ABSTRACTThe research reported herein is directed toward the determination of the microstructure of silk fibers recovered from the shipwreck site of the S.S. Central America. The structural data obtained from examination of these silk materials using SEM, EDS, and DSC was compared to data obtained from the examination of historic silk fibers (ca. 1860–1880) not exposed to the deep-ocean and of modern silk fibers. Marine silks appear more degraded than historic and modern silk when viewed under the SEM and the fiber surfaces are partially obscured by inorganic deposits. The melting endotherm of marine, historic, and modern silk fibers are comparable to each other, but the glass transition observed in the modern silk is not apparent in the DSC trace of any of the marine silks.
