This project is significant because new bathymetry is needed for environmental decision-making in the heavily populated and industrialized Great Lakes region, for modeling water circulation and various climate change scenarios, and as a base map for scientifically and environmentally related fieldwork. New bathymetry also builds upon the wealth of geological knowledge from the lands surrounding Lake Michigan and becomes, at once, an essential contribution to the geologic study of the region. 

Digital Data Services, Inc (DDS) obtained all relevant paper maps from NOAA. The maps were scanned at 400 DPI to ensure digitization accuracy. The next step was to georeference each map to the client-specified projection. This step was completed in ArcGIS Desktop. After georeferencing, DDS vectorized all lake contours, assigning elevation attributes to all contours. This file product was delivered as Esri shapefiles (.shp).