I was not even familiar with the concept of a Geographic Information System (GIS). Thanks, Ric!
The idea of mapping Niku with exploration efforts and results would have four goals:
1. Preserve institutional memory of past exploration efforts
2. Systemize exploration efforts by geography
3. Provide context.
4. Encourage recollection of specific exploration efforts.
As stated in the first post, this idea was inspired by Andrew McKenna’s post on the Taraia object. In response to the suggestion that the beach ought to be explored in the future for Electra remnants, Andrew reminded us that he was a part of a group that had already explored that very area with metal detectors. Unless exploration efforts are catalogued, this institutional memory will begin to fade, and certainly not be available to those who were not direct participants.
As another example, the forum has posted the NIKU VIII Preliminary Report. There are references to checking a reef with underwater metal detectors, a search for Camp Zero, and trying to photograph an underwater anomaly with the ROV. All these are exciting projects with potential significant discoveries. Even negative results can be significant. A map describing these efforts would preserve the memory and specifics for all time -- all the more reason to have some kind of central organizing scheme to catalog the data. That scheme could be chronological, like a dateline. Or it could be based on the nature of the work – by underwater exploration, or, metal-detecting, or by excavatios. Or it could be geographical. The map idea favors geographical. This is probably based on the assumption that discoveries may be found in clusters, and geographical presentation is easy to understand and visualize.
Context can be discerned through geography. If most of the artifacts are found in a specific location, what are the implications?
Finally, an effort to plot exploration by geography might encourage more detailed recollections of what exactly was done on a particular site.
All this is not to say that TIGHAR does not already provide a bounty of information on its work. I can’t wait to get my hands on each issue of TIGHAR Tracks. And I am sure that detailed records of each expedition are maintained at HQ. The thought is that providing an exploration (or GIS) map would give us all a detailed full-glance appreciation of what has been done before.
The idea of GIS format and the overlay approach suggested above by Randy would be helpful organizing principles. Another idea would be to grid the island, and then have a resource that ties markers shown on the map to detailed descriptions in a catalog. (Such as “Marker #1: At this site during NIKU VIII, at attempt was made to lower a camera in 60 feet of water in an attempt to locate an anomaly perceived during the 2012 expedition. Results: anomaly could not be located.”)
Maybe there is a way to organize this project so that volunteers could go through our archives, or the forum, or other places where we have accumulated geographical information, and post them on the map grid accordingly. / Scott #3292R
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Topic: Do we have an exploration map of Nikumaroro? (Read 16200 times)
