Suttons Bay, January 13, 2010
The Inland Seas Education Association will present a seminar that focuses on the underwater mapping of a drowned river channel at 7:00pm on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at the Inland Seas Education Center in Suttons Bay. The seminar, "The Norwood Project: Underwater Adventure into the Past," will be presented by Luke Clyburn, president of the Noble Odyssey Foundation. This seminar is free and open to the public.The Noble Odyssey Foundation (NOF) research team is a group of scientists from local universities and museums and divers that undertake submarine and coastal research projects under the direction of Captain Luke Clyburn, who also serves as the Director of the NOF. In 2004, John Zawiskie of the Cranbrook Institute of Science and Scripps Univeristy marine biologist Dr. Elliot Smith directed the underwater mapping of the geology of the sill at the mouth of Grand Traverse Bay. This led to the creation of the first geologic map of the bottom sediments and bedrock in that part of the lake basin and documentation of a drowned river channel cut through lake bottom clay at depths of up to 150 feet. This is a relict channel from the low stand period that formed when the current lake floor was a land area, sometime between 10,000 and 7,500 years ago.Luke Clyburn will show the DVD that chronicles the preparation for and the fieldwork during this expedition. Afterwards, he will discuss the implications of such work and how the Noble Odyssey strives to bring together young people, adults, and scientists interested in developing and supporting underwater research projects to enhance public understanding of Great Lakes science and history.
