Students Find and Survey Thunder Bay Wrecks

In May this year a group of five high-school students embarked on Project Shiphunt, an expedition in search of lost shipwrecks in Lake Huron (USA). Accompanied by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Advanced Imaging and Visualization Lab (AIVL, USA), they used small modifed AUVs to find and survey two wrecks, capturing 3D footage of the finds. The Project Shiphunt is an initiative developed by Sony and Intel Corp and led by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). 

 

For the project, AIVL supplied five underwater Sony 3D HD stereoscopic imaging systems, two underwater 2D HD imaging systems; a large survey ROV capable of carrying up to five cameras of HD or better resolution and over 150000 lumens of LED light; a penetration ROV with 3D HD imaging capabilities and 24000 lumens of auxiliary lighting; additional high-powered underwater LED and HID lighting systems for diver cameras; and underwater communication systems for divers.

 

While in relatively shallow depth, the Thunder Bay wrecks were found in water deeper than the dive teams had been expecting, making the operations a little more challenging. It gave the divers less time in the water (which was a very cold 34°F) and made greater demands on the camera's lighting systems as it was considerably darker and murkier at these depths.

 

Conducting their operations from the NOAA vessel Laurentian, the AIVL team significantly modified two small ROVs to equip them with the necessary lighting and cameras for the mission. Four divers operating from a second vessel, the Interseas Explorer, used hand-held Sony 3D cameras to visually document and inspect the wrecks found in the deep water.

 

During the expedition, the NOAA team worked with the students to locate targets based on data from NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and other maps generated by the ship's multibeam sonar.  They used the historical record of ships known to have been lost in the area to develop criteria that would help them positively identify a wreck.

 

The ROVs sent live 3D HD video back to the students aboard the Laurentian, giving them the first glimpse of the ships since they met their untimely end.  The students even took turns piloting one of the ROVs - giving them the power to direct the visual inspection and perhaps sparking new directions in their future course of study.

 

Sony and Intel's Project Shiphunt team announced the discovery of shipwrecks the schooner M.F. Merrick and the steel freighter Etruria.