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Dennis tidies up a coral reef and gives Bill Jones goose-bumps

Hurricanes are normally associated with destruction, not repair. But in the case of Hurricane Dennis, which ripped through Florida’s Gulf Coast in July, a bad situation was actually made better by the treacherous storm. Powerful waves flipped the USS Speigel Grove upright to rest on its keel, tidying up what some had considered a rather messy manmade situation. SPEA’s coral reef expert Bill Jones, who witnessed the sinking of the Spiegel Grove in 2002, says he was “astounded” by the news that Dennis had moved the enormous vessel.

Expert perspective: “I’ve have dived the Spiegel Grove several times since it was finally laid on its side and I wouldn’t have thought that such a massive ship could be moved by a hurricane. Although, a number of the crew in charge of sinking the ship were concerned about placing it perpendicular to the prevailing current for this very reason. However, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary specified its location and orientation

“As it was on its starboard side, the Spiegel Grove was a wonderful fish habitat—better than anyone had anticipated. According to the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REFF), it has more different fish species (187) than any other artificial or natural reef site they monitor. The prevailing current hit the ship square on its former top side and the bulk of the hull caused the water to flow over the port side, creating calm current conditions all along the decks and hatches—where the bulk of the fish species seek shelter. With it now upright, I would think that there would be less access and protection out of the current for the fish.

“It will be a slightly deeper dive for SCUBA divers now, and more turbulence with the current flowing around the superstructure and along the decks.” Jones muses, “I’m simply in awe thinking about the power needed to move this massive ship. The news gave me goose-bumps!”

The SPEA toolkit: Bill Jones teaches Coral Reef Ecology at SPEA: The School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University in Bloomington. Students spend a week in the classroom and ten days in the Florida Keys. Jones is an aquatic ecologist whose specialty is lake and watershed management.

For a story on Bill Jones and his coral reef class, click here.

For the CNN story on Hurricane Dennis and its effect on the Spiegel Grove, click here.