, they represent a unique opportunity to study the “artificial reef effect” in differing depths over the course of 60 years.  In addition to the biological characterizations that will be conducted at each site, the vessels will be documented and studied as historic sites for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.

Location of vessels identified for MMS Study 73095

In the Gulf of Mexico converting offshore oil and gas structures into artificial reefs on the continental shelf has been accepted as a benefit to fisheries; 49 structures have been converted from a total of 383 structure removals between 1999 and June 2002.  However, in the deeper waters beyond the shelf, additional information is needed to evaluate the significance of a deep-sea artificial reef effect.

Research Methods
The study has two separate but equally important objectives: an archaeological and historical objective and a biological objective.  The archaeological objective is to document these seven wreck sites as historic properties that are significant to American history.  The biological component of this study will approach the question, “do manmade artificial structures or objects ( i.e., shipwrecks) function as artificial reefs in deepwater?”  This question can be examined in terms of four major goals:

• characterize the environment at each site and determine the biological effects of the shipwreck at selected sites;
• determine the extent of physical and biological modification of sediments through the activity of microbes in the immediate vicinity of the wreck sites compared to sediment conditions distant from the sites;
• document the spatial homogeneity of concretions and other biofouling communities on the wreck; and
• evaluate motile fish and invertebrate associations with the microbially-induced concretions, hard pans, and any other growth forms.

An International Team of Scientists
 

Interior of the conning tower of the WWII German submarine U-166

The prime contractor for this study is C&C Technologies, Inc. of Lafayette, Louisiana. C&C Technologies, Inc., a leader in the field of marine geophysical surveys, while under contract to the oil and gas industry, was also responsible for the discovery of many of the wrecks included in this study. Most recently they were awarded a research grant from NOAA OE to conduct archaeological investigations at the site of the German submarine U-166, the fieldwork for which was completed in October 2003.  The present study will build on this successful project by adding additional sites and additional biological investigations.  

Rusticles from the U-166

C&C Technologies, Inc. will be joined by a team of world-renowned scientists in the fields of microbiology and marine invertebrates and vertebrates.  These scientists include Dr. Roy Cullimore of Droycon Bioconcepts, Inc. of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada whose previous research includes microbial analyses of the RMSTitanic and, the DKMBismarck, and the HMHS Britannic.  Dr. Cullimore is joined by Dr. William Schroeder, senior marine scientist at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alabama, and Dr. Thomas Shirley, Professor of Invertebrate Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Dr. William Patterson, Assistant Professor of Marine Vertebrate Zoology at the University of West Florida.

Education through Exploration
This study will have a significant outreach and education component, which will include an active project website, the development of education curriculum and literature, and a video documentary explaining the project.  The education outreach will be overseen and produced by award-winning film maker Dr. Dennis Aig, Associate Professor of Film at Montana State University whose credits include The Horse Whisperer and A River Runs Through It, and Dr. Annalies Corbin, Executive Director of the PAST Foundation.  In addition PhD and master’s level graduate interns will participate in the project in the areas of marine biology, archaeology, and film.

An Exciting Opportunity
This study represents the first time that MMS and NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration have partnered through NOPP, and it is anticipated that this effort will provide unprecedented insights into a number of topics, including:

• the potential for the long-term historic preservation of historic shipwrecks;
• global oil-spill issues relating to the ongoing disintegration of World War II shipwrecks;
• the long-term fate of manmade objects on the deep sea floor and, in particular, their potential role as artificial reefs; and, finally,
• using exploration to capture the public’s imagination and appreciation of interdisciplinary oceanographic research.

Links

• MMS Rigs to Reefs Program:
  http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/regulate/environ/rigs-to-reefs/information.html
• PAST Foundation:
  www.pastfoundation.org
• National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP):
  http://www.nopp.org/
• NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration:
  http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/
• C&C Technologies:
  http://www.cctechnol.com/
• Droycon Bioconcepts:
  http://www.dbi.sk.ca/