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Telepresence-enabled exploration of deep sea environments has developed over the past 30 years, providing access to archaeologists, scientists, and the general public to sites otherwise inaccessible due to depth. Pioneered through the inception of the JASON Project in the late 1980 s, telepresence missions have expanded to two dedicated ships of exploration, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer and exploration vessel Nautilus, and has been implemented on a series of opportunistic missions on other vessels. This paper chronicles the history of the use of telepresence for the exploration of shipwrecks in deep water as well as how this capability has allowed the public to engage with such missions. Broadening the scope of who can explore the deep sea, telepresence has also expanded what is observed and documented in the deep, which speaks to humanity’s use of the maritime world and an archaeology of discard through our material disposed of into the deep sea.

A telepresence-enabled cruise using remotely operated vehicle (ROV) exploration discovered an unusual tubular deposit of Fe-rich hydrothermal nontronite on a young seamount, Mashi, of the Wolf-Darwin lineament in the Galapagos Islands. X-ray diffraction, ICP-MS, ICP-AES, and SEM-EDS analyses show that this deposit is chemically and mineralogically similar to other deep-sea hydrothermal nontronites, indicating a likely formation temperature of about 30° to 50 °C by diffuse hydrothermal activity. These deposits contain mixtures of Fe-rich, Al-poor nontronite and poorly crystalline Fe-Si-oxyhydroxides with bulk compositions of 38–51 wt% SiO 2 and 40–50 wt% Fe 2 O 3 *. The presence of filamentous and spherical structures in the samples suggests that mineral deposition was in part facilitated by chemosynthetic microbes. Although hydrothermal nontronite has been sampled at a number of seafloor sites by coring and dredging, this is the first in situ documentation of its unusual sinuous, tubular structure, on the seafloor. Quantitative image-analysis of ROV imagery indicates that hydrothermal fluid pathways, developed through an underlying pillow lava sequence, likely control the distinctive sinuous morphology.

Bottom trawl fishing presents a severe yet largely unquantified threat to shipwreck sites. Here we present a quantification of damage to sites from the Aegean and Black seas through high resolution imaging of 45 shipwrecks discovered by the EN Nautilus expeditions, 2009-2012. These shipwrecks are part of a modern submarine landscape that is heavily damaged by trawls, which also remove sediment and smooth out natural features of the seabed. We quantify the severity of this threat to archaeological sites through repeat visits to one ancient shipwreck and quantify the change to the seabed over a period of eleven months. The results illustrate the benefits of enforced areas of restricted bottom trawling (Marine Protected Areas) to the in situ preservation of shipwreck sites and to natural seabed features and benthic habitats. Careful marine spatial planning and coordinated management of fishing activity can mitigate this destructive activity. In addition, we counter the claim made by some commercial salvors who use trawl damage as an excuse to salvage artifacts from wrecks, further destroying historically significant sites for profit. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) explorations of the Kahouanne Seamounts, located 25 km SE of Montserrat in the northern Lesser Antilles island arc, have discovered the occurrence of honeycomb-scalloped erosional features on volcanic and limestone outcrops at depths of up to 600 m below sea level (mbsl). These features, combined with the flat-topped morphology of the seamounts, the occurrence of shallow-water carbonates (rhodoliths, benthic foraminifera), and the presence of oxidized, highly-vesicular volcanic fragments, suggest that the seamounts were once subaerial islands and have subsequently subsided to their present depth. The subsidence is likely to have been in response to a combination of 1) graben development southeast of the island of Montserrat where faulting and extension are driven by the accommodation of slip convergence associated with oblique subduction along the Lesser Antilles volcanic arc and 2) regional subsidence inferred from studies of nearby carbonate platforms. 40Ar/39Ar dating of basalt/andesite lavas from the central seamount indicates active volcanism around 5.4 Ma. Shallow-water carbonates recovered from an apparent wave-cut terrace at ~600 mbsl in the same area, were deposited approximately 3 Ma, based on Sr-isotope stratigraphy, indicating significant subsidence of the complex since that time. The total subsidence is in line with displacements in the Kahouanne valley graben and regional subsidence rates inferred from carbonate platform depths around the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, implying that intra-arc subsidence has been a significant process shaping the present bathymetry and topography of this island arc.

Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) exploration at the distal margins of a debris avalanche deposit from Kick’em Jenny submarine volcano in Grenada has revealed areas of cold seeps with chemosynthetic-based ecosystems. The seeps occur on steep slopes of deformed, unconsolidated hemipelagic sediments in water depths between 1952 and 2042 m. Two main areas consist of anastomosing systems of fluid flow that have incised local sediments by several tens of centimeters. No temperature anomalies were observed in the vent areas and no active flow was visually observed, suggesting that the venting may be waning. An Eh sensor deployed on a miniature autonomous plume recorder (MAPR) recorded a positive signal and the presence of live organisms indicates at least some venting is still occurring. The chemosynthetic-based ecosystem included giant mussels ( Bathymodiolus sp.) with commensal polychaetes ( Branchipolynoe sp.) and cocculinid epibionts, other bivalves, Siboglinida (vestimentiferan) tubeworms, other polychaetes, and shrimp, as well as associated heterotrophs, including gastropods, anemones, crabs, fish, octopods, brittle stars, and holothurians. The origin of the seeps may be related to fluid overpressure generated during the collapse of an ancestral Kick’em Jenny volcano. We suggest that deformation and burial of hemipelagic sediment at the front and base of the advancing debris avalanche led to fluid venting at the distal margin. Such deformation may be a common feature of marine avalanches in a variety of geological environments especially along continental margins, raising the possibility of creating large numbers of ephemeral seep-based ecosystems.

Discharge of volcanic gases in the marine environment can lead to local perturbations in ocean acidity, with consequences for biological communities and the potential for hazards related to depressurization and release of gases at the surface. Numerous hydrothermal vents in the crater of Kolumbo submarine volcano (Aegean Sea) are discharging virtually pure gaseous CO 2 together with clear fluids at temperatures up to 220 °C. Acoustic imaging of the ascending bubbles suggests that the gas is being dissolved into seawater within ∼10 m above the crater floor (500 m below sea level). Dissolution of the gas likely causes local increases in water density that result in sequestration of CO 2 within the enclosed crater, and the accumulation of acidic seawater. Lack of macrofauna at the Kolumbo hydrothermal vents, occurrence of carbonate-poor sediment in the crater, and pH values as low as 5.0 in recovered water samples point to acidic conditions within the crater. Buildup of CO 2 -rich water in the bowl-shaped crater of Kolumbo may be producing conditions analogous to some African volcanic lakes (Lake Monoun and Lake Nyos, Cameroon) where overturn of gas-rich bottom waters led to abrupt releases of CO 2 at the surface. A minimum estimate of 2.0 × 10 5 m 3 (STP) of excess CO 2 may currently exist in the bottom 10 m of the Kolumbo crater.

The issue of damage to shipwreck sites caused by the operation of mobile fishing gear has only recently begun to be addressed by the archaeological community. However, the nature, extent, and intensity of this damage has yet to be quantified. Acoustic and video surveys conducted between 2008 and 2010 located and imaged sixteen ancient shipwrecks around the Bodrum and Datca Peninsulas, Turkey, many of which were heavily damaged by trawling activity. The results of this research illustrate the unfortunate reality that many wreck sites in the Aegean Sea are heavily damaged by modern fishing activities. Quantifying the extent and intensity of trawl scars on the seabed further reveals the geographic spread of damage in these areas. The results of these mapping projects call attention to the dismantling of cultural sites by the use of mobile fishing gear on the seabed. By comparing the number of broken artifacts on these wreck sites to other sites that have escaped the effects of trawling, such as those in the Black Sea, we see that shipwrecks that are or were at one time in areas of trawling activity show a considerable amount of damage. The location and condition of these wreck sites helps map and quantify past and recent trawling activity, and pinpoint areas on the shallow coastal shelf where additional trawling restrictions or protected zones may be able to help the preservation of archaeological material.

