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This Week April 25, 1990. Page M3
SEERA

TOP STORY

Continued from Page M1

The Royal B.C. Museum was
the only museum in Canada
to participate in the initial
year of the five-year Jason
Project. Considered one of the
leaders of the 12 museums
and science centres that made
up the Jason Project Network,
the live broadcasts to the mu-

um were viewed by 14,000
students from throughout
British Columbia and the Pa-
cific Northwest last year. An
additional 12,000 watched
taped highlights at a later
date.

This year’s program should
prove to be even more exciting
to those taking part in the live
segments and those who take
in the taped highlights later
on says Chris Higgins, Royal
British Columbia Museum
publicist. Those present for
the live broadcast are in com-
munication, along with other
North American viewers, with
the on-site Jason control
room.

Last year Jason explored
the bottom of the Mediterran-
ean Sea but this year, the
underwater action is closer to:
home. The 1990 Jason Project
will take place near the centre
of North America on the larg-
est fresh water seas in the
world — The Great Lakes.

The focus of the program will be the
Revolutionary War and the War of
1812 and two ships that capsized
during that period — The Hamilton
and The Scourge. The two ships are
beautifully preserved and lying on the
bottom of Lake Ontario near the city
of Hamilton.

The expedition will consist of a
scientific and archaeological study of
the conditions of the two warships.
The city of Hamilton wants to deter-
mine the condition of the ships rela-
tive to their ability to be raised to the
surface. Using the latest in underwat-
er imaging and robotic technology, the
Jason Project 1990 will be led by Dr.
Bob Ballard, the man who first discov-
ered the exact location of the ill-fated
Titanic on Sept. 1, 1985. Ballard also
located the WW2 German battleship
Bismark in June of 1989.

Dr. Ballard will take the partici-
pants on a scientific and historic
journey around the exteriors of the
two well-preserved battleships using
the latest in underwater imagery and
robotic technology. Viewers will expe-
rience history in the making as imag-

es of the two ships are transmitted ~

live, via satellite, from the depths of
the lake.

The Jason system will enable Dr.
Ballard and his team of scientists to
explore inside the ship, test the condi-
tion of the wood and evaluate the
structure showing “sonar amaeine
and “electronic mosaicing” at work.

The Hamilton and The Scourge are.
archaeological treasures. of interna- -

tional importance. The way they went

Lake Ontario’s fresh

’ “and the near-darkness

EXPLORING THE

D E

ly intact — makes them significant
archaeological specimens.

In the early morning hours of Sun-
day, August 8, 1813, The Hamilton
and The Scourge were awaiting first
light to renew action against six Brit-
ish-Canadian ships.

ay

DIANA is the name of the lady's
likeness on the bow of the ship later
renamed Hamilton. The photo, sup-
plied by the Hamilton Scourge Foun-
dation, was taken by the robotic
vehicle Jason at the bottom of Lake
Ontario. The ship is in remarkably
good condition. Dr. Robert Ballard, at
left, is the leader of the 1990 Jason
Project. Ballard is credited with find-
ing the Titanic and the Bismark using
the Jason/ Argo system. The Royal
British Columbia Museum’s New-
combe Auditorium will be the scene
of live broadcasts from the Jason
Project site near Hamilton, Ontario
starting April 30.

Photo courtesy of National Geographic Society.

are connected with the early days of
western exploration and the develop-
ment of Canada and the United
States. ‘

Built in 1809 in Oswego, New York
and originally named Diana, The Ha-
milton was a merchant

About 2 a.m. a sudden.
squall swept up the lake
and caught both schoon-
ers beam on, capsizing
them and sending them
to the bottom.

In the combined cata-
strophes, 53 sailors died
and 19 survived. Until
the 1970s, both ships
lay forgotten and undis-
turbed, preserved by

water, constant near-
freezing temperature

schooner until pur-
chased by the U.S. Navy
in the fall of 1812. The
U.S. Navy converted
her into a warship by
adding 10 18-pound car-
ronades. Later, two of
those guns were re-
moved and replaced
with a 12-pound long-
gun. The Hamilton par-
ticipated in several bat-
tles during the War of
1812: the American at-
tack on Kingston in No-

in which they lie.

With their artifacts, the. 19th centu-
ry warships provide a blueprint for
naval practices during their time and

vember of that year; the
~ capture of York in April of 1813 and
the overtaking of Fort George the
following. month.

The Hamilton has a deck length of

73 feet (22M); weighs 76 tons
‘and is approximately 20 feet
\(6m) amidships.

| The Scourge was originally
ia merchant schooner called
‘Lord Nelson. It was construct-
ed in 1810-11 at Niagara, Up-
per Canada. Suspected of
‘smuggling, the ship was cap-
‘tured i in June, 1812 and pur-
chased by the U.S. Navy in
‘\October. Bulwarks were
raised in her and cannons
‘installed. Renamed Scourge,
‘she participated in the Ameri-
can capture of York in April of
11813 and that of Fort George
in May. By July of 1813, she
‘was armed with 10 four and
‘six-pound long guns. The
‘Scourge is 57 feet (17.4m) in
length and 18 feet (5.4m)
‘amidships. Her weight is ap- ~
‘proximately 45 tons.

Exploring the ships on the
‘bottom will be accomplished
by extremely specialized un-
|derwater exploration vehicles
developed and operated by
‘the Woods Hole Oceanogra-
‘phic Institution. The Jason,
inamed for the Greek Eeplorer
/and leader of the Argonauts,
‘is seven feet long by 3.5 feet
wide. and 3.5 feet tall. It
weighs 2,400 pounds and can
submerge to a depth of 20,000
|feet (6,000m).

Features on Jason include
foam flotation, seven thrus-
ters that provide precision maneuver-
ing in all directions and side-scan
sonar. Its high-resolution color video
cameras and 35mm camera are sup-
ported by 2,000 watts of high-
intensity lighting.

With speeds of up to one knot
(approx. one mph), Jason can carry up
to 250 pounds of equipment or sam-
ples it has collected on the ocean floor
in a specially designed tray. One
articulated arm, capable of lifting,
pushing, pulling and grasping can be
installed on the vehicle.

Jason is connected to its support
vehicle, the Medea, by a 150 foot long
neutrally buoyant tether cable. The
Medea, and open- -framed hollow steel
tube vessel, is named for the mythical
goddess who protects sailors. It can
perform as a stand-alone survey plat-
form or for the free-swimming, re-
motely-operated vehicle Jason.

Medea is suspended from the sur-
face vessel by an armored tow cable
and is normally operated five to fif-
teen metres above Jason. One color
and one black and white video camera
can observe Jason working on the
bottom. The vessel carries 2,000 watts
of incandescent light on a lighting
boom.

Launched separately, Medea and
Jason can operate 24 hours per day,
as long as the support ship remains at
sea, photographing large areas of the
sea bed, collecting samples and con-
ducting experiments.

In addition to providing scientific
and archaeological information for
scientists and anthropologists, The

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