Ask an Explorer
Have a question for the team? Send us an email! Questions will be forwarded to the team at sea and their replies will be posted here.
Question:
Is this a new effort with regards to government involvement in shipwreck research? I don’t recall that the federal government (NOAA in this case?) or the state government (the State of Michigan in this case?) being proactive in shipwreck research. It seems like private outfits do most of the shipwreck research and the state and federal governments don’t get involved until a claim on a shipwreck site has been filed in some Court somewhere.
Answer:
Over the past several years the Thunder Bay NMS is engaged in a growing number of research projects, most of which are grant funded. The current project was funded by the NOAA Ocean Exploration and Research Program. Just in the last two years the sanctuary has conducted technical diving expeditions, multibeam sonar mapping projects, a “live dive” from a popular wreck in the sanctuary and several other archeological documentation projects.
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Question:
As far as shipwreck research is concerned, has Lake Huron been somewhat ignored? (excepting the Alpena preserve, of course). It seems like all the high profile work is taking place on Lake(s) Michigan, Ontario and Erie.
Answer:
It’s hard to say. Lake Huron has some of the Great Lakes’ best shipwreck diving and as you noted there are lots of folks out there looking for new ones. Lake Huron research is probably on par with other Great Lakes, though over the last few years there has been some exciting finds in Lakes Michigan, Superior and Ontario.
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Question:
Do you have any hopes that you might uncover an unexpected shipwreck site like the Griffon? (I know they are looking at something in Lake Michigan, but I don’t know the latest there).
Answer:
We do hope to find new shipwrecks, and as the website mentions there are a couple that may be in our search area. That said, you never know what will run up when you “mow the lawn” and methodically survey a large area. That “unknown” factor contributes a lot to the excitement of this kind of research.
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Question:
The land bridge between Michigan and Canada sounds fascinating. Do you expect to find much? Can you expect to uncover much with the equipment you now have? Would you have use for the type of remote controlled equipment Bob Ballard uses when exploring the higher profile wrecks like the Titanic – or would that equipment be overkill in the Great Lakes? Is Canada conducting similar research on the land bridge?
Answer:
We do hope to find areas on the land bridge that would have made sense for prehistoric cultures to occupy. ATLAS may help us distinguish those areas. Then, as you mention, using a ROV or divers will help us get a closer look at particularly attractive areas. Something like an ROV would be perfect for this next step in research. There is a Canadian research team looking at the landward portion of the land bridge where it connects in Canada.
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Question:
I have not read everything yet about the ATLAS mission. I was wondering if the scanned images can be rendered in 3D?
Answer:
We do hope to find areas on the land bridge that would have made sense for prehistoric cultures to occupy. ATLAS may help us distinguish those areas. Then, as you mention, using a ROV or divers will help us get a closer look at particularly attractive areas. Something like an ROV would be perfect for this next step in research. There is a Canadian research team looking at the landward portion of the land bridge where it connects in Canada.
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
