A UT environmental engineering professor is helping the Norwegian government stop environmentally hazardous materials from seeping from a sunken World War II submarine.
In 1945, the last year of World War II, German troops attempted to transfer supplies of mercury and jet engine technology to Japan. When British troops decoded a message between the Axis powers describing the delivery, British submarines were sent to intercept the German submarine carrying the supplies and successfully sank the German vessel to the ocean floor.
Mercury has been seeping from the submarine ever since. When the submarine was discovered 500 feet below sea level in 2003 by Norwegian government officials, Danny Reible, an engineering professor and contaminant containing specialist, was asked to recommend how to deal with the toxic substance.
"As a result of working in that particular area, my name came up as a logical person to help identify and advise an evaluation for the approach," Reible said.
Reible is working with a team of three other Americans and five Norwegians to stop the erosion of the canisters holding the mercury. One-third of the 1,857 mercury canisters have scattered on the seabed, according to Norwegian officials.
Civil engineering graduate student Nathan Johnson accompanied Reible to Norway in October to help with the evaluation. He said the hands-on experience has aided in the process his master's degree.
"Most of the stuff I've been doing is a little more theoretical in terms of which bacteria and different processes are important for understanding the situation," Nathan said.
Reible said he and his team plan to "cap" the crash site by dropping gravel, sand and organic soils then pouring large rocks over the area to stop the canisters from releasing more mercury.
Containing the 10-acre site presents less risk than recovering the submarine, Reible said.
"You're not potentially risking a very significant problem in the sense that you're implementing something that can be done, and it's achievable," Reible said.
Reible and his team will return to Norway to give their proposal to the Norwegian government in the fall.
