Farewell Iron Bottom Sound with Bob Ballard
On behalf of Dr. Robert Ballard and the entire Corps of Exploration, we want to thank you all for joining us on this amazing journey exploring the Iron Bottom Sound for World War II shipwrecks. Thanks to the combined efforts of E/V Nautilus, USV DriX, and ROVs Hercules and Atalanta, we have learned more about these Guadalcanal shipwrecks than ever before, including brand new discoveries of some ships’ resting places and the highest quality maps to date of the Sound. Thank you to the international team from Japan, Solomon Islands, Australia, New Zealand, the US, and beyond for their contributions to this mission. Keep following us on social media and NautilusLive.org as we continue to share videos, photos, and more from this epic expedition.
The Maritime Archaeology of Guadalcanal: Iron Bottom Sound (NA173) expedition is supported by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute. This exploration is made possible by the expertise, support, and collaboration of many partners, including NOAA Ocean Exploration, U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, Solomon Islands government, University of New Hampshire Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center, University of Rhode Island, and Japanese, Australian, and New Zealand archaeological colleagues.
Maritime Archaeology of Guadalcanal: Iron Bottom Sound
Located in the Solomon Islands between the islands of Guadalcanal, Savo, and Nggela, Iron Bottom Sound was the stage of five major naval battles between August and December 1942 which resulted in the loss of over 20,000 lives, 111 naval vessels, and 1,450 planes. These underwater cultural heritage sites now rest on the seafloor offshore Honiara in a confined area less than 25 nautical miles wide, 40 nautical miles long, and 1,400 meters deep.
