July 4, 1998 What a day today was. In addition to the geological coring and upcoming systematic surface survey we are conducting an underwater side scan sonar survey of the coastal areas around Sinop. We are working with a team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology searching for evidence of submerged settlements and shipwrecks. This project is carried out by towing a side-scan sonar (called a "fish" by the crew) in long straight transects crossing back and forth along the coast. We are now gathering evidence from depths of 120 to 300 feet deep. Our day was very long, 13 hours, but we identified about 60 unusual features under the sea. Over twenty of those appear to be shipwrecks. On several of the wrecks we could see that the ships hulls had cracked open spilling their cargo across the seafloor.

Martin Wilcox of Marine Sonic Technology readies the "fish" to be towed behind the good boat Akgoz. MIT Team Director David Mindell (center right) and Marty Wilcox (right) discuss a possible shipwreck, while Brendan Foley (center left) keeps the logbook and Sarah Webster (left) plots coordinates. if you're not already there, load the whole BlackSeaProject website