Thunder Bay Exploration 2002

Partners

NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program

The National Marine Sanctuaries are the underwater equivalent of national parks. Within their protected waters, giant humpback whales breed and calve their young, coral colonies flourish, and shipwrecks tell stories of our maritime history. Sanctuary habitats include beautiful rocky reefs, lush kelp forests, whale migration corridors, spectacular deep-sea canyons, and underwater archaeological sites.

Sanctuaries are empowered by Congress through the National Marine Sanctuaries Act to serve as trustees for America's ocean and Great Lakes treasures. Sanctuaries balance use and enjoyment of the resources with long-term conservation. They provide places the public can experience a wide variety of recreational and commercial activities, including swimming, wildlife watching, diving, boating, and fishing. Sanctuaries are living classrooms where people can see, touch, and learn about the nation's Great Lakes and marine environments.

Thunder Bay Exploration 2002 will be crucial to the understanding and appreciation of these national treasures, and will provide information for future management and preservation.

Institute for Exploration

The Institute for Exploration, located at Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration in Mystic, Connecticut, is a nonprofit organization specializing in deep-sea research.

Under the direction of founder Dr. Robert Ballard, the Institute for Exploration (IFE) is pioneering the emerging disciplines of deep-sea archaeology and deep submergence technology. In addition, it is applying cutting-edge broadband technology to take audiences along on real-time virtual expeditions.

Deep-sea archaeology is a new discipline that combines archaeology, oceanography and ocean engineering to research the vast amounts of human history buried deep beneath the ocean surface. IFE's successes to date already represent important new discoveries in deep-sea exploration, including the largest concentration of ancient ships ever found. Dr. Ballard is best known as the discoverer of Titanic, and most recently PT-109, and is a National Geographic Explorer in Residence.

NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration

The Office of Ocean Exploration (OE) is NOAA's center for new activities to explore and better understand our oceans. This office supports expeditions, exploration projects, and a number of related field campaigns for the purpose of discovery and documentation of ocean voyages. Bringing scientists to ocean frontiers requires rigorous planning, mission staging, and well coordinated marine operations. Education and outreach rank high as office priorities. Through ocean exploration, NOAA is committed to raising America's science literacy and developing the next generation of ocean explorers, scientists and educators.

The Office of Ocean Exploration provided funding and staff resources to the summer 2001 mapping expedition in Thunder Bay; the office is once again providing significant resources for Thunder Bay Exploration 2002.

State of Michigan

The State of Michigan's commitment to preserving the rich history of Thunder Bay dates back to 1981, when Thunder Bay was established as the state's first Great Lakes Bottomland Preserve (commonly termed "underwater preserve"). The State continued to recognize Thunder Bay's national historical significance, as Governor John Engler led the effort to create the management partnership that now exists between the State and NOAA.

In addition, the Michigan Historical Center (MHC) is contributing its expertise in archaeology, museums, historic preservation and heritage education to the project. It is building on its participation in and leadership of the Michigan Underwater Salvage Committee, which has included projects, publications, grants and the establishment of an underwater state historical marker. State archaeologist John Halsey has been involved with the sanctuary/preserve since its inception and was instrumental in obtaining the assistance of Great Lakes maritime archaeologists and historians who will participate in the project.