The deep seabed of the Black Sea is a major untapped archaeological resource. Its overlying anoxic waters preserve in some form most, if not all the perishable deposits left during its long history of maritime use. In 2007, using advanced robotic technology, researchers from the Center for Ocean Exploration and Archaeological Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island began a multi-year site assessment of Sinop D, a fifth century ad wreck site located at a depth of 325 meters off the north central coast of Turkey. Site characterization, the first step toward IN SITU preservation, was implemented with the use of remotely operated vehicles. The design of two types of decay-rate tests containing proxy artifact samples is described. These were deployed in 2007 as multi-sample units and will be retrieved and analyzed in future years to predict the types of perishables that future researchers may expect to encounter in the deep Black Sea and the condition in which they may be expected to survive.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is highly prevalent, conservatively estimated to affect 2%–4% of the middle-aged adult population in the United States.1 OSA is widely believed to contribute to impaired cognition,2 hypertension,3 cardiovascular disease,4 cerebrovascular disease,5 and increased risk for accidents.6 The most effective therapy is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which improved select signs and symptoms of OSA in several randomized, placebo-controlled trials.7,8 However, the efficacy of CPAP may be limited by poor compliance. It has been estimated that as many as 50% of OSA patients for whom CPAP is initially recommended are not using this therapy one year later.9 Common reasons for discontinuation include mask discomfort, nasal drying or irritation, and intolerance of the pressure.10 Numerous studies have evaluated the benefits of various interventions at initial CPAP set-up to improve acceptance and compliance. Such interventions include intensified education and follow-up programs,11 the addition of humidification to CPAP,12 and alternative pressure delivery systems.13 Gay and colleagues have recently reviewed in detail factors that can affect initial CPAP tolerance and adherence, and interventions that might improve initial CPAP efficacy.14 However, few studies have evaluated interventions to improve CPAP compliance in OSA patients previously unable to comply with CPAP therapy. We evaluated a two phase intervention program intended to improve CPAP compliance in previously noncompliant OSA patients. The first phase assessed several standard interventions to improve CPAP comfort, while the second phase compared the efficacy of flexible bilevel positive airway pressure (BiFlex, Respironics Inc., Murrysville, PA) to standard CPAP. BiFlex differs from standard bilevel positive airway pressure (PAP) devices in that it allows reductions of the late inspiratory and early expiratory pressures.15

A significant number of patients with obstructive sleep apnea neither tolerate positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy nor achieve successful outcomes from either upper airway surgeries or use of an oral appliance. The purpose of this paper, therefore, was to systematically evaluate available peer-reviewed data on the effectiveness of adjunctive medical therapies and summarize findings from these studies. A review from 1985 to 2005 of the English literature reveals several practical findings. Weight loss has additional health benefits and should be routinely recommended to most overweight patients. Presently, there are no widely effective pharmacotherapies for individuals with sleep apnea, with the important exceptions of individuals with hypothyroidism or with acromegaly. Treating the underlying medical condition can have pronounced effects on the apnea/hypopnea index. Stimulant therapy leads to a small but statistically significant improvement in objective sleepiness. Nonetheless, residual sleepiness remains a significant health concern. Supplemental oxygen and positional therapy may benefit subsets of patients, but whether these therapies reduce morbidities as PAP therapy does will require rigorous randomized trials. PAP therapy has set the bar high for successful treatment of sleep apnea and its associated morbidities. Nonetheless, we should strive towards the development of universally effective pharmacotherapies for sleep apnea. To accomplish this, we require a greater knowledge of the neurochemical mechanisms underlying sleep apnea, and we must use this infrastructure of knowledge to design well-controlled, adequately powered studies that examine, not only effects on the apnea/hypopnea index, but also the effects of pharmacotherapies on all health related outcomes shown beneficial with PAP therapy.

Extensive evidence links cardiovascular disease and sleep disordered breathing. OSA has adverse effects on blood pressure, cardiovascular status,and mortality. Effective CPAP therapy can improve blood pressure and cardiac function in patients who have OSA. Patients who have congestive heart failure have a high prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing, with OSA occurring in 30% of such patients and Cheyne-Stokes respiration in 40%.CPAP is the preferred mode of therapy for both types of sleep-disordered breathing in patients who have coexistent congestive heart failure. Nocturnal worsening of asthma is a common manifestation of this disease that indicates increased disease severity. Therapy focuses on judicious use of long-acting bronchodilators, and the presence of OSA should also be considered. COPD is frequently associated with impaired sleep, likely because of chronic dyspnea and sleep-associated hypoxemia. Appropriate therapy again includes long-acting bronchodilators and possibly nocturnal supplemental oxygen. Gastroesophageal reflux during sleep may lead to prolonged episodes of esophageal acid exposure and may be a common sequela of OSA, perhaps triggering nocturnal worsening of asthma. Endstage renal disease and chronic dialysis are commonly associated with a host of troublesome sleep problems,including OSA, RLS, PLMD, and daytime sleepiness.

