The Americas Takes Viewers to the Graveyard of the Atlantic, One of Earth's Coolest Places
Ocean life thrives at thousands of shipwrecks off the Atlantic coast. One of the coolest places in the ocean was featured on The Americas.
Off the Atlantic coast of North Carolina, just beyond the barrier islands of the Outer Banks, you’ll find one of the most dangerous places in the Atlantic Ocean. Known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, water currents and shifting sands create treacherous shallow seas which have claimed more than 5,000 ships over the last 500 years. This fascinating and somewhat scary place was highlighted in the recent episode of NBC's The Americas.
Some of those ships you’ve never heard of, while others hold an honored place in humanity’s maritime history. Among the many ships in the Graveyard of the Atlantic, you’ll find what’s left of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, captained by Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, which ran aground in 1718.
During World War II, the area became known as Torpedo Alley when German U-boats hung out off the Atlantic coast to pick off ships illuminated by lights from the shore. The graveyard exists along the entire North Carolina coast, from Bodie Island in the north to Cape Fear in the south. And while the Graveyard of the Atlantic has been deadly to sailors, those same shipwrecks can be sources of life for underwater creatures.
Those who tuned into the most recent episode of The Americas probably walked away wanting a little bit more. Well, we have what you're looking for.
The bait fish, sharks, and other ocean life who call shipwrecks home
In The Americas, an epic 10-part adventure exploring the natural world, filmmakers take us to “The Atlantic Coast” to explore the vast coastal landscape above and below the water. The cameras follow a sand tiger shark on the move, 10-feet long with a tangle of teeth.
Despite their unfriendly demeanor, sand tiger sharks are surprisingly social. Every summer, they gather off the coast by the hundreds, and they congregate around shipwrecks. There, they find massive shoals of silvery baitfish called scad.
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The presence of all those tiny bite-sized fish draws the attention of larger fish, 30-pound predators cutting swiftly through the water. They show up by the dozens to pick away at the scad, darting in and out of the rusting sunken ships. That’s where the sharks come in.
Each sand tiger shark gets surrounded by hundreds of shimmering scad, swimming over and around its body but always staying close and safe. The enemy of my enemy is my friend!
How shipwrecks become biological hotspots on the seafloor
Humanity’s long maritime history is peppered with disasters at sea. When a ship left port, there was never any guarantee it would reach its destination. In fact, there are an estimated 3 million shipwrecks scattered all over the world. A sunken ship might look like little more than a massive trash dump on the seafloor, a broken and rusting pile of splintered wood and metal, but life finds a way. Decaying ships become new environments for a wide variety of marine life.
Bacteria and other microbes show up first, settling onto the wreck’s surface, creating a biofilm which supports corals, sponges, and other tiny critters. Corals and other fixed organisms begin their lives as larvae floating through the water column, waiting to find a solid structure to grab onto. Typically, they’re waiting to find a rocky outcropping, but they’ll happily latch onto a sunken ship. Once there, the ship provides elevation from the seafloor, where immobile critters can grab a meal as it floats by.
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While some underwater animals live their entire lives inside a shipwreck, others use them as temporary rest stops on longer journeys. As plants, corals, and sponges arrive, they transform rotting wood and rusting steel into a habitat for a wide variety of sea life. At the right shipwreck, you’ll find everything from sea anemones and corals to fish big and small, from pocket-sized scad to goliath grouper and sharks, sea turtles, marine mammals, and more.
Sinking ships aren’t all good. They can destroy existing reef ecosystems and introduce pollution into the ocean environment. But they can also provide anchors, both literal and figurative, where pockets of life can blossom. The Graveyard of the Atlantic might be the perfect example of the ways human civilization leaks out into the natural world, for better and for worse.
Where to Watch The Americas
The Americas debuted with a special two-part premiere on Sunday February 23, at 7:00 p.m. ET. Viewers were treated to a documentary double feature two weeks in a row, following a schedule change. Future episodes will air Sunday nights on NBC and are available for streaming the following day.
