ASA in the News

Investor's Business Daily - July 3, 2008

Naval Sub and Drift Software Aid North Sea Hunt For Famous Wreck

BY DOUG TSURUOKA (INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY)

In this followup story to the search for the famous Bonhomme Richard wreck, ASA's custom drift simulation software is credited for providing promising targets for the current phase of the search using a Nuclear Naval Submarine to survey the identifed sites on the ocean floor.

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A nonprofit group that's using software to scour the ocean floor off Britain for the wreck of a ship commanded by Revolutionary War hero John Paul Jones is getting help from another technological marvel: a nuclear submarine.

The NR-1, the U.S. Navy's only nuclear-powered research submarine, is in the North Sea using powerful sonar and underwater cameras to search for the Bonhomme Richard, the ship that Jones used to capture a British frigate in an epic sea battle in 1779 off the coast of Britain. Jones' badly damaged warship sank after defeating the HMS Serapis in one of the most famous naval engagements in history.

The effort dramatizes how software — and now, nuclear technology — is aiding the search for sunken relics from the nation's past.

Chris Cooper, a project manager for the Ocean Technology Foundation in Groton, Conn., says the Navy agreed to lend the 145-foot-long sub, manned by a Navy crew, to the expedition, which has spent the last three summers hunting for the remains of the Bonhomme Richard.

The expedition has identified several wrecks that might be Jones' ship since the hunt began in 2006. But the team has been unable to positively identify its target. "Sometimes there's no replacement for a pair of human eyes," Cooper said.

Navy experts will be able to visually inspect spots on the sea floor where ship timbers and other features have been located by sonar signals, he says.

The OTF filed a proposal with the Navy to use the submarine last year. The Navy approved it and donated the service of the sub free of charge for a limited time. As of Thursday, the sub remained on site, though it was expected to leave shortly.

The Navy has an interest in the project. Jones is considered a founding father of the U.S. Navy.

Submerged 24/7

Jones' missing ship and the Navy sub that's looking for it are separated by more than 200 years of history and couldn't be more different, says Joseph Callo, the author of a prize-winning biography of John Paul Jones.

"(But) there's an instructive match between today's U.S. Navy sailors and those who fought a horrific battle and won with John Paul Jones on Bonhomme Richard," Callo said.

The NR-1, which is capable of diving thousands of feet, will be operating at relatively shallow depths of about 175 feet. The North Sea is known for its strong currents and poor underwater visibility.

The sub's nuclear reactor lets it submerge for long periods and cover large swathes of ocean bottom. "She can stay down and operate 24/7," Cooper said.

The sub is equipped with thick glass view-ports and banks of underwater lights that can illuminate submerged objects. It also carries 16 different TV cameras that operate in low light, as well as advanced electronics and computers that aid in locating objects.

News of the hunt for the Bonhomme Richard was first reported in IBD on June 26, 2006. The project is sponsored by the OTF and the Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C., a museum and archives branch of the U.S. Navy. The effort is being financed by foundation grants and donations by private citizens.

Cooper says the foundation has spent more than $100,000 since the expeditions began in 2006, but he says the U.S. government has donated services that are worth much more. Besides the use of the NR-1, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration assigned a large research ship and crew last year to help in the search.

Cooper says the NR-1 arrived aboard a support ship at a site off Flamborough Head, Britain, around June 11 and has been searching various sites in the area.

Researchers say they're close to figuring out where the ship lies by sifting through sonar data and zeroing in on the probable wreck site through process of elimination.

The hunt for the Bonhomme Richard will be one of the NR-1's last missions. The sub is slated to be deactivated later this year after performing nearly 40 years of underwater work for the Navy.

The Navy says the NR-1's reactor core has enough power to last until 2012, but budget constraints have compelled the Navy to take the sub out of service.

Drift Simulation Software

The Bonhomme Richard search is drawing scientific interest because it's using special software that creates what's called a drift simulation model. The model incorporates tidal, wind and historical data from the day the battle was fought to find where the ship lies.

Rick Fernandes, a naval graphics expert, says it's the first time this type of software has been used to search for the wreck of an 18th-century ship.

The software was developed by Applied Science Associates of Narragansett, R.I., a consulting firm that makes software for marine and underwater uses.

Lee Dooley, ASA's marketing and communications director, says the application was adapted from the firm's oil spill and search-and-rescue software. The products are used to track the direction of oil slicks on the ocean's surface or the likely location of survivors from ship sinkings.

"We're figuring out the location of a ship that was half afloat, with sails burning, while taking into account tides and currents," Dooley said of the Bonhomme Richard.

A lot of the "heavy lifting" by the software was done on earlier expeditions, he added. "This is why they're using a submarine this time around, to inspect the actual sites they've identified."