A joint academic survey of underwater archaeological sites by Japanese and the Life on the Edge Project (Submerged Landcapes Research Centre, University of Bradford) began for the 1st time at Lake Ogawara in Tohoku Town. Through investigations of the sedimentary conditions beneath the lakebed and exploration of underwater archaeological sites, the aim is to elucidate the topography and environmental changes of the Late Glacial Period (approximately 15,000 to 11,700 years ago), which corresponds to the initial Jomon period.

Lake Ogawara is a coastal lake formed by the rise and fall of the sea during the Jomon period and the development of sand dunes at the mouth of the bay. Its maximum depth is approximately 235m, and the depth is around 2m from the shore for about 200m.
A shallow area stretches out. According to local fishermen, it is not uncommon for pottery fragments to be found in the rakes used for clam fishing, and currently five locations are registered as underwater archaeological sites.

The survey was conducted by four people, including Professor Yasuhisa Kondo of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, a university-affiliated research institute specializing in archaeological geography, and Assistant Professor Simon Fitch of the University of Bradford in the UK, who has an international track record in continental shelf topography surveys. They attached acoustic devices to the port side of a boat belonging to the Ogawara Lake Fisheries Cooperative and sailed across the entire lake to explore the conditions of the lakebed and even deeper areas.

In addition, several locations on the lakebed will be drilled to collect geological cores. These cores will be studied at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology's Kochi Core Research Institute (Kochi Prefecture) to investigate changes in the lake's environment.