By Linden Brinks
Data Coordinator at the Great Lakes Observing System

Part of the Great Lakes Bottom Mapping Working Group newsletter. Subscribe here.

Update: Watch the Lakebed 2030 webinar from June 24 here.

Today, only a tiny fraction of the Great Lakes have been mapped in detail.

Lakebed 2030 is the initiative to build a better basemap of the Great Lakes in the coming decade. Modeled after the Seabed 2030 effort, Lakebed brings together a broad set of governmental and non-governmental stakeholders throughout the region to pool resources to create a detailed, complete bathymetric map that’s easy to use and open to everyone.

The initiative was started in Fall of last year and continues to gain bi-national momentum and interest. 

On June 24, Marine Technology Society organized a virtual symposium to discuss current US and Canadian activities supporting the initiative and the development of a new platform that will serve as a comprehensive data repository. Hans VanSumeren of Northwestern Michigan College facilitated a discussion between Brandon Krumwiede, a NOAA Affiliate, Jocelyn Sherwood, of Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Tim Kearns of the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS). 

The symposium was organized in anticipation of October’s Lakebed 2030 TechSurge conference. More details on the TechSurge will be released soon. 

On August 10, researchers from Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Ocean Exploration Trust, and the University of New Hampshire and staffers from GLOS will discuss the recent collaboration to map Thunder Bay and how it contributes to the Lakebed 2030 initiative. To get connected and register for the webinar, visit lakebed2030.org.

Update: Watch the Lakebed 2030 webinar from June 24 here.

Above: Image created using bathy LiDAR data captured by NOAA in Lake Michigan.