One of the cardinal rules of science is that you can never have enough data. But one of the other rules is that you need to make the best possible use of the data you already do have, so you don't end up doing needlessly duplicative things. That wastes time and, more importantly, money.
TIGHAR has amassed tons of data on Nikumaroro - sonar data, aerial photos, vintage diaries, boots-on-the-ground observations, artifacts, long-overlooked reports, drone video footage, etc., of the course of more than two decades. I would like to gently suggest that before TIGHAR plunges full bore into planning for Niku IX, that it take a breath to thoroughly look at what it already has, with an eye towards extracting any information that could provide new, or at least far more focused, directions for future searches. To wit:
- A recent reanalysis by a TIGHAR member of the latest sonar data indicates that the Conroy Anomaly might not even have been there at all, or that it was, at best, a natural feature. That was data TIGHAR already had.
- The Bevington Object was only noticed when available period photos were reassessed prior to a previous expedition; that came from a photo that TIGHAR has had in its possession for some time.
- The latest land expedition that involved Betchart Expeditions turned up new items in the village that paint a new picture of what the colonists may have had available to them, which may or may not influence the story that the Seven Site is trying to tell us.
In short, a research plan. TIGHAR has some artifacts and data that I believe it would be beneficial to look at far more closely than they have been in the past. A plan does not mean your are rigidly locked into one path, but it can help focus and direct the few resources you do have available. I would prefer to see operating funds directed in that manner, before moving into preliminary plans for the HURL minisubs and Niku IX.
LTM,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 EC