Science Cafe: Heavy Metal on the High Seas: Monitor National Marine Sanctuary
For more than 40 years, the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary (MNMS) has served as a special place honoring the iconic Civil War ironclad USS Monitor and the memory and service of Civil War sailors. More than any other place in the United States, the coast of North Carolina has served as a uniquely accessible environment for an underwater museum and memorial to our nation’s rich maritime history. It is an ideal location to study and preserve historic wreck sites dating back to the Age of North American Exploration, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and perhaps most prominently, World War II’s Battle of the Atlantic. Join us to learn about this underwater museum and the challenges of preserving exhibits in a sometimes harsh and unpredictable environment. David Alberg is Superintendent of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, serving as the Sanctuary’s onsite manager and as the primary point of contact between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia, which is conserving the thousands of artifacts recovered from the wreck of the USS Monitor. He has an extensive background in cultural resource management, museum work and exhibit development, and has been involved in a number of high-profile museum projects. Tane Casserly is Research Coordinator for the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and Deputy Line Office Diving Officer for the National Ocean Service. Tane specializes in 19th century warships and deep-water archaeology. He holds a graduate certificate in maritime archaeology from the University of Hawaii and a master’s degree from the Program in Maritime Studies at East Carolina University. He has led NOAA archaeological expeditions in the Florida Keys, the Great Lakes, California, the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Alaska and the USS Monitor. Tane’s projects have used technical diving, remotely operated vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles and manned submersibles. He is a dive instructor and certified trimix and closed-circuit rebreather diver with the National Association of Underwater Instructors, as well as the Nautical Archaeology Society Senior Tutor for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
For more than 40 years, the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary (MNMS) has served as a special place honoring the iconic Civil War ironclad USS Monitor and the memory and service of Civil War sailors. More than any other place in the United States, the coast of North Carolina has served as a uniquely accessible environment for an underwater museum and memorial to our nation’s rich maritime history. It is an ideal location to study and preserve historic wreck sites dating back to the Age of North American Exploration, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and perhaps most prominently, World War II’s Battle of the Atlantic. Join us to learn about this underwater museum and the challenges of preserving exhibits in a sometimes harsh and unpredictable environment. David Alberg is Superintendent of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, serving as the Sanctuary’s onsite manager and as the primary point of contact between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia, which is conserving the thousands of artifacts recovered from the wreck of the USS Monitor. He has an extensive background in cultural resource management, museum work and exhibit development, and has been involved in a number of high-profile museum projects. Tane Casserly is Research Coordinator for the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and Deputy Line Office Diving Officer for the National Ocean Service. Tane specializes in 19th century warships and deep-water archaeology. He holds a graduate certificate in maritime archaeology from the University of Hawaii and a master’s degree from the Program in Maritime Studies at East Carolina University. He has led NOAA archaeological expeditions in the Florida Keys, the Great Lakes, California, the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Alaska and the USS Monitor. Tane’s projects have used technical diving, remotely operated vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles and manned submersibles. He is a dive instructor and certified trimix and closed-circuit rebreather diver with the National Association of Underwater Instructors, as well as the Nautical Archaeology Society Senior Tutor for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.