• Researchers will explore Superior Maximus for the first time in 40 years
  • They hope to find a variety of lake wildlife that is rarely studied
  • The expedition will be broadcast live, during which the crew will answer questions from the public

For the first time in 40 years, researchers will soon conduct an unmanned expedition to Superior Maximus, the deepest point in the Great Lakes. 

The expedition will be livestreamed and viewers will have the opportunity to ask questions. Bridge Michigan is co-hosting the livestream, which can be viewed here.

The dive is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday, but could take place from Saturday through Tuesday depending on weather. The exact timing will be announced shortly before launch.

Superior Maximus lies 1,300 feet below the surface of Lake Superior. It’s so deep that no light can reach it, and pressure there is 40 times as great as at the surface.

The exploration will be a part of “Hidden Below: The Great Lakes,” an upcoming documentary. 

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While deep sea explorations have been the subjects of countless documentaries, the people behind “Hidden Below” are looking to turn the public spotlight to freshwater exploration.

“People kind of think of the Great Lakes as being looted and dead, but really there’s this whole vibrant world under the waves that is pretty amazing,” said Yvonne Drebert, a producer of “Hidden Below.” “It’s there if we want to look for it.”

To document the expedition, the “Hidden Below” team will use a Boxfish Luna — an underwater cinematography drone. With it, the team hopes to capture deepwater sculpin, forests of colourful hydra, mysis shrimp and siscowet lake trout, giant trout that have adapted to survive in cold depths without light.

Scientists have recently found “emaciated” siscowet trout for unknown reasons. The fish, which are supposed to be “chunky,” have turned up with skinny bodies and large heads. 

The trout’s deep habitat has complicated efforts to figure out what has happened. But, if they can find them on the upcoming expedition, Drebert said, the crew may be able to help. 

“If we can learn a bit more about what’s going on with them, where they’re hanging out, what they’re doing, what they’re eating, that might help us help them,” she said.

“The deepest waters act as a long-term record of what’s happening in the ecosystem,” said Shawn Sitar, fisheries research biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. “Studying them helps us understand how energy and nutrients move through Lake Superior and how the ecosystem responds to change.”

During the live broadcast of the expedition, Sitar, Drebert and her husband and fellow producer, Zach Melnick, will answer questions from the public. 

“We’re really excited to hear from other folks, Michiganders, folks from around the Great Lakes, about their thoughts on what they’re seeing,” said Drebert. “Are they surprised? Is it what they thought they would see? And maybe they have some insight that we haven’t thought of.”

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