Recent archaeological survey by sidescan sonar and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) resulted in the discovery of one of the best-preserved seagoing ships from antiquity in the anoxic waters of the Black Sea. Three shipwrecks from the 4th to 6th centuries AD, with cargoes of shipping jars from Sinop, Turkey, were found at depths of about 100 m; the fourth sits upright on the sea-bed, buried to deck level in sediment. A description of each site and identification of visible site components is followed by a discussion of directions and possible implications of future research. © 2004 The Nautical Archaeology Society

Turkiye'nin kuzey kiyilari boyunca, Karadeniz'de Bogaz'in dogusundan Sinop limanina kadar olan bolgede buyuk bir arastirma yurutulmustur. Bu arastirmanin uc ana amaci vardi: ilk olarak Karadeniz'in sularla dolmasindan once, yani 7 500 yil once, arastirmacilarca yorede varoldugu ongorulen yerlesme yerlerine ait verilerin arastirilmasi: ikinci olarak acik deniz gemi rota yollarinin saptanmasi ve ucuncu olarak da Karadeniz'in oksijensiz dip sularinda eski ahsap gemi kalintilarini bulmaktir. Bu arastirmada kullanilan aygitlar kademe dizinli yan taramali sonar, yedek kizak ve uzaktan kumandali kucuk dalma aracidir (ROV), Karadeniz'de, ongorulen su taskinindan onceye ait olasilikli bir yerlesme yeri ve uc adet gemi batigi 100 m derinlikte saptanmistir. Bir diger batik 324 m derinlikte oksijensiz seviyede bulunmustur. Bu oksijensiz tabakadaki batik tum halde son derecede iyi korunmus halde ve M.S. 450 yilina yani Bizans Devrine aittir.

In 1997, two shipwrecks were first discovered in the Mediterranean Sea west of Israel by the U.S. Navy's research Submarine NR-1. Further investigation in 1999 with the remotely operated vehicle system Medea/Jason found the wrecks to be from the eighth century B.C., the earliest known shipwrecks to be found in the deep sea. Both ships appear to be of Phoenician origin, laden with cargoes of fine wine destined for either Egypt or Carthage, when they were lost in a storm on the high seas. The ships lie upright on the seafloor at a depth of 400 m in a depression formed by the scour of bottom currents. Their discovery suggests that ancient mariners took direct routes to their destinations even if it meant traveling beyond sight of land.

In July 1999, we conducted a side-scan sonar survey in the southeastern Mediterranean Sea, between 300- and 800-m water depths approximately 30 nautical miles from the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip. Examination of the sonar imagery revealed numerous acoustic targets, each on the order of a few meters and surrounded by small depressions. Subsequent visual inspection of two of these targets by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) revealed they were cold hydrocarbon seeps through which small bubbles of gas and shimmering fluids were emitted. Surrounding each cold seep were benthic communities of organisms. The ROV was used to gather video and still-camera imagery, map the surrounding microbathymetry, and collect samples of the seep structure and associated organisms. A sub-bottom profiler, which was attached to the ROV, was used to image the submerged structure of the second seep site. Further examination and analysis revealed that the seeps comprise hard deposits of calcium carbonate, and that the organisms are clams and polychaetes which are probably chemosymbiotic. The origin of the seep gas is hypothesized to be the natural decay of organic matter in the sapropel sediment, leading to the production of methane. Circulating fluids, which carry the dissolved gas through preferential pathways along small faults or bedding planes, percolate through the seafloor, precipitate calcium carbonate, release gas, and support the benthic organisms.

In 2000, a major expedition for deepwater archaeology was conducted by the Institute for Exploration in the Black Sea along the northwestern coast of Turkey from the Bosporus to the Turkish seaport of Sinop. A complementary land-based expedition will be reported upon elsewhere. The 2000 underwater expedition had three research objectives: to search for evidence of human habitation prior to major flooding of the Black Sea that researchers predicted occurred some 7,500 years ago; to investigate a deepwater shipping route; and to search for ancient wooden ships in the sea's anoxic bottom waters. Research methods included the use of a phased-array side-scan sonar, a towed imaging sled, and a small remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to collect deepsea survey data. Three shipwrecks and a probable site reflecting human habitation prior to the proposed flooding event were located at depths around 100m. One additional shipwreck was found within the anoxic layer at a depth of 324m. The ship found within the anoxic layer was intact, in a high state of preservation, and dated to the Byzantine period of 450 A.D. (Less)

