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| Niku VII, TIGHAR’s 2012 expedition to Nikumaroro atoll in the Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, will set sail on July 12, 2012, from Honolulu.
| | #REDIRECT [[Niku VII (2012)]] |
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| == Earhart Search 75 Conference ==
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| TIGHAR’s Earhart Project is testing the hypothesis that Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan landed, and eventually died, on Gardner Island, now called Nikumaroro in the Republic of Kiribati. The 75th anniversary of their disappearance is being marked by TIGHAR’s [http://www.earhartsearch75.com/ Earhart Search 75 Conference], to be held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington Virginia June 1-3, 2012.
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| == Niku VII Expedition ==
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| One month later, on July 2, 2012, TIGHAR’s [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/niku7.html Niku VII expedition] will depart from Honolulu, using a [http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/UMC/RVKOK.htm research vessel of the University of Hawaii], R/V ''Ka’imikai-o-Kanaloa'' (“Heavenly Searcher of the Sea”), to perform a major search along the western edge of the fringing reef of Nikumaroro with side-scanning sonar and other advanced technology. This expedition was formally announced at the U.S. State Department in Washington, DC, on March 20, 2012. U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton spoke during the televised 45-minute briefing<ref>[http://video.state.gov/en/video/1520686068001/event-celebrating-amelia-earhart-and-the-united-states-ties-to-our-pacific-neighbors/s~creationDate/p~1/?s=ZWFyaGFydA== U.S. State Department televised event: "Celebrating Amelia Earhart and the United States’ Ties to Our Pacific Neighbors"]</ref> and lent her support to this effort to solve the mysterious disappearance of the famed aviator Amelia Earhart 75 years ago. Also present at the announcement, and lending his support to the planned expedition, was famous explorer [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ballard Dr. Robert Ballard].
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| == Eric Bevington's October 1937 Photograph and the Nessie Hypothesis ==
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| TIGHAR’s decades-long efforts to discovery the “smoking gun” that would conclusively explain how Amelia Earhart’s world flight ended have long pointed towards the need to [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/Bulletins/56_WhereIsElectra/56_WhereIsElectra.htm search for evidence of her aircraft] somewhere along the western edge of the reef around the Pacific atoll of Nikumaroro. As explained by TIGHAR Executive Director Ric Gillespie during the State Department announcement, a [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/Bulletins/57_Bevingtonphoto/57_HidinginSight.htm major photographic discovery] in 2010 led to the mounting of the Niku VII expedition. TIGHAR’s forensic analysis of a picture taken along the western reef of Nikumaroro just 3 months after Earhart and Noonan’s disappearance led to TIGHAR's [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/Bulletins/58_NessieHypothesis/58_NessieHypothesis.htm “Nessie Hypothesis”], which is that a portion of the landing gear of their Lockheed Electra aircraft is visible in the photograph. Independent photographic forensic analysis conducted through the U.S. State Department supports TIGHAR’s conclusion about the object seen in the picture.
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| == References ==
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| <references />
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| <!-- Please leave this category marker at the bottom. You may add this article to other categories if you wish -->
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| [[Category:Expeditions|Niku 2012]]
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| [[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]
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