Maritime Heritage Cruise Set to Depart to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

On July 5, 2012 scientists will sail to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) and World Heritage Site on a research expedition aboard the NOAA ship Hiʻialakai. Four teams will visit French Frigate Shoals, Lisianski Island, Pearl and Hermes Atoll, and Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) as part of a project led by PMNM scientists to conduct various studies. Teams will explore and interpret maritime heritage sites, tag and track apex predators (including sharks and jacks), survey for alien species, and investigate coral disease and genetic connectivity of fish and coral. In addition, a filmmaker will be on board to shoot a short film about the discovery and identification of the Nantucket whaleship Two Brothers, discovered in 2008, and the focus of a special exhibit at the Nantucket Whaling Museum this year.

Click Here to view the 2012 Maritime Heritage Expedition Log.

Learn more about the discovery of the Two Brothers shipwreck from maritime archaeologist
Dr. Kelly Gleason in this video.

Click Here to view high resolution images from the Two Brothers shipwreck site.

Dr. Kelly Gleason investigates a ginger jar at the Two Brothers shipwreck site. Credit: Greg McFall/NOAA

A team from the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) led by Carl Meyer tags sharks and jacks in PMNM in order to track their range. Credit: Greg McFall/NOAA

Carl Meyer deploys an acoustic receiver on the seafloor that will track the movements of apex predators in PMNM. Credit: Greg McFall/NOAA

Filmmaker Stephani Gordon creates a maritime archaeology short film in PMNM. Credit: Casserley/NOAA