Aquariums and "blue water" oceanographic institutions in America have traditionally had completely separate missions, with the former concentrating on public outreach and education and the latter undertaking basic research. Recently, two new institutions, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and the Mystic Aquarium/Institute for Exploration (MA/IFE), were founded for the expressed purpose of bridging the gap between basic ocean discovery and public education. In both cases, the ability to bring the excitement of undersea exploration to the public has been enabled by sophisticated undersea vehicles that permit the aquarium audience to participate in the research enterprise via telepresence. The fact that the research is constantly in the public eye provides researchers with frequent opportunities to explain the importance and the relevancy of their work for the benefit of society. Despite the efforts over the past 50 years, over 95 percent of the oceans remain unknown and unexplored. This fact combined with the realization that all citizens of the twenty-first century must be well informed on the consequences of their actions on the health of this ocean planet makes it likely that such partnerships between research and educational institutions will proliferate.

We propose that late Wisconsin deposition and erosion (Hudson Shelf and Block Island valleys) on the shelf and slope from New Jersey to southern New England were a consequence of the catastrophic drainage of glacial lakes behind terminal moraine systems and the huge volume of water stored beneath the Laurentian ice sheet and subsequent erosion of the lake sediments by flash floods. The morphology imparted by glaciation regulated the discharge associated with the ablation of the glaciers. Associated with the deposits west of Hudson Shelf Valley are the remains of mammoth and mastodon which were transported from their living habitats along the lake shores to their present burial sites on the shelf. The floods also triggered gravity flows on the upper continental slope which made possible the transportation of coarse debris over hundreds of km into the deep-sea. That these catastrophic flood morphologies can still be recognized on the middle to outer shelf suggest that much of its surface was little modified during the late Pleistocene/Holocene transgression. Thus the late Pleistocene/Holocene transgression may have been characterized by short periods when sea level rose rapidly allowing for the preservation of relict features.

A 1999 survey of the Black Sea continental shelf off the north central Turkish seaport of Sinop using a side-scan sonar, small remotely operated vehicles, and a series of dredge lowerings located, inspected and sampled an exposed high-energy paleoshoreline at a depth of 155 m. Radiocarbon dating of mollusk shells collected from this ancient beach revealed that the marine flooding of the Black Sea took place between 7460 and 6820 yr B.P. (all ages are reported in radiocarbon years, not calendar years, without correction for reservoir age or dendro-calibration) changing it from a lacustrine to marine environment. This relic surface remained in contact with the bottom waters of the Black Sea for a long period of time before being draped by a thin layer of sapropel mud. Wood samples recovered from this same location were very well preserved and yielded dates as old as 3580 yr B.P. q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The Skerki Bank Project was the first interdisciplinary effort to determine the importance of the deep sea to the field of archaeology. Over a nine year period from 1988 to 1997, its various field programs resulted in the discovery of the largest concentration of ancient ships ever found in the deep sea. In all, eight ships were located in an area of 210 km 2 , including five of the Roman era spanning a period of time from 100 B.C. to 400 A.D., documenting the existence of a major trading route in the central Mediterranean Sea between ancient Carthage, Rome, Sicily, and Sardinia. The project involved the use of highly sophisticated deep submergence technologies including towed acoustic and visual search vehicles, a nuclear research submarine, and an advanced remotely operated vehicle. Precision navigation and control permitted rapid yet careful mapping, both visual and acoustic, of each site with a degree of precision never attained before. Advanced robotics permitted the recovery of selected objects for subsequent analysis without intrusive excavation. This multi-disciplinary effort of archaeologists, oceanographers, and ocean engineers demonstrated that deep water archaeology has great promise and can be done without the exploitation of ancient sites for private gains. The Project also demonstrated that in the absence of evolving laws of the sea, a great deal of human history may be at peril.

The nocturnal worsening of asthma is a common feature of this disease that recently has received extensive investigation. Most recent efforts have focused on the role of circadian biorhythms that could promote a nocturnal increase in airway inflammation, leading to a subsequent increase in airflow obstruction and asthma symptoms. However, definitive studies remain lacking. As discussed in this review, there is also substantial evidence that sleep itself may play a direct role in the nocturnal worsening of asthma. Potential mechanisms for such a sleep-related effect could include the supine posture, alterations in sympathetic and parasympathetic "balance," sleep-associated reductions in lung volume, intrapulmonary pooling of blood, and sleep-associated upper airway narrowing, both with and without snoring and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). These potential contributors to this troublesome phenomenon deserve further consideration when investigating mechanisms of nocturnal asthma.