English: ABOUT THE COVER

The bow of an early 19th-Century copper clad vessel found in ultra-deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico during oil and gas surveys. At the request of BOEM, NOAA‘s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research subsequently investigated the site in 2012. While most of the ship's wood has long since disintegrated, copper that sheathed the hull beneath the waterline as a protection against marine-boring organisms remains, leaving a copper shell retaining the form of the ship. The copper has turned green due to oxidation and chemical processes over more than a century on the seafloor. Oxidized copper sheathing and possible draft marks are visible on the

bow of the ship. (Photo Credit: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program)