ROCHESTER, N.Y. – A NOAA-operated ship that has been visible across Lake Ontario this summer is working to create the most detailed map of the lake floor in decades. The 208-foot Thomas Jefferson, operated by NOAA Corps officers, has been surveying and mapping the Lake Ontario lakebed since late June. Officials said the area has not been comprehensively surveyed in more than 80 years.
Since the previous survey in the 1940s, the lake floor has shifted and technology has advanced considerably, allowing crews to gather a clearer and more detailed picture of what lies beneath the water. The updated mapping is intended primarily to improve navigation safety, but NOAA officials said the information can also serve several other purposes “In addition to our work charting the lake for safe navigation, we’re also identifying shipwrecks,” NOAA Corps Lt. Cmdr. Chris Duffy said.
The data collected by the Thomas Jefferson can also help researchers better understand habitats along the lake floor. “Something that NOAA says quite frequently is ‘map once, use many times,’” NOAA Corps Lt. Mark Meadows said. “Our data is used to update nautical charts, but also it’s used to create habitat maps.”
Meadows said information showing how sound reflects off different parts of the lake floor can help institutions develop habitat maps and could provide useful information for work involving the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary.
The public will have an opportunity to tour the Thomas Jefferson on Wednesday, Sept. 2, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Port of Oswego East Pier, 1 W. First St. in Oswego.
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) survey vessel Thomas Jefferson docked at the Port of Cleveland on April 17th. [S. Dunn Aerial Photography]
