The 4th annual meeting of the Marine Cultural Heritage Research Association was over in a jiffy. The main news was the new camera we had to buy in order to have our underwater research broadcast on TV. How cool is that?
We now own a high-definition underwater video camera--worth it because Channel 12 (Tokyo) broadcasts our research every other month. It cost almost as much as we have--I mean had--in the treasury. It's worth it because research has to be recorded.
This past year's research focussed on the submerged ruins off Chatan, on the main island of Okinawa. Chatan is not Yonaguni, and not being Yonaguni is both the good and the bad news. People are curious about Yonaguni, so not doing more there is a letdown. On the other hand, Chatan is easy to get to and, therefore, more divers can get involved.
Getting involved is good. A diving group from the University of Tokyo has offered their assistance. A group of independent divers from Osaka has also offered theirs.
MaCHRA is alive and growing.
Showing posts with label Marine Cultural Heritage Research Association. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marine Cultural Heritage Research Association. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
2,000 km under the sea
For me, a long swim is about five successive strokes. I cannot imagine swimming 1 kilometer, let alone two thousand kilometers. Fortunately, I will never have to. If I want to travel from Guam to Okinawa, I can take a plane.A sea turtle, however, has no choice but to swim the distance.
Recently, a female green sea turtle was tracked by satellite. A transmitter was attached to one of her feet after she laid eggs on a beach in Guam. For five months, nothing was heard from the turtle. When the signal was picked up again, the turtle was grazing on seaweed near the Okinawan island of Kume. (You can see Kume Island from the airport at Naha.)
Five months is a long time between e-mails. It seems that the satellite can only pick up the signal when the turtle surfaces. Five months is also a long time to hold one's breath. It's amazing that there exists a creature who can live underwater and also on land without struggling for air.
In Okinawan mythology, the turtle is the link between worlds--the world of humans and the world of the gods. Among the relics discovered at the underwater pyramid of Yonaguni is a statue of a turtle. That stone turtle is itself a link between two worlds--our world, and the lost world of whoever carved the statue.
Who were they? Why did they carve the statue there? Where did they go when their homeland submerged? These are some of the questions to which the NPO Marine Cultural Heritage Research Association is seeking answers.
Recently, a female green sea turtle was tracked by satellite. A transmitter was attached to one of her feet after she laid eggs on a beach in Guam. For five months, nothing was heard from the turtle. When the signal was picked up again, the turtle was grazing on seaweed near the Okinawan island of Kume. (You can see Kume Island from the airport at Naha.)
Five months is a long time between e-mails. It seems that the satellite can only pick up the signal when the turtle surfaces. Five months is also a long time to hold one's breath. It's amazing that there exists a creature who can live underwater and also on land without struggling for air.
In Okinawan mythology, the turtle is the link between worlds--the world of humans and the world of the gods. Among the relics discovered at the underwater pyramid of Yonaguni is a statue of a turtle. That stone turtle is itself a link between two worlds--our world, and the lost world of whoever carved the statue.
Who were they? Why did they carve the statue there? Where did they go when their homeland submerged? These are some of the questions to which the NPO Marine Cultural Heritage Research Association is seeking answers.
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