2 whaling shipwrecks found in Chukchi

The Gay Head, one of the ships trapped by pack ice close to the Alaskan Arctic shore in 1871, hailed from New Bedford, Mass. Credit: New Bedford Whaling Museum
The battered remnants of two whaling ships from the 1800s were discovered in the Chukchi Sea this fall. NOAA archaeologists say they can thank an increasingly ice-free Arctic for the find, saying it’s improved their access to potential shipwreck sites.
The ships are believed to be from the 1800s — specifically 1871, when 33 sh