I’m sure you’ve heard of “armchair quarterbacks” but what about “online archaeologists?” National Geographic and a team of explorers led by Dr. Albert Lin are conducting a noninvasive survey in the region of the lost tomb of Genghis Khan in Mongolia. And they’ve asked YOU to join their team!

Lin’s project is groundbreaking, because they never break ground. He uses noninvasive computer based technologies to gather, synthesize, and visualize data without disturbing a blade of grass and that’s where you come in. By visiting the website hosted by NatGeo at

 http://exploration.nationalgeographic.com/mongolia/home

you can sign up to tag clues and artifacts on satellite images. Your discoveries are transmitted in real-time to the team on the ground in Mongolia and they physically visit the most promising finds. Once onsite, they use modern digital tools from a variety of disciplines, including nondestructive surveying, ground-penetrating radar and on-site digital archaeology. The goal of the search is to identify archaeological sites without disturbing them–in the area of Mongolia’s most sacred heritage–Genghis Khan’s homeland.

If you’ve read my novels or follow my blog, you know that satellite imagery is becoming an important tool in many areas of research, including underwater archaeology. One of the “pioneers” in this field is Angela Micol, of Satellite Discoveries, and she has recently teamed up with our friend William M. (Bill) Donato and his APEX Institute to continue the amazing research taking place off the coast of Bimini, less than 60 miles from Miami Beach. Here, Donato and others have discovered conclusive, physical evidence of an advanced maritime culture that existed in the “new world” more than 12,000 years ago!