A Young Person's Field Guide to Finding Lost Shipwrecks

by Laurie Anne Zaleski

Overview

A Young Person's Field Guide to Finding Lost Shipwrecks is an autobiographical account of a nautical archeological expedition. Written by the marine geologist in charge of the survey, it discusses and explains the science behind a multibeam sonar and other technology used for the expedition, as well as describing the day-to-day operations aboard a 37-meter research vessel. The story begins alongside a dock in Cadiz, Spain, where three archeologists, two college students on a summer internship, three captains, one cook, one engineer, two scuba divers, one able-bodied seaman and the author are aboard the Hercules getting ready to set sail in search of the Santísima.Readers learn a lot more than science in this true-life account of a scientific expedition. They learn history, eat tapas, and even dance the flamenco, all while in search of a 200-year-old shipwreck.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643789019
Publisher:	Austin Macauley
Publication date:	05/29/2020
Pages:	72
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Laurie, a marine geologist, has traveled extensively from the Arctic Circle to Saipan and beyond, conducting geophysical surveys. She has mapped thousands of kilometers by plane, boat, and foot. She has written A Young Person's Field Guide to Finding Lost Shipwrecks for her love of science and for the essential need for children to find a connection to themselves through math and science. Laurie is a member of EAGE (Women in Geoscience and Engineering) and AGU (American Geophysical Union), and is a firm believer in giving back to the community by doing what you love. This is her first book.

Editorial Reviews

2020-11-03
Marine geologist Zaleski introduces young readers to the world of maritime archaeology in her debut memoir.

“Maritime archeology is a specialized branch of archeology,” the author states early on, “which studies the physical remains of human interaction with a water body.” Put simply, the crew of the research vessel Hercules, in this book, hunts for sunken treasure. Zaleski chronicles her experience searching the coast of Cadiz, Spain, for the Santisima Trinidad, a Spanish flagship that was lost after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Zaleski, acting as survey manager to a crew of archaeologists, sailors, divers, engineers, and interns, was responsible for gathering and interpreting survey data using multibeam sonar, a technology that’s rarely used for this purpose—and thus, a kind of exploration in its own right. Throughout, the author includes detailed accounts of the tech she used, the jobs of various crew members, the difficulties of mapping the ocean floor and working around volatile weather, as well as pleasant, humanizing stories of time spent onshore in Spain and the camaraderie of her crew. Zaleski approaches her subject with a deep love of science and a genuine desire to share her work with children, and the prose is approachable and easy to read throughout. On the whole, though, the book may be a bit dry and short for some readers, and more details about the decks of the Hercules and its contents, the crew’s other missions, and the ways in which submerged targets are transformed by the ocean would have been welcome. That said, curious children interested in scientific exploration will find the author’s encouraging voice and zeal for discovery to be relatable.

An informative introduction to a career that combines treasure hunting, scientific experimentation, and ocean exploration.

Kirkus Reviews