Beneath the Surface
New discoveries in the Aleutians
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Pink algae, a Coke bottle and a world war
Stephen Jewett saw it on the bottom, among the seaweed and marine creatures -- a pink thing shaped like an old-fashioned glass soda bottle. He picked it up with the rest of his collection and brought it to the surface.
The team was diving in Massacre Bay on Attu Island, the site of the only World War II combat on United States soil. Thousands of Japanese and hundreds of Americans were killed during the battle.
The Norseman had run into bad weather and the crew was anchored for protection from the winds. Unable to sample where they had planned because of weather, the divers decided to investigate Massacre Bay.
World War II artifacts were strewn on the seafloor, including coffee cups, silverware, ammunition and ammo casings, and even fully loaded shells. Among the artifacts were lots and lots of old Coca-Cola bottles.
According to Jewett, Coke was the main soft drink available during the World War II era. "This is what soldiers and sailors drank out here," said Jewett.
Many of the submerged artifacts were coated with the hard pink crust of coralline algae that grow extremely slowly. The Coke bottle Jewett found might have been discarded by a serviceman in the early 1940s, making the thin coating about 60 years old.
The pink algae are some of the oldest living plants on Earth. According to Jewett, a thickness of 8 inches can be up to 700 years old. The algae, called Clathromorphum nereostratum and Lithothamnion sp., are found throughout the Aleutian Island, and lend a bright rosy hue to the rocks and boulders of the seafloor.
Another unique feature of these coralline algae is that they are extremely vulnerable to disturbances in the marine ecosystem. Some of them are especially sensitive to ocean acidification, and may provide important clues to changes in marine ecosystems due to global warming.
Carin Bailey Stephens is the public information officer for UAF's School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences.
UAF alumni featured in this story: Héloïse Chenelot, '03; Max Hoberg, '75; Stephen Jewett, '77, '97; Reid Brewer, '03; Shawn Harper, '99.