You may remember from an earlier story that a group of research scientists from Greece and Switzerland will take part in the PlanetSolar 2014 expedition, this summer, in the Argolic Gulf in Greece.
This iconic 21st century catamaran, a symbol of modern technology, will lead the search into the past on an expedition that may well be able to re-write the history of the very first man-made boats. Here’s more from PlanetSolar:
MS Tûranor PlanetSolar in Corinth Canal | July 29, 2014 | © All rights reserved PlanetSolar
The Corinth Canal may be less well-known than its big brothers, Suez and Panama, and shorter too (it is only 6 km long), but passing through it on PlanetSolar will always be an intense memory. D
espite knowing what was in store, I can assure you that the four or five metres that separated us from the cliff seemed very small indeed from the solar bridge!
Although it was an imposing sight for the crew, the 70 or so minutes it took us to pass through the canal weren’t the most relaxing of our voyage! –From the ship’s logbook 29, July 2014.
MS Tûranor PlanetSolar in Corinth Canal | July 29, 2014 | © All rights reserved PlanetSolar
After a spectacular passage through the Corinth Canal on July 28 and a stop in Eretria on July 31 to August 2 celebrating the 50th anniversary of Swiss archeological excavations in this region, the world largest solar-powered boat docked in the port of Piraeus yesterday afternoon. This is the second stop on the itinerary of the TerraSubmersa scientific expedition, in collaboration with the University of Geneva (UNIGE), and the purpose is to explain the scientific objectives of this archeological mission, which will be launched on August 11 in the Argolic Gulf (Greece).
The ship will reprise her role as a scientific platform, lending her exclusive features in service of the UNIGE researchers, whose goal is to explore the prehistoric landscapes submerged by the water, in order to reconstruct them and identify any potential traces of human activity.
Yesterday, the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar has reached the Port of Piraeus in Athens, her second stop in Greece as part of the TerraSubmersa expedition, which is a collaboration between UNIGE, the Neuchâtel Latenium, the Greek Service for Underwater Antiquities, the Swiss School of Archeology in Greece, and the Hellenic Center for Maritime Research. Like Eretria, Athens is a stop intended to emphasize the work that the archeologists will carry out in the Argolic Gulf from August 11 to 22, through public and private events.
This will allow the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar to continue to prove her uses, both as a platform for communication and events, and especially as a scientific platform.
PlanetSolar’s second life is not just an occasion to expand upon prestigious visits to New York, London, Paris, or Athens, or event for spectacular voyages like the crossing of the Corinth Canal, but it also offers the crew the pleasure of accomplishing the most diverse kinds of missions. Among these, TerraSubmersa, which is the highlight of our 2014 season, is certainly the most fascinating. The highly precise navigation we will need, together with the excitement of discovery… all in the magnificent setting of the Argolic Gulf. –Gérard d’Aboville, the ship’s captain, declared with great enthusiasm.
TerraSubmersa Expedition: Discovering Submerged Prehistoric Landscapes
This Greco-Swiss expedition, led by Julien Beck, a researcher in the classical archeology department of UNIGE, aims to explore the prehistoric landscapes that have been submerged by the waters of the Argolic Gulf, in order to reconstruct them and to identify any potential traces of human activity.“Prehistoric underwater archeology and the study of ancient submerged landscapes are new fields of study in Greece,” Julien Beck explains.
This research will allow archeologists to reconstruct landscapes that have vanished underwater, and to understand the interactions between prehistoric man and the sea.
The MS Tûranor PlanetSolar will mainly be used to take geophysical measurements, which will allow the researchers to model the topography of ancient coastal zones, and to identify any potential traces of human activity. The Alkyon, a boat from the Hellenic Center for Maritime Research, will also be used for this work, which will be carried using state-of-the-art equipment (multi-beam sounder, lateral sweeping sonar, GPS, etc.). Subaquatic excavations will then be led by divers, thanks to a hydraulic aspirator which will remove a layer of protective silt from the site.
We’ll have all the news from the 2014 expedition, stay tuned!
Source: 1Sun4All. Reproduced with permission.
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