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    • Pushing the Boundaries: Using Advanced Technology to Locate and Rapidly Assess Cultural Sites in Multiple Underwater Environments within NOAA's Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

    Metadata Updated: October 19, 2024

    Located in Lake Huron, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary was established in 2000 to protect one of the nation's most historically significant collections of shipwrecks. In 2014, the sanctuary expanded from 448 to 4,300 square miles, making it the nation's largest marine protected area (MPA) focused on underwater cultural heritage sites. Within this new boundary are 93 known shipwreck sites, while historic research indicates as many 100 additional sites remain undiscovered. The diverse geography throughout the expansion area, however, poses a challenge to traditional survey and site assessment techniques. Shallow, remote shorelines and shoal areas limit access from the water and preclude use of conventional vessel-deployed underwater survey tools. Similarly, little is known about the deeper bottomlands within the sanctuary's offshore expanses. Standard archaeological survey tools, sonar and marine magnetometer, offer a limited view of these areas. This project sought to develop innovative, technology-centered, and repeatable methodologies for locating and rapidly assessing cultural sites in shallow (less than 20 feet) and deep water (greater than 130 feet) areas. This project experimented with cutting-edge equipment and techniques. The deepwater survey segment involved looking for the historically significant wreck of steamer Choctaw, while the shallower survey focused on known "ship traps", determined via analysis of the region's coastal geography and historical use. Funding for this project was provided by NOAA Ocean Exploration via its Ocean Exploration Fiscal Year 2016 Funding Opportunity. This dataset contains field images and video taken by uncrewed aerial systems, scientific divers, and a remotely operated vehicle during project fieldwork May-August 2017 in Presque Isle County, Michigan.

    Access & Use Information

    License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Date April 20, 2023
    Metadata Created Date October 19, 2024
    Metadata Updated Date October 19, 2024
    Reference Date(s) April 10, 2017 (creation)
    Frequency Of Update notPlanned

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NCDDC OER

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date April 20, 2023
    Metadata Created Date October 19, 2024
    Metadata Updated Date October 19, 2024
    Reference Date(s) April 10, 2017 (creation)
    Responsible Party NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (Point of Contact); Great Lakes Research Center, Robbins Professor of Sustainable Marine Engineering, Michigan Technological University (Principal Investigator)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.ncei:ThunderBay2017_Products_COLLECTION
    Access Constraints
    Bbox East Long -83.21
    Bbox North Lat 45.37
    Bbox South Lat 44.84
    Bbox West Long -83.61
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update notPlanned
    Harvest Object Id 5a87540d-86dc-4abc-b1a9-fe7b2d68021b
    Harvest Source Id 0eb61eac-016f-4f95-a6c3-2974339749bb
    Harvest Source Title NCDDC OER
    Licence Access Constraints: No access constraints Use Constraints: No use constraints.
    Lineage Processing Steps
    Metadata Language eng; USA
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-83.61, 44.84], [-83.21, 44.84], [-83.21, 45.37], [-83.61, 45.37], [-83.61, 44.84]]]}
    Progress completed
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2017-04-10
    Temporal Extent End 2017-08-30

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