Deeper Look Inside Sunken Battleship Preserved Since Pearl Harbor Attack
Dec. 27, 2016 - Interior imaging and scientific sampling shed new light on one of Pearl Harbor's most notable wreckages. The U.S.S.
Arizona has been resting on the seafloor of Pearl Harbor for 75 years. Now, portions of the sunken battleship, including second and third decks, have been inventoried and sampled for the first time by the National Park Service utilizing a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) engineered by Marine Imaging Technologies and the Advanced Imaging and Visualization Laboratory at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water deep within the ship's interior cabins, combined with a protective covering of marine encrustations on the hull, have helped preserve the ship and its contents.
Read more about the remarkable preservation of the U.S.S. Arizona.
For the first time in 75 years, portions of the inside of the U.S.S. Arizona have been revealed.
The battleship was bombed on December 7, 1941, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
The event catapulted the United States into World War II.
The National Park Service is inventorying the sunken vessel via a remotely operated vehicle (ROV).
Among the items seen were a jacket located in an officer’s stateroom …
a rotary phone …
and a bathroom mirror.
Today, the ship is a living reef.
Sponges, worms, and corals act as a protective covering, helping preserve the ship and its contents.
Low levels of oxygen deep inside the ship also help Reduce corrosion.
Environmental and water sampling has found dissolved oxygen in the ship’s interior to be below 4%.
By contrast, the surrounding water in Pearl Harbor is 83%.
Now the National Park Service is analyzing the water and sediment samples that were collected.
Their findings will be revealed over the next several months.
Time will tell what else the Arizona—the final resting place for nearly 1,000 servicemen—can tell us.
Produced By
David Doubilet
Jennifer Hayes
Brett Seymour
Special Thanks
National Park Service
Marine Imaging Technologies
Advanced Imaging and Visualization Laboratory
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Editor
Jed Winer
