Thunder Bay 2010: Cutting Edge Tech & the Hunt for Lake Huron’s Lost Ships: Image and Video Gallery: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research

Archaeologists from the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary — with support from the Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research and Technology — document the wreck of the schooner Defiance, which rests in 56 meters (185 feet) of water just north of the sanctuary. In order to capture the wreck's current state of preservation, the team produced hand-drawn maps and photomosaics.

Photomosaic

A photomosaic of the schooner Defiance, sunk in 1854. Resting in almost 61 meters (200 feet) of water, the wreck is challenging to document. Sanctuary archaeologists “stitched” together hundreds of individual images to produce this photomosaic and capture the site’s state of preservation in 2010.

Steamer New Orleans

Ships that wreck in shallow water tend to break apart due to the force of wind, waves, and ice. Shallow-water shipwrecks dot the shoreline of Thunder Bay, providing recreational opportunities for snorkeling, diving, and kayaking. Shown here are the remains of the 1840s sidewheel steamer New Orleans, one of the oldest known wrecks in the sanctuary.

Schooner American Union

Shallow-water shipwrecks dot the shoreline of Thunder Bay, providing recreational opportunities for snorkeling, diving, and kayaking. Shown here are the remains of both the 1840s sidewheel steamer New Orleans (top photo), one of the oldest known wrecks in the sanctuary, and the schooner American Union.

Freighter Norman

Protected from the high-energy of a shallow-water environment, deep-water shipwrecks are often very intact. Shipwrecks in this type of environment are true time capsules, providing unique and exciting archeological, historical, and recreational opportunities. The 300-foot-long bulk freighter Norman, which sank in 1895, rests in 64 meters (210 feet) of water just outside the current sanctuary boundaries. The wreck site is among the most exciting dives in the Great Lakes.

Diving Norman

Protected from the high-energy of a shallow-water environment, deepwater shipwrecks are often very intact. Shipwrecks in this type of environment are true time capsules, providing unique and exciting archeological, historical, and recreational opportunities. Pictured here is the 300-foot long bulk freighter Norman, which sank in 1895. Resting in 64 meters (210 feet) of water just outside the current sanctuary boundaries, the wreck site is among the most exciting dives in the Great Lakes.

Shipwreck Century Exhibit

The Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center is the headquarters for the Thunder Bay NMS. The state-of-the-art visitor center houses the exciting Shipwreck Century exhibit, which includes full-scale replicas of both a Great Lakes schooner and a shipwreck.

Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center

The Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center is the headquarters for the Thunder Bay NMS. The state-of-the-art visitor center houses the exciting Shipwreck Century exhibit, which includes full-scale replicas of both a Great Lakes schooner and a shipwreck.

steamer R. G. Coburn

The steamer R. G. Coburn, lost in an October 1871 gale, took with her as many as 32 passengers and crew.

Steamer Thousand Islander

The popular passenger steamer Thousand Islander, lost under tow in 1928.

Freighter Egyptian

The early bulk freighter Egyptian. This vessel was one of the earliest predecessors of the 1,000-foot-long freighters plying the Great Lakes today.

ATLAS

The ATLAS free-swimming underwater vehicle measures 0.3 meters (1 foot) in diameter and 1 m (10 ft) in length. The ATLAS sonar, which is mounted on the nose, views a large and wide area in front of the vehicle. At this moment, the AUV is in a quiet lake and in its pre-release position, where the vehicle and software are in their final check-out. In a moment, the lines will be released and the vehicle will be sent on its way to search the lake floor.

Mounted Sonar

This side-view of the ATLAS autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) shows the sonar mounted on the nose, the orange GPS/WiFi antenna and strobe light mounted on top, and the fins with propeller at the stern. The underwater modem uses the small black transducer underneath the AUV to transmit and receive acoustic messages between the AUV and support ship.

Sonar Diagram

ALS single-ping field of view and swath width: The ATLAS sonar is designed with a long detection and subsequently a wide swath width. As the vehicle traverses an area, objects which pass through the sensor’s field of view are seen dozens to hundreds of times. In contrast, side-looking sonars (SLS) tend to have narrow swaths and view an object from only a single aspect angle.

Ping-to-ping Overlap

Forward-looking sonar ping-to-ping overlap. The data from wide-sector forward-looking sonars, such as ATLAS, shows significant overlap from ping to ping. The ping spacing depicted here is much larger than typical ATLAS surveys. Usually there is more than 95% overlap between successive pings.

Single Ping

Single ping from the ATLAS forward-looking sonar shows the 200-degree sector with distinct small discrete objects, bottom features, a T-shaped pier, and the shoreline.

ATLAS Submerging

A short movie of the AUV submerging.

ATLAS Launching

A view of the ATLAS autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) just before being lowered into the water. Here the AUV is about 6 meters (20 feet) above the water. At this moment, the AUV is in a quiet lake and in its pre-release position, where the vehicle and software are in their final check-out. In a moment, the lines will be released and the vehicle will be sent on its way to search the lake floor.

Ready to Dive

The AUV is under remote control, swimming a safe distance from the ship, just before it is commanded to begin its mission and dive below the surface.

Submerging

The AUV is now autonomous and is beginning to submerge.

AUV Recovery

A short movie of the AUV recovering.

