A Journey to a Prehistoric Underwater World
What can Lake Huron tell us about early life on Earth?
Join a livestreamed exploration of one of the Great Lakes’ most extraordinary underwater environments and discover a world that resembles the Earth as it was 2.5 billion years ago.
🗓️ September 16
🕙 11 AM ET
Sign up for the Great Lakes Now Newsletter for updates and reminders about the expedition.
Freshwater filmmakers and explorers Zach Melnick and Yvonne Drebert are teaming up with Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Great Lakes Now for the first-ever livestream from Middle Island Sinkhole, an underwater time capsule that plunges 80 feet below the surface of Lake Huron. Using a high-tech remotely operated vehicle (ROV), the team will descend into the sinkhole, following advanced divers as they collect samples from the remarkable microbial mats at the bottom.
Get an up-close look at the sinkhole’s colorful bacterial communities, vast carpets splotched with shades of purple, brown, and white. Scientists believe this globally significant ecosystem can provide insights into how life evolved on Earth and how the planet’s first oxygen producing organisms transformed the atmosphere.
Along for the journey will be Dr. Bopaiah Biddanda from Grand Valley State University, an Aquatic Microbial Ecologist who has spent years studying the sinkhole’s unique ecosystem. Sarah Morrison, Media Specialist at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, will share how the sanctuary supports researchers looking to uncover the secrets of the sinkholes.
Biddanda, Morrison, Melnick, and Drebert will answer audience questions in real-time during the dive.
⚠️ Date and time may change due to weather. Sign up for the Great Lakes Now newsletter to get updates and reminders about the expedition: https://www.greatlakesnow.org/great-lakes-now-newsletter/
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Hidden Below: Live is a collaboration between Great Lakes Now and Inspired Planet Productions to bring real-time, interactive explorations of the Great Lakes to audiences around the world.
Watch Past Livestreams
More than 1,300 feet beneath the surface of Lake Superior, Superior Maximus is the deepest point in the Great Lakes. This expedition marked the first exploration of the site in 40 years.
We explored the warm water outflow of Bruce Power, one of the largest nuclear power plants on the planet. The warm water attracts a variety of fish species year-round.
