Hail The Shipwreck Options

[Fromazhi]

HOUSTON - In an unprecedented study of ships sunk in deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico during the early days of World War II, researchers hope to determine if the wrecks have contributed to a healthy environment on the sea floor.

Results of the project, which goes to sea July 29 from Port Fourchon, La., for 18 days, could have implications on whether rigs operating in those same waters have futures as artificial reefs when their days of retrieving oil and gas are over.

Almost 50 structures were converted to artificial reefs in shallow waters from 1999 to 2002, and scientists have been pleased with the results.

"We do know quite a bit in shallow water, but we don't know a whole lot about how these wrecks or artificial reefs work in deeper waters," Herb Leedy, a marine biologist for the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service, said Thursday.

The $1.2 million study is targeting seven ships that went down in 1942 off the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Besides biology, it also will focus on archaeological and the historical aspects of the wrecks, which include the only German U-boat believed to have been sunk in the Gulf during the war.

More: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...shipwreck_study

Artificial shallow water reefs made from dead cars and ships, some I think even from old tires, have been known to provide havens for sealife for a long time. Perhaps logic doesn't work here but why wouldn't the same be true in deeper water?

[Proplyd]

It should still hold true for deeper water. The issue with depth is the abundance of biomass. There is less and less life as you get further from the surface because of a decrease in available nutrients. Most life has sunlight at its base, and after 300 meters there isn't enough light for photosynthsis. At those depths the animals are living off of whatever filters down from above. There are a few cases of hydrothermal vents in mid ocean ridges that get their energy from geothermal heat, but it's a very small percentage.

Sure deepsea wrecks will provide a haven for life, but there won't be that much of it.