KNOXVILLE -- The University of Tennessee is offering a live video feed of

real-life exploration and adventure from the bottom of the Black Sea.

UT's Office of Information Technology is hosting a Web cast of the latest

expedition by Robert Ballard, who found the sunken Titanic in 1985,

exploring archeological sites in the Black Sea.

The viewing is 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., August 11-15, in the University Center's

main lounge. It is free and open to the public.

Ballard says the Black Sea may be the site of many great flood

legends of ancient history. Its lower-than-normal oxygen levels have kept

wood, cloth and other organic materials from decaying, he says.

His expedition has found several shipwrecks and this week is

exploring what may be a man-made building foundation in an area flooded

7,600 years ago.

The live video originates from Ballard's ship, the R/V Knorr, and

is not available on conventional cable or TV.

Chris Hodge, from UT's Office of Information Technology,

said UT is able to offer the live feed because of its membership in

Internet 2, a collaborative of industry, government, international

organizations and more than 200 research universities.

The video is streamed through a technology called multicast, which

is not widely used because "it is technically very challenging," Hodge

said.

UT is testing multicast on the local campus network and making it

available for research purposes here, he said.

The expedition, sponsored by the Institute for Exploration at

Mystic Aquarium and the National Geographic Society, includes scientists

from the University of Rhode Islands Institute for

Archaeological Oceanography, The University of Pennsylvania, Harvard

University, MIT, and Florida State University.

For more information about the expedition, see its website at

Contact: Chris Hodge (865-974-7505)