Levees Against the Rising Tide: Protecting Underwater Cultural Heritage From Climate Change Threats ...

• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University of Virginia 2023
• Subjects: Underwater Cultural Heritage; UCH; Climate Change; National Marine Sanctuaries Act; Antiquities Act; Marine Ecosystems; Ocean Acidification; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.18130/ysnw-yr70; https://libraetd.lib.virginia.edu/public_view/pv63g147z

The term “underwater cultural heritage,” or “UCH,” may call to mind sunken temple ruins or an ancient shipwreck languishing on the ocean floor. Although some UCH artifacts have been removed from the ocean, most UCH remains in situ, or in its original place. As such, UCH is very vulnerable to the effects of climate change, namely increased ocean temperatures, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and extreme weather. Thus, in order to protect UCH to the level that conservationists hope to achieve, it is necessary to protect the underwater environments in which UCH is preserved from the worst effects of climate change. The first chapter of this paper explores the significant threats that climate change poses to in situ UCH. In underwater environments, various physical, chemical, and biological deteriorative agents cause the degradation of common UCH materials (i.e., wood, metal, and stone) over time. Although all of these modes of degradation are normal for materials preserved underwater, climate change will ...