OSWEGO — The Great Lakes are the least mapped region of the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A mission is literally now underway on Lake Ontario to help change that.
For the first time since 2022, the NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson is underway in the Great Lakes. The vessel and its crew of NOAA corps officers and professional mariners are working with NOAA scientists to map the waters of western and central Lake Erie and eastern Lake Ontario this year to improve navigation safety.
Survey work will also occur within Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary to identify critical habitats located within the area.
For the past several weeks, the ship has been focused on Lake Ontario. In late summer, the ship will return to its home port of Norfolk, Virginia. As of Wednesday morning, the ship was located several miles off the coast of Oswego, where on Aug. 4 it last stopped at port.
The 208-foot Thomas Jefferson is augmenting operations on Lake Ontario this summer with a DriX, an uncrewed surface vehicle near Oswego to accelerate mapping efforts. The DriX is equipped with high-resolution multibeam sonar, used to map the seafloor and detect objects in the water column or along the seafloor.
The DriX is operated using “supervised autonomy,” meaning that a NOAA pilot is always monitoring the system and ready to take control if needed. The system is capable of operating for upwards of four days at a time before returning to shore for routine checks and refeuling.
According to NOAA, only 17% of the Great Lakes are mapped. The agency notes that the seafloor is constantly shifting. Weather, currents, and melting ice can shift the seafloor and bring in new obstructions. NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey acquires and processes the information and is the authoritative source for all offshore depth data within the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone.
Coast Survey’s primary mission is safety of navigation, ensuring the trillions of dollars in imports and exports, U.S. military, and recreational boaters transit safely across U.S. waters. Seafloor mapping data, NOAA says, has uses well beyond nautical charts. For example, storm surge models rely on understanding how much water is in a given area, and fisheries and marine sanctuaries need updated data to better classify and understand their waters.
Tour the ship
The public is invited to tour the NOAA ship Thomas Jefferson from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2. The vessel will be docked at the Port of Oswego East Pier, located at 1 W. First Street. Parking is available at the H. Lee White Maritime Museum.
Visitors can learn about the hydrographic survey mission in Lake Ontario and engage with representatives from Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary and other regional NOAA offices.