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

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Mission Overview

From August 16 to 27, Principal Investigators Russ Green and Charles Loeffler lead team members from the Thunder Bay NMS and the Applied Research Laboratories at the University of Texas at Austin as they set out to discover new shipwrecks sites, using cutting-edge sonar mounted on a free-swimming autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV).

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

Mission Summary

The NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is a large national sanctuary — 448 square miles (sq mi) — which includes all of Thunder Bay and a part of Lake Huron.

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The Thunder Bay 2010 expedition team poses with the ATLAS before it is disassembled.
Wrapping up the Expedition
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The Old Presque Isle Lighthouse was completed in 1840, but was replaced by the New Presque Isle Lighthouse 31 years later, after it was determined that the old lighthouse needed too many repairs.
A Welcome Beacon in Rough Seas
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Maritime archeologists document the Montana, a wreck in the area that ATLAS imaged during the Thunder Bay 2010 expedition.
New Technology, Old Ships
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Mission Logs
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Image and Video Gallery
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For Educators
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Background Information
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Meet the Explorers
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