Lakebed Habitat, Ecosystem, and Geologic Mapping in the Great Lakes

A Multi-Agency, Bi-National Program

In conferences held in 1999 and 2000, scientists identified needs for new mapping of lakebed habitat in all of the Great Lakes. The long-term goal was a multi-year, bi-national effort to map lake bathymetry (depth and shape of lake bottom) and to classify lakebed materials (such as reefs, dump sites, mussel beds). The mapping project used acoustic (sound-based) multibeam technology for offshore portions of the lakes, and airborne-laser (light-based) technology for shallow reefs and nearshore and coastal areas. The international group of biologists, geologists, and hydrographic scientists and engineers recognized that these new tools can radically improve our knowledge of the lakebeds and provide information to enable better management of Great Lakes resources. The group drafted a plan for developing and executing a mapping and research effort called the Great Lakes Imaging and Mapping Program to Survey Ecosystems (GLIMPSE).

Download a PDF document describing the 2002 proposal (446 K)
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Also see Open-File Report OF03-120 entitled, "Bathymetry and selected perspective views of 6 reef and coastal areas in Northern Lake Michigan"