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Over the course of five months in听1942, five World War II battles in the Solomon Islands saw the loss of 111 naval vessels, 1,450 planes 鈥� and more than 20,000 lives.

More than eight decades later, this recent July, UNH researchers helped find more than a dozen of those shipwrecks, several of them for the first time ever. The expedition, funded by NOAA鈥檚 Ocean Exploration program through the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute and led by the 听 (OET) aboard E/V Nautilus, course-corrected historical records from these defining battles of World War II and helped bring closure to the families of the sailors who perished.

Key to these archaeological discoveries was the innovative use of DriX, the uncrewed surface vessel (USV) operated by UNH鈥檚 ). Instead of relying solely on the 224-foot Nautilus to search for targets, Drix, controlled by CCOM researchers from a shore-based station, used its seafloor mapping technology to search out shipwrecks 24 hours a day听

鈥淭he use of DriX allowed a tremendous increase in exploration efficiency, as we were able to continuously map and identify potential targets while the听Nautilus听could focus on doing detailed, high-resolution imaging of wrecks using its remotely operated vehicle,鈥澨齭ays CCOM Director Larry Mayer, one of seven UNH researchers participating in the expedition. Mayer notes that one of CCOM鈥檚 mandates from NOAA is to advance the technologies and increase the efficiency of ocean mapping. 鈥淲e did that tremendously.鈥�

鈥淲e were getting notes from people: 鈥榤y grandfather was on that vessel, thank you so much.鈥� It was really touching.鈥�

This听 to the area known as Iron Bottom Sound was led by OET President Robert Ballard, known for his discovery of the Titanic in 1985. The DriX team discovered two previously unfound wrecks, the bow of the听听and the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer听, and was able to update positions of several other wrecks whose location was uncertain.

Mayer calls DriX鈥檚 discovery of the USS New Orleans鈥檚 severed bow the most thrilling of the expedition, in large part due to the ship鈥檚 incredible story. A Japanese torpedo tore off nearly one-third of the ship, including the bow, killing 180 crew members. Remaining crew saved the ship by sailing it backwards from Guadalcanal to Australia and then to the U.S.

鈥淔or me, one of the most exciting things was to recognize that in real time we were rewriting history,鈥� Mayer says. Watching livestreamed high-resolution imagery of these sunken vessels, a team of on-board and remote military historians reconstructed narratives about methods of destruction. For example, history books tell us the Terzuki sank when depth charges exploded and it lost its stern; ROV images indeed found that stern 250 meters away from the ship, but its depth charges were all there, unexploded.听

The expedition marked two auspicious anniversaries 鈥� the 80th of the end of World War II and the 250th of the U.S. Navy 鈥� and honored the sailors and marines who lost their lives, bringing closure to the families of those whose final resting place had not been found.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 realize how important that would be to so many people,鈥� says Mayer, adding that family members as well as the general public could watch a livestream of ROV images on NautilusLive.org. 鈥淲e were getting notes from people: 鈥榤y grandfather was on that vessel, thank you so much.鈥� It was really touching.鈥�

The expedition also sought to understand the environmental implications of these shipwrecks as they decay. It鈥檚 not entirely negative, as they can become artificial reefs. 鈥淭hese ships that represented such death and destruction can become the nurturing place for all sorts of marine life,鈥� Mayer says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an interesting circle of life.鈥�

In addition to Mayer, who served as the expedition鈥檚 co-lead scientist, UNH researchers operating DriX from shore in the Solomon Islands were KG Fairbarn, research project engineer; Nathan Hall, research project engineer; Andy McLeod, research project manager; Avery Munoz, research engineer; Val Schmidt, principal research project manager; and Skylar Vogler, research engineer.

This exploration was made possible by the expertise, support, and collaboration of many other partners, beyond the Ocean Exploration Trust and NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute, including the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, Solomon Islands government, Solomon Islands National Museum, Kyoto University, Tokai University, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, Major Projects Foundation, and Royal Australian Navy Sea Power Centre. The marine research permit was issued by the government of the Solomon Islands via the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development.