We explored the wind patterns of LedgeN Quarry, looked for cyclonic weather potential and hypothesized about the likelihood of how two different ships sank in the quarry.

Wetsuits and shipwrecks: this is life as a JASON Teacher Argonaut

 

So you wiggle, tug, and squirm until it fits you. Then you get to wander around like a wind-up toy. Once you make it to the water, you float along like a buoy. What could it be? Why, life in a wetsuit of course. Our expedition piece for Tuesday was an adventure in underwater archaeology, snorkeling, and shipwrecks. We explored the wind patterns of LedgeN Quarry, looked for cyclonic weather potential and hypothesized about what may have caused two different ships sank in the quarry.  My student team of weather experts climbed up edgy cliffs and created their own model of a cyclone as well.

 

The students in my team worked really well together and hypothesized about ships, storms, and how weather affects ships and shipwrecks. We had fun trying to find the shipwrecks under the calm waters of the quarry. The visibility under the water was poor, as Gaye-Lynn our instructor told us, because of all

My student team of weather experts climbed up edgy cliffs and created their own model of a cyclone as well.

of the rain that Milwaukee received in the previous days. When we looked at actual photos from the shipwrecks later in the day, there was an eerie stillness about them. They were clouded by sediment and looked as though they’d been there for years and years.

 

When we looked at actual photos from the shipwrecks later in the day there was an eerie stillness about them.

The following day, we ventured into the deep waters of icy Lake Huron and the tale of the Windiate. We talked with an underwater archaeologist, Kathy Green, at the Thunderbay Marine Sanctuary about how ships met their demise in the Great Lakes. The images of the Windiate that stretched across our screen reminded me of the quarry shots from the previous day. The depths of the 1870s wreck and the pristine condition of the vessel have stumped scientists and historians alike for years. How did it sink? Was it the ice build up? Was it the waves? Did the men get swept overboard? Do they lay on land or under the ice flows of a chilly November day on the lake?

 

Questions, questions, questions……..so many questions to answer and discover! We’re getting ready for our next adventures now. We’ve got a whole new set of questions to research, explore, and investigate. Looking forward to chatting with you from Miami!