The Secant Rate of Corrosion: Correlating Observations of the USS Arizona Submerged in Pearl Harbor

Contrary to previous linear projections of steel corrosion in seawater, analysis of an inert marker embedded in USS Arizona concretion since the 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor reveals evidence that the effective corrosion rate decreases with time. The secant rate of corrosion, or SRC correlation, derived from this discovery could have a significant impact on failure analysis investigations for concreted shipwrecks or underwater structures. The correlation yields a lower rate of metal thinning than predicted. Development of the correlation is described.