Sunday, November 26, 2017

11/2/17 Report - Beach Materials Recycle Zone. Furniture Leg. Luna Fleet Wrecks. Scientific Method.


Written by the TreasureGuide for the Exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Normally the  sand is either being washed up onto the beach or down into the surf.  In the past I've talked about that quite a bit.  One day the net result might be more sand on the beach and the next day or week sand might be removed from the beach and deposited in the shallow water.  Cycles can be long or short and the recycling zone changes with the tides and surf.  A small surf means a smaller recycling zone, and a large surf a larger recycling zone.  A cycle can last for months or quickly change in a matter of hours as the wind and surf changes.

Above is an illustration of a relatively normal recycling area created by relatively calm seas.  The exchange of sand and other materials to land and back into the water is confined to a relatively small area.

Below is another illustration showing a much expanded recycling zone.



When water cuts the dunes, as shown in the second illustration, sand and other objects can be washed onto what becomes the flat beach or they can be drawn down all the way into the water.

Of course, items get washed up onto the beach at times too.  It gets pretty complex and is way too much to address all at one time.

These illustrations are far from perfect.   Maybe it helps some.  I'll find ways to better illustrate the process in the future.

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Concerning the unidentified copper item I posted the other day, a Alberto S. and Brian M. said it might be a furniture leg.  That is something I never would have guessed, and it looks like it could be right.  Here is a picture sent by Alberto.



The one on the left looks very much like the one I found.  Thanks guys!

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This is an older link, but I wanted to post it because I think future wreck discoveries will be managed by the state more like the Luna Fleet wrecks discussed in this article.

http://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/pensacola/2016/10/21/third-shipwreck-luna-fleet-uncovered/92487848/

Here are a few excerpts.

The UWF team discovered ballast stones, iron concretions, an articulated hull of the ship with frames and hull planking, and remnants of ceramics carried on the ship. Graduate student Stew Hood, one of the field school directors, recalled divers coming back up to surface with artifacts in their hands...

I know this is a newspaper article instead of a scientific article, but it doesn't make it sound like they did everything the way they were supposed to.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved a permit for the UWF team to conduct test excavations through March 2017 to determine the extent of the shipwreck and the type of wood used to build the ship.

“We hope it is la Salvadora, which was built in the New World,” said renowned 16th century Spanish historian John Worth, UWF associate professor of anthropology and principal investigator of the Luna land settlement. “We’ll take the wood sample soon and see what it’s made out of. Is it a New World species or Old World species? If it turned out to be that particular one that would be really exciting, because that would be the earliest ship built in the New World that’s documented.”


If you hope for anything as a scientist it is that your methods are appropriate, your data good and your conclusions warranted.  Hopes influence perceptions.  I'd prefer more objectivity.

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I thought some people might disagree with my post about the golden age of Florida treasure hunting being over.  I expected to get some email about that, but I didn't.  There is a lot that could be discussed.

I do think the state will make it will very difficult or impossible to get new salvage leases.  I'm judging by recent actions.  Let me know if you disagree.

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The tides are small, as is the surf.  Very nice calm water with good visibility.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net