On March 9, 1987, the 125th anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads, The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Va., was designated the principal museum for Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. The museum curates the Monitor Collection, which includes all artifacts recovered from the site, as well as a large collection of historical material and the research data generated by expeditions to the site. The collection was compiled by NOAA and remains a federal collection under the ultimate jurisdiction of the National Archives with the museum serving as a regional curatorial repository for the material. The collection is available for research under procedures consistent with those in effect at the National Archives.
A NOAA expedition, during May and June 1987, used the Navy's ocean-going tug USNS Apache and an ROV, Deep Drone.
During the expedition, scientists conducted corrosion studies, structural and three-dimensional sonar surveys, and photographed material associated with the ship to produce a photomosaic of portions of the wreck. This expedition generated new data concerning the vessel and its environment. The corrosion studies established a baseline for determining the rate of corrosion of iron on the wreck.
