Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US are mapping shipwrecks in Lake Huron with 3D imaging. Divers equipped with underwater cameras have mapped eight wrecks in the Great Lake, including Defiance, a 110-foot schooner that sunk in 1854. The 3D images are recreated in software.
The 3D image data will be used to make accurate measurements of the shipwrecks for archaeological assessment and monitoring. The images will also be available to give the public a better understanding of the wrecks.
NOAA manages the 4,300 square-mile Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary with the state of Michigan. ‘I could certainly see a large, touch-screen, flat-screen in our exhibit, with a half-dozen shipwrecks to choose from,’ Russ Green, a dive-team member as well as the sanctuary's research coordinator and deputy superintendent, told the Associated Press. ‘We've done animation and renderings, but this could allow someone to truly explore a shipwreck site,’ he said.
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