Name: Dr Dominic Bush

Position: Post-Doctoral researcher

Office: Research Office, Top floor, Department of Geography

Biography

Born and raised in Kailua, Hawaii, I completed my MA in Anthropology at Washington State University (2018) and my PhD in Coastal Resource Management at East Carolina University (2024). My research has focused on the documentation and preservation of underwater cultural heritage, primarily from the Second World War. My dissertation examined the link between microbial activity and corrosion of submerged aircraft wrecks off the coast of Hawaii. More recently, I led the first ever sonar and ROV survey of the maritime battlefield associated with the Battle of Attu in the Aleutian Islands. Beyond these projects, I have worked in the Marianas Islands with disabled veterans to recover the remains of pilots killed in action during World War II, documented Maui and Lanai’s World War II heritage as part of a National Geographic-funded project, and photogrammetrically recorded the Aircraft Graveyard in Roi-Namur, Marshall Islands. I often rely on a combination of archival research and marine remote-sensing technology to both locate and protect wartime sites.

Research Interests

• Use of Sonar Technology: Synthetic Aperture, Multibeam Echosounder, Side Scan
• 3D Photogrammetry: Derived from photographs obtained by both ROV-derived and SCUBA divers, Point-Cloud Deviation Analysis
• Corrosion of Steel and Aluminum: Seawater-induced and Microbiologically-Influenced
• Wreck Ecology: Understanding the role of aircraft and shipwrecks as artificial reefs
• Archival Research: Using military documents, ship logs, and historical newspaper accounts

Publications

Bush, D. 2024. In Situ Biofilm Collection: Implications for the Management of Historic Submerged Aircraft Wrecks. Advances in Archaeology Practice. Heritage at Risk Thematic Issue, 12(3): 1-17.

Bush, D. 2021. The United States Navy’s Trade and Exchange Program: Implications for Underwater Cultural Heritage. Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites, 23(4):123-144.

Bush, D. 2021. Microbiologically-Influenced Corrosion of Submerged World War II Aircraft Wrecks: Māʻalaea Bay, Maui. The Society of Historical Archaeology Newsletter, 54(2):36-39.

Bush, D. 2019. Airplanes and Bacteria in Saipan. Naval Order of the United States, 24(2):20-21.

Grants

Carrell, T., Bush, D., and Raupp, J. 2023. American Battlefield Protection Program Preservation Planning Grant (P23AS00120).                 Project: Capturing the Carnage of War: Remote Operate Vehicle Survey of the Submerged Attu Battlefield, $69,733

Raupp, J., Bush, D., and Funk, C. 2022. NOAA Ocean Exploration Funding Opportunity (NA22OAR0110190). Project: Exploring Attu’s Underwater Battlefield and Offshore Environment, $707,330

McKinnon, J., Bush, D., Field, E., Richards, N., and Price, K. 2019. National Center Preservation Technology and Training Grant (P19AP00137). Project: Microbially-Influenced Corrosion of WWII Aluminum Aircraft Wrecks, $29,652