Maritime Heritage in America’s Inland Seas: A Multi-Tiered Autonomous Vehicle-Based Survey of Two Proposed Great Lakes National Marine Sanctuaries

Overview

From July 28 to August 20, 2021, an interdisciplinary team of researchers led by NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries searched for maritime heritage resources in Lakes Michigan and Ontario using a suite of crewed and uncrewed (autonomous) systems. The research team, composed of Marine Magnetics, Ocean Infinity, University of Delaware, University of Miami, and the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, investigated portions of Lakes Michigan and Ontario using autonomous vehicles outfitted with remote sensing instruments. The collected data will be used to characterize lakebed habitat and identify submerged maritime heritage resources such as shipwrecks. The research team was joined by several partners at each location. In Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Sea Grant, and Wisconsin Maritime Museum collaborated on the project. In New York, The Sackets Harbor State Historic Battlefield Site supported the project.