Name/Title
S02.07.018Description
Donald E. Guy and Captain Dale L. Liebenthal on the Lake Erie Group Section's boat, R/V GS-1 (Research Vessel Geological Survey-1) on Lake Erie. The slide is dated July 1985. The boat is docked at the Battery Park Marina in Sandusky, Erie County, Ohio.
In 1961, the Division of Shore Erosion, one of the seven original divisions in the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, was abolished and its functions distributed to the Division of Geological Survey, the Division of Watercraft, and the newly created Office of the Engineer. The geologic research and mineral-extraction permitting of the Division of Shore Erosion became the Lake Erie Section of the Division of Geological Survey at that time. During its 46 year association with the Division of Geological Survey, the Lake Erie Section researched sediment distribution and stratigraphy, water quality and currents, shore erosion and erosion forecasts, riverine and near-shore habitat studies, and management of littoral sand resources. The office of the Lake Erie Section was located at 305 East Shoreline Drive, Sandusky, Ohio 44870. The Sandusky office of the Lake Erie Geology Group Section was closed in January 2008 as a result of budget constraints.
This slide image included in the USGS National Digital Catalog for NGGDPP Grant G15AP00115 in FY2015.
In an e-mail from Dale L. Liebenthal to Lisa Long on July 21, 2016: We named our boats GS for Geological Survey and the first named vessel was the GS-1. The name used to be SE-1 for Shore Erosion, because we were a whole division here called the Division of Shore Erosion. The name was later changed when we became a sub-section of the Geological Survey. We normally didn’t name smaller vessels but we found that it was easier to plan field work by naming specific equipment to students and college interns who were not familiar with them. So we had the GS-1, the large research vessel used outside of sheltered bays,; the GS-2 was a small 14 foot long boat which was used in the near shore with detailed depth sounding equipment to acquire depths along the shoreline out to 1500 to 2000 feet offshore to determine erosion and accretion at specific points along the Ohio shore.; The GS-3 was a vessel whose construction I was heavily involved in to provide a platform to employ side scan sonar in near shore environments. The vessel was custom built from our specifications by an out-of-state builder... We acquired the vessel in 1993, or thereabouts. We had a couple of other small vessels but they were not named because they were seldom used. Each vessel had a specific purpose but could be used for multi-task work.
SECOND e-mail: This vessel pictured was our largest research vessel [i.e. GS-1]. It was custom-designed by Paasch Marine in Erie, PA. Paasch Marine designed excellent vessels known for their rugged, sea-keeping abilities. The vessel was used for 54 years in all types of weather and projects mostly within the Ohio borders of Lake Erie. She has been outside that area on specific projects. She left the shipyard in Erie, PA in May of 1953. Her primary tasks were involved with the Lake Erie Geological Research Program. This study was a primary research program assigned to the Division of Shore Erosion (previously the Division of Beach Erosion under the Department of Agriculture) when the original 7 divisions of the newly formed Ohio Department of Natural Resources was established in 1949. For many years the vessel was the primary work platform of the section to allow us to get to our work sites on Lake Erie. She was equipped to jet holes through the sediments on the lake bottom surface and determine the depth to bedrock. There are map overlays in the Lake Erie plan files that show the number of borings and locations. Her design was then adapted for use with acoustic studies.
Information about GS-1 can be found in Survey Research Vessel GS-1 by Charles H. Carter (Ohio Geological Survey, Ohio Geology Newsletter, Winter 1982).
Information about the history of the Ohio Geological Survey’s Lake Erie Group Section iContext
Man on pontoon boat handing over rope so the boat can be docked; other boats seen in the foreground. Battery Park Marina in Sandusky, Ohio.