Warm Mineral Springs
Pollution, Debris and Damage
Plastic Sheeting
• Dozens of square meters of 5 or 6 mil plastic sheeting – Covers very large sections of the 20 meter shelf– In deeper water where it has fallen from the shelf– Sheets are extremely large and will be very hazardous to
remove– Plastic shows clear signs of leaching chemicals into the
water column.• Sheets are held in place by
– Sand that is not native to the environment– PVC Pipes – Other weighted debris
Plastic Sheeting
Plastic
Plastic
PVC Pipe
Huge Plastic Sheet
PVC
Plastic Sand Bags
Plastic
Entire frame is of one large plastic sheet
Barrel – contents unknown
Sand Fall
Plastic Edges
Aspect looking down slope
Metric Tons of Sand
• Reports are that 4 dump truck loads of sand were deposited in the spring 3 times per year for over a decade.
• Actual amount of sand is very difficult to measure.– On the top of the natural debris cone an area of
30 meters by about 15 meters of sand has an average depth of 1.1 meters
Sand mound on the lower shelf
Sand Continues to Migrate• Sand falls have created significant erosion • The erosion continues and threatens the
stability of the shelf itself– Loss of the shelf will mean loss of important
archeological data– A large shelf collapse on the north side is likely to
block the out flow of the deep water vent. • Salt water flow could return to its original underground
course
– The south side shelf collapsed some time ago
Sand fall
Note deep erosion
Sand Fall
Mounding sand
Sand Falls
Sand fall
Sand eroding thru plastic sheets
Plastic has broken away in places/migrating to deep water
PVC w/ plastic shreds remaining
Plastic sheet on the verge of falling off the ledge
Barrel - Unknown Contents
Meter stakes left by archeologist in the 80’s show how much sand has mounded
Meter Stake
Sand Fall
Sand Mound
Clean Up• 1st remove the surface debris and other items that
are not imbedded in the sand or bottom sediments• 2nd use hydraulic lifts to evacuate the sand from the
shelf • 3rd Remove the plastic sheets with careful
consideration of the underlying artifacts and strata• 4th use hydraulic lifts to remove the sand mounding
on the debris cone without digging into the underlying peat and sediments
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