| Details: | I can recall the ridicule of the term, ‘Unknown Unkowns’, so, is there such a thing as – artificial intelligence? Or, is it just a river-long flow of data filtered by a computer programme, created by a human? If so, when will the human become lazy?
It’s clear that, seabed imaging can now be examined by a computer programme and that the not so obvious imaging of a shipwreck during seabed surveys can now be detected.
In order to cover huge swathes of seabed territory to complete seabed mapping, parameters are set wide. Fine-tuning by further electronic surveys of anomalies of particular interest, such as shipwrecks, takes place later. But how to choose what is worth further investigation?
This choice has now been aided by reports from divers, geological surveyors, enhanced imaging, after which confirmation of unlikely or even unknown shipwreck images, can be confirmed or suspected. Thousands of acres of seabed imaging are then trawled with an algorithm of the relevant data and likely suspects identified. The results are then matched and identified with known data, and finally, by eye, which is always the exciting bit.
Such is the recent case, apparently a ‘desktop’ discovery of a shipwreck by Bangor University NI. The victim was the armed steamer, Stephen Furness, which was sunk in December 1917 by the late out, UB 64. This submarine was late to the fray in October 1917, and was commanded at the time by, Walter Gude. Under various commanders, UB 64 sunk and damaged a considerable amount of shipping right up to the end of WW1.
It has often been said, that if Germany had more commanders like these, the war might have went differently for them. Unfortunately for us lesser humans, it is still a familiar cry.
The submarine was seized when the war ended but was not broken up until four years later in Fareham, Portsmouth.
The image above, just a ‘hump’, is by Ireland’s, INFOMAR, top class in the world of seabed surveys. It is in fact a sonar image of the wreck of the ill fated emigrant ship, Pomona, which was lost in 1859. Responsible for in excess of 424 lives, making it one of the largest losses of life on the coast of Ireland, the ‘hump’ was examined by divers in recent years and confirmed to be that of the Pomona. This is an example of how data from confirmed anomalies can be saved for matching. |