An underwater mapping project which beganlast summer in the Traverse City area is continuing this year, and it’s largelythanks to the help of local students. Northwestern Michigan College’s WaterStudies Institute is spending a month mapping the bottom of Grand Traverse Bayin the second phase of the Grand Traverse Bay Hydrographic Research Project.
Assisted by student interns from NMC’sFreshwater Studies degree program and Great Lakes Maritime Academy as well asMichigan Sea Grant, NMC is conducting advanced multibeam hydrographic surveysof both east and west arms of Grand Traverse Bay and northern Lake Michigan.All research is being conducted onboard the NMC research vessel Northwesternand continues through 12th Aug..
According to NMC, the device being used tomap the bay, a Kongsberg EM3002 multibeam sonar, provides a very detailed imageof the bottom and can resolve bottom features as small as sand waves. Coveragefrom the multibeam sonar can exceed 600 meters across while moving forward atspeeds up to 8 knots.
Last year’s mapping concentrated onshallower areas of the bays and pinpointed for the first time the wreck of aship, the Lauren Castle, near Suttons Bay. When research concludes next month,a majority of the arms of Grand Traverse Bay will be mapped. The data willresult in the first new maps in 80 years.
“The sophistication of this equipment isphenomenal. This is the first time the bays have ever been imaged to thisresolution,” said Hans VanSumeren, director of the Water Studies Institute.
NMC said that the finished maps, which areexpected next March, will provide important updated and expanded informationwith multiple applications, including environmental impact assessments,commercial navigation charts and supporting fisheries. The research isproviding valuable hands-on experience for students in two NMC programs:Freshwater Studies and the Great Lakes Maritime Academy.
“We are very excited to have our studentsbe integral to success of this project. They are learning skills people don’tget until grad school,” Van Sumeren said. “The skills and competencies thatthey will gain from this project are highly desirable by employers around theworld. WSI has already received requests from employers asking about theavailability of our graduates.”