AUV Spotted

The autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is shown here just after it was spotted on the surface. It is relatively easy to see the AUV in this photo. Since the waves are higher that its antennas and fins, the AUV was often hidden by the waves.

Attaching a Line

Explorers often use a small boat to attach a line or cable to the AUV. In this sea-test, they used a ridge-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), which is a hard-bottomed boat with inflated rubber sides. Once the AUV is secure, they tow it over to the support ship to hook the AUV to the crane and lift out of the water.

Quick Lift

Sometimes the AUV is lifted quickly to avoid its being hit by a rising wave.

Coal Piles

These piles dot the northern half of Thunder Bay near Alpena. Each circle is roughly 15 meters (49 feet) in diameter and some…

Man-made “Tracks”

Numerous man-made “tracks” found in the northern half of Thunder Bay appear similar to anchor drags, but they are often 17 m…

Lake Bottom

Numerous man-made “tracks” found in the northern half of Thunder Bay appear similar to anchor drags, but they are often 17 m…

Mission Abort

Increasingly bad weather and dangerous seas forced a mission abort. For safety considerations, the autonomous underwater…

Alpena Marina

The Alpena Marina is within a few minutes of the NOAA facility. A very simple and effective technique to transport the AUV to…

ATLAS Disassembly

The Thunder Bay 2010 expedition team with the ATLAS before it is disassembled.

ATLAS and Crane

The ATLAS in the water. At this point, the team (not shown) is preparing to attach it to the crane during the last recovery…

Shuffling

Clinton Johnson attempts to shuffle cards in between ATLAS waypoints.

Helicopter

A helicopter film crew records the launch of the ATLAS, while the research team on the research vessel (R/V) Storm photographs the excitement through the windows.

40 Mile Point

The 40 Mile Point Lighthouse was named because of its location — 40 miles southeast of Mackinac Island and 40 northwest of…

Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse

While surveying near Thunder Bay Island, we were able to catch a glimpse of the lighthouse. The Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse was the third lighthouse built on Lake Huron.

Old Presque Isle

The Old Presque Isle Lighthouse was completed in 1840. It was replaced by the New Presque Isle Lighthouse 31 years later, after it was determined that the old light house needed too many repairs. The New Presque Isle Lighthouse was built taller and in a better location on the peninsula.

J. S. Fay

Here you can see remains of a shipwreck — the J. S. Fay — that washed up on the beach in front of the 40 Mile Point Lighthouse in 1905.

Alpena Breakwater Light

The Alpena Breakwater Light at sunrise as the ATLAS team leaves the harbor to begin surveys.

Montana

Maritime archeologists document the Montana, a wreck in the area that ATLAS imaged during the Thunder Bay 2010…

Barney

Maritime archeologists use scuba to explore the F.T. Barney wreck.

Canadian Cargo

A Canadian cargo ship as seen from the research vessel (R/V) Storm.

(R/V) Storm

The team in between ATLAS check-ins on the research vessel (R/V) Storm.

Jonathan Hartje

During a night-time recovery, Jonathan Hartje remotely navigates the ATLAS towards the research vessel.

Alpenas

The view of the city of Alpenas as we depart the harbor shortly after sunrise..

ATLAS Resurfacing

The ATLAS resurfacing in the dark at the end of a mission. The strobe light blinks underwater, making it easier to see during…

W. H. Gilbert

This image shows the shipwreck W. H. Gilbert as imaged from the ATLAS. The lighter area is closer to the AUV.

Streaks

Scientists are still not sure what to make of this image, but it’s shown up fairly consistently in the data so far.

Plateau

Here the ATLAS picked up a change in bottom depth, and you can see a geological feature that is similar to a plateau.

Mark Story

Mark Story (front), shown with Russ Green (left) and Charlie Loeffler, has spent the last few days at his computer learning more about the Lake Huron region and refining the data collected by ATLAS.

Launching ATLAS

The University of Texas team launches the ATLAS around 11:30 a.m., and it will be in the water for nearly 12 hours. Every 45…

Russ Green

Russ Green operates the crane that is used to launch and recover the ATLAS. Timing is important for the safety of personnel…

Clinton Johnson

Clinton Johnson takes a sound velocity profile using a device that records temperature at multiple points, as it sinks to the bottom.

Sunset

We watch this lovely sunset over Lake Huron while waiting for the ATLAS to finish surveying.

Loading

Step 1. The team loads the 500-pound autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) on a boat trailer for transport to the research…

Boat Trailer Launch

Step 2. The ATLAS had never been launched from a boat trailer before, so it was a new process for everyone involved.

Remote Controlled

Step 3. After guiding the ATLAS off the trailer, team members detached the rope and used a remote to guide it over to the research vessel (R/V) Storm.

Craning

Step 4. Using the crane attached to the R/V Storm, the AUV was lifted onto the boat, similar to how it would be recovered on a mission.

Thunder Bay 2010: Cutting Edge Tech & the Hunt for Lake Huron’s Lost Ships

Image and Video Gallery

Mission Logs

Image and Video Gallery

For Educators

Background Information

Meet the Explorers

Thunder Bay 2010: Cutting Edge Tech & the Hunt for Lake Huron’s Lost Ships

Image and Video Gallery

Mission Logs

Image and Video Gallery

For Educators

Background Information

Meet the Explorers

Related Links