The following is an excerpt from a much longer article written by the National Park Service:
Acadia National Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cape Lookout National Seashore, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Fire Island National Seashore,more »
Climate change compels National Park archeologists to use science to save valuable data from deteriorating and disappearing back into the sea. In response, the National Park Service’s Submerged Resources Center (SRC) and its partners are expanding their shipwrecking timber tracking initiative, the Shipwreck Tagging Archaeological Management Program (STAMP), to encompass all national parks with bodies of water.
What is STAMP?
Through STAMP, the public helps archeologists monitor shipwrecks to understand how sites change over time. Natural conditions like wave action, storms, tides, and currents can all cause coastal and intertidal submerged sites to erode and degrade. Human factors like vandalism and looting, construction, dredging, and development also have adverse effects on these sites. Occasionally both natural and human factors can detach or disarticulate wooden timbers from historic shipwrecks. These timbers may wash ashore, become covered or uncovered by sand, wash out to sea again, and travel enormous distances pushed by waves and wind. Tracking these timbers will increase knowledge of site formation and change and may even lead to the discovery of previously unrecorded wrecks.
The Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) initiated STAMP at Gulf Islands National Seashore. The first FPAN workshop tested STAMP documentation and tagging on a timber brought to the park as an example of how STAMP can help archeologists track the degradation of shipwrecks over time and how storms and hurricanes affect these sensitive archeological sites.
An intertidal shipwreck in Fire Island National Seashore marked with STAMP tags for park visitors to engage. NPS photo. The Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) initiated STAMP at Gulf Islands National Seashore. The first FPAN workshop tested STAMP documentation and tagging on a timber brought to the park as an example of how STAMP can help archeologists track the degradation of shipwrecks over time and how storms and hurricanes affect these sensitive archeological sites.
How does STAMP work?
STAMP projects consist of two distinct execution phases: tagging and recording. During the tagging phase, trained staff and volunteers participate in documenting shipwreck remains.
You may find the full article at: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/shipwreck-tagging-archaeological-management-program.htm.