Chart update requested by Baltimore pilots made in time for 2016 Maryland Fleet Week
Location of updated buoys in Baltimore Harbor.
In early September, Baltimore pilots requested that private buoys belonging to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) be charted before ships arrive for Maryland Fleet Week in Baltimore Harbor on October 8. This request required a very tight turnaround for USCG to publish it in the local notice to mariners (LNM) and for MCD to produce a chart update.
Steve Soherr, upper Chesapeake Bay regional navigation manager and
Chris Crognale, MCD Product Branch E’s (PBE) liaison to the USCG, coordinated with USCG and Maryland DNR to obtain the positional and descriptive information of the buoys and to publish the changes in the LNM (a prerequisite to any chart update involving aids to navigation). It was their effort, along with the leadership of
Dan Morrow, chief of PBE, that made sure these changes were made to both the RNC and ENC by September 29, a difficult timeframe under which to update both products given the final LNM publication date. Thank you for quick thinking and helping Coast Survey strengthen partnerships with the Baltimore pilots, port, and USCG.
Bay Hydro II welcomed visitors during Maryland Fleet Week
Visitors on the Bay Hydro II watch the Blue Angels fly over
Baltimore Harbor, Maryland.
On Wednesday, October 12th,
LTJG Sarah Chappel and
Robert Mowery transited to Baltimore on NOAA Research Vessel
Bay Hydro II to participate in the
2016 Maryland Fleet Week and Air Show. Over the course of four days, over 2,300 visitors came on board, many were school children eager to learn about the vessel, survey operations, and NOAA's mission. Friday evening, the WBAL News Team opened and concluded the 5pm news live from the vessel. LTJG Chappel attended events aboard USS
Leyte Gulf and the Canadian Flagship HMCS
Athabaskan to continue to promote and educate domestic and foreign services of the importance of hydrographic survey and NOAA's mission. A special thanks to
Chris Hare and
Mike Annis for assisting with tours and outreach. Overall, Fleet Week was a huge success!
Coast Survey speaks to the Kiwanis of Williamsburg
Matt Wilson presents at the Kiwanis of Williamsburg weekly
meeting.
Matt Wilson (HSD Atlantic Hydrographic Branch) and
LT Ryan Wartick (Mid-Atlantic regional navigation manager) attended a
Kiwanis of Williamsburg weekly meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia, to introduce Coast Survey and the science of multibeam echo sounding. The Kiwanis, a volunteer organization dedicated to helping children, feature speakers at their weekly meetings that support the local Hampton Roads area. This provided a great opportunity to engage and educate a local audience and the presenters received wonderful feedback.
“Thank you very much for the superb presentation you gave at our Kiwanis meeting this morning. It was clear, concise, educational, and understandable ... Several Kiwanians told me how much they enjoyed it and some indicated it was one of the best presentations they have seen. You both made a positive impression and represented NOAA very admirably and enthusiastically.” - Kiwanis Club member and retired Vice Admiral Tom Wilson See
Virginia Gazette article.
Chesapeake Conservancy visits Coast Survey for information sharing session
Ed Meyers and Darren Wright present water level data to
the Chesapeake Conservancy representatives.
Representatives specializing in GIS and web applications from the
Chesapeake Conservancy visited Coast Survey to present their data and tools designed for precision conservation and to learn about Coast Survey data and its accessibility. Coast Survey’s
Ed Meyers (CSDL),
Corey Allen (HSD),
Scott Sherman (