(September) Join scientists as they set out on a series of expeditions in the seas surrounding Bermuda, searching for deep water caves. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/welcome.html http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/include/images/ocean_explorer_podcast_100.jpg http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/welcome.html _________________________________________________________________________ As expected, the expedition produced, and will continue to produce, baseline environmental data that will be essential for our investigations as well as for future researchers working in the area. We have created the first salinity map around Vista Alegre and in Holbox Lagoon. Read more... http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/logs/summary/missionsummary.html ____________________________________________________________________________ While Kantunilkin offers festive, tropical Christmas splendor, it was the seasonal data on hydrogeology and ecology as well as continued analysis of mollusks and artifacts that brought us back for follow up in Late December! Read more... http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/logs/dec20/dec20.html _________________________________________________________________________ While the ancient Miradors, Sacbes and ball courts have been enveloped by the jungle or are the focus of tourist attractions, the descendants of the Maya still live in the land of their ancestors, and have adapted to live and work in the modern world. Read more... http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/logs/oct14/oct14.html _________________________________________________________________________ The archaeological investigations to date at Vista Alegre, like many preliminary archaeological projects, have consisted of two main activities – survey and excavation. While excavation is typically what the public associates with archaeological fieldwork, survey is an integral component of fieldwork and an activity near and dear to me. In fact, excavation is a destructive and costly (both in terms of time and resources) process, so good archaeologists should not undertake excavations without having conducted a general survey first. Read more... http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/logs/oct7/oct7.html ____________________________________________________________________________ We chose to collect at 1-centimeter sampling resolution. Every sample is removed and placed in its own sample bag. It is a long process that normally takes about 3 minutes a sample, or three hours per meter! Fortunately we had a lot of hands to help. Read more... http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/logs/oct5/oct5.html ____________________________________________________________________________ As part of my Masters thesis research at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, I learned some of the newest techniques to extract DNA from the tissue of living corals and ‘fingerprint’ individuals using repeating sequences in their genome called microsatellites. Read more... http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/logs/oct3/oct3.html ____________________________________________________________________________ While the term "MacGyvering" is funny, the necessity for resourcefulness in the field is anything but. Each member has done some MacGyvering that not only resulted in amusing anecdotes but, more importantly, in the successful completion of our expedition. Read more... http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/logs/sept26/sept26.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Sediment coring is a job that is one part experience, one part planning, and many parts luck. Before we arrived in the Yucatan the team spent months discussing and planning how we would accomplish our goals to collect a series of sediment cores from target areas underwater around the site. Read more... http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/logs/sept25/sept25.html ____________________________________________________________________________ It was a balmy late afternoon at Vista Alegre, and the team was hoping to squeeze in one last core in the East Harbor before calling it a day. As the flotilla made its way into the little bay, we remarked upon the interesting features along the shoreline that we had noted during our earlier reconnaissance. Read more... http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/logs/sept22/sept22.html ____________________________________________________________________________ The Costa Escondida is a dirty and thirsty place these days. I am sitting here looking at my dry, blacked, and cracked feet. My ears crunch with salt, even though I had my mid-day swim. The water was uncomfortably warm and slimy. My quick swim was good to cool off, but now my skin just feels weird. Read more... http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/logs/sept19/sept19.html ____________________________________________________________________________ As the project’s coastal ecologist, part of my contribution to this multidisciplinary effort is to begin quantifying the existing terrestrial and marine flora and fauna associated with the Vista Alegre site in order to put together an initial ecological assessment. Read more... http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/logs/sept16/sept16.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Finally, it was off to Vista Alegre! When we rolled up to the docks in Chiquila, our unsinkable lanchero (boat captain), Roberto Echevarria, was there to greet us. We were a sight to behold, the Clampetts of Quintana Roo – two latter-day jalopies bursting with gear. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/logs/sept14/sept14.html ____________________________________________________________________________ The Maritime Maya Project 2011 is an interdisciplinary exploration project focused on the ancient Maya port site of Vista Alegre. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/background/plan/plan.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Maya civilization was among the greatest of the ancient New World. Their culture endured across the span of Mesoamerican history – witnessing the rise and fall of Teotihuacan and surviving the spread of the later Aztec Empires. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/background/history/history.html ____________________________________________________________________________ The preliminary archaeological fieldwork and ceramic analysis conducted by the Proyecto Costa Escondida (PDE) has revealed four major periods of occupation at the site ranging from the Middle Preclassic period (c. 800-400 B.C.) to the Postclassic (A.D. 1100-1521). http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/background/archaeology/archaeology.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Visit the Maritime Maya 2011 Expedition's Explorers' page to learn more about the exploration's team. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/background/explorers/explorers.html ____________________________________________________________________________