(Not sure about the flair.. sorry)
Wooden beams in earth (like with fences) rot over the years and break.
I was under the impression that this was because of water.
Shouldn’t Venice “sink” because of rotten beams?
In: Earth Science
Wood doesn’t rot underwater. There is actually a lucrative business in pulling submerged trees from lakes as the wood is old and craftspeople use it for art/furniture
I’ll add to other comments but… it depends on the water temp and what is in it. Old ships that are pulled up in some places have no wood left, others have a full hull. Most treasure wrecks in warmer water get wrecked by worms and parasites. Some in the same areas get covered deep in sandbars are just fine.
There have been wrecks pulled up in the Med that are in tact, other are gone except the fasteners. Unlike metal (air is the enemy) wood has many different issues. If the wood is in hypoxic areas that are cold they will last forever.
It’s like when archeologist’s find an old wooden boat that’s been buried in a wet environment. They need to to keep it wet untill it’s treated to stop it from decaying .
As others have mentioned, the wood rots because of the exposure to oxygen. The repeated wetting and drying of the material also causes the material to degrade at a much quicker rate. Here is a video from the channel “Battleship New Jersey” explaining the process and how it relates to warships.
Wood doesn’t rot when submerged, wet wood will but if it’s constantly underwater the rotting microbes can’t survive.
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