A-Level Students From Disadvantaged Backgrounds Follow World's Leading Maritime Experts in Unlocking Secrets of the Black Sea

Since 2015 Black Sea MAP, one of the largest maritime archaeological projects ever staged, has been investigating the deep secrets of the Black Sea.

     (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/548582/EEFE_ROV_Hatchet.jpg )

     (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/548581/EEFE_Black_Sea_Students.jpg )

     (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/548580/EEFE_Black_Sea_Secrets.jpg )

On 25 August 2017 the team of world renowned marine and maritime scientists will be setting sail from the Bulgarian port of Burgas for the final phase of the project aboard the , one of Havila Shipping ASA's fleet, with MMT/Reach providing specialist marine surveying capability and world record breaking technology being used to investigate the depths of the Black Sea.

Also onboard will be a group of young A-Level students taking part in the education element of Black Sea MAP, which is designed to promote STEM subjects and careers to students who might not be aware of the opportunities they provide.

The expedition's STEM Scholar programme recruited 16 less advantaged students in 2016 and 2017 from schools in the UK to take part in educational programmes both on and offshore.

Run by Catalyst Learning and Education, the programme integrates with the science team and the crew of , as well as the teams operating the Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV).  Key to their work is the use of a specialist remote deep-water camera system, capable of supplying ultra-high definition imagery from more than 2 kilometres depth.

The Black Sea MAP project was conceived by Hans K Rausing who established the Expedition and Education Foundation to commission the project. The Foundation's work is funded by The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust, a charitable fund, reflecting their interest in improving our understanding of the origins of humanity and human civilization.

The scientific element of the project is led by some of the world's preeminent marine archaeologists and maritime scientists from the UK, Bulgaria , Sweden , the US and Greece . Using a combination of marine-geophysics, sediment core sampling, and underwater exploration by manned and unmanned vessels, the expedition hopes to uncover the speed at which the sea level in the Black Sea rose at the end of the last glacial maximum.