Final Report: NOAA Ocean Exploration NOFO NA21OAR0110198, Our Submerged Past: Exploring inundated Late Pleistocene caves in Southeast Alaska with SUNFISH

The Our Submerged Past project explored and mapped the continental shelf west of Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska, advancing our knowledge of the area more than 10,600 years ago when sea level was lower. In particular, we used using side-scan sonar, a small Remotely Operated Vehicle, and the advanced SUNFISH®️ hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, to search for, map, and recover sediment samples from now-submerged caves and rock shelters that would provide a protected environment where evidence of the presence of early settlers of the Americas could be preserved. This research has shed light on early Indigenous people in the region, the late Pleistocene environment, and the early migration of humans to the Americas via the Pacific Coast Route. Grant no. NA21OAR0110198