Coast Survey Biweekly Newsletter

Sea level rise and Arctic issues discussed at Hydrographic Services Review Panel in Washington, DC

Juliana Blackwell, Rich Edwing, Rear Admiral Shep Smith
provide program updates at the HSRP meeting in Washington,
DC.

NOAA’s Hydrographic Service Review Panel (HSRP), a federal advisory committee, met in Washington, DC, March 5-7, to hear views from stakeholders and partners on NOAA's navigation products and services, including a great number of recommended improvements. The panel members heard from a special session of stakeholders, leadership from the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, NOS, the National Weather Service (NWS) Marine Weather program, and spent a half day discussing the intersection of sea level rise and impacts to the maritime sector. As part of the 3-day meeting, panel members toured NOAA's R/V Bay Hydro II at the Washington, DC, wharf and experienced how a NOAA navigation response team balances responding to emergencies and conducting routine hydrographic surveys. While on board, the panel watched an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) demonstration. The Panel will provide recommendations to the NOAA administrator on the areas discussed. For more information contact Lynne.Mersfelder@noaa.gov.

Coast Survey attends 90th meeting of the Inland Waterway Users Board

Optionally manned survey launch tested on NOAA Ship Rainier

Heather Gilbert tours the Colorado River Locks on the
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

Heather Gilbert, NOAA senior advisor to the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System and Tim Osborn, NOAA’s western Gulf coast navigation manager, attended the 90th Meeting of the Inland Waterway Users Board (IWUB) from February 27-28 at the Texas A&M Campus in Galveston, TX. The meeting provided a tour of the Colorado River Locks on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway as well as a public meeting. IWUB is composed of a number of state and federal agencies, as well as the user community of the inland waterway system. As NOAA representatives, Heather and Tim continued Coast Survey participation in the meeting and highlighted the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, spanning from southern Texas to the panhandle of Florida. Even within the inland system — and as it connects to the port and deep draft complexes of the U.S. — Coast Survey, Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services, and NWS resources are very important in the resources provided (and used) for increasing the safety of navigation and reducing the incidents of collisions, spills, and fatalities. For more information contact Heather.Gilbert@noaa.gov or Tim.Osborn@noaa.gov.

Coast Survey Chairs the International Hydrographic Organization’s S-100 Working Group in Aalborg, Denmark

S-100 Working Group in Aalborg, Denmark.

Julia Powell, deputy chief of CSDL, chaired the International Hydrographic Organization’s 4th Meeting of the S-100 Working Group in Aalborg, Denmark, from February 25 to March 1. More than 60 delegates representing 19 member states and industry partners attended the meeting. At the meeting, the working group finalized Edition 2.0.0 of S-102 (Bathymetric Data for Navigation Systems), Edition 1.0.0 of S-129 (Underkeel Clearance Management), and Edition 1.0.0 of S-98 (the S-100 Interoperability Specification for Navigation Systems that will allow for a systematic approach to how the suite of S-100 products is initially loaded onto navigation systems). The working group anticipates these will be available for testing and implementation in late 2019. For more information contact Julia.Powell@noaa.gov@noaa.gov.

NOAA Ships and Contractor Operations

Weekly Hydro Ship Activity Report - Week of February 24 - March 2, 2019

Navigation Response Teams

All NRTs are in their respective homeports performing maintenance. Bay Hydro II is alongside undergoing annual/routine maintenance and planning a contracted repair period.

Staff Updates

Shawnee Turner

Women's History Month highlight - Congratulations to Shawnee Turner for being elected president of the NOAA Seas and Skies Chapter of Federally Employed Women (FEW) for the 2018-2020 term. FEW is a national organization that advocates to improve the status of federally employed women, focusing on training, diversity, compliance, and legislative issues. Ms. Turner hosts monthly meetings that encourage women to pursue their career goals, education, and participate in community outreach activities. Ms. Turner began her career as a secretary with NOAA in 2000. While serving as a secretary in Coast Survey’s Navigation Services Division (NSD), she furthered her education and pursued a bachelor’s degree in procurement and public contracting. Ms. Turner has continued to make great strides in her career, receiving the NOS Outstanding Employee of the Year in 2014, and landing a promotion to become an administrative specialist for NSD. Ms. Turner served as treasurer for the local FEW chapter in 2016.

Capt. Andy Armstrong (NOAA, Ret.)

Congratulations to Capt. Andy Armstrong (NOAA, Ret.) for being inducted into The Hydrographic Society of America's Hydrographer Hall of Fame. The induction will take place at the U.S. Hydro Conference in Biloxi, MS, next week. Armstrong is being honored for “distinguished career as a hydrographer, first as a NOAA officer, and later as one of the founders and key administrators of the University of New Hampshire’s The Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center (UNH-CCOM/JHC).” Read more about this honor on the University of New Hampshire's news site.

did you know?

On March 15, 1820, Maine was admitted to the nation as the 23rd state. This chart is Coast Survey’s first published chart of Maine. It was published in 1851 and depicts Richmond’s Island Harbor and the surrounding area.

coming up

3/18-3/21 - U.S. Hydro 2019 Conference in Biloxi, MS.

3/30 - NOAA Open House in Silver Spring, MD. Interested in volunteering at the historic printing press our sandbox? Sign up here.

4/3-4/7 - The American Association of Geographers conference in Washington, DC. Coast Survey will be hosting a booth for outreach and recruitment to students, recent graduates, and professionals.

gis corner

If you find issues affecting ArcGIS-based applications, submit an help desk ticket with the subject line "URGENT - GIS Server Issue." The issue will be properly addressed in a timely manner.

Visit NOAA Esri Central Support (NECS) if you are having problems with ArcGIS Software (crashes, errors, etc.). It is here to help!

Curious about ArcGIS Pro? Check out the ArcGIS Pro Introduction Page.

It’s all about the Data! OCS GIS Portal and NOAA Geoplatform.

Need information on GIS projects, software, and geospatial initiatives? Visit NOAA GIS Community for information.

Esri released Desktop 10.6 and Pro 2.1. Click here for Esri installation Files.

Upcoming Conferences:
Esri International User Conference, 7/7-7/12, 2019, San Diego, CA

diversity and inclusion

March is Women's History Month, this year's NOAA's focus is on "Visionary Women: Champions of Peace and Nonviolence." In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Office of Inclusion and Civil Rights invites you to attend this year’s program. This presentation is also available via webinar.

Date:
Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Location:
NOAA Science Center
1301 East West Highway
Silver Spring, Maryland

Keynote Speaker:
Ms. Karen M. Rainey
National President
Federally Employed Women

blog

Tankers, Freighters, and….Kayaks?

Coast Survey spotlight: Meet Steve Soherr

NOAA Improves Etolin Strait Data with New NOAA ENC® Layout

Newsletter Archive

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newsletter? Let us know!
coastsurveycommunications@noaa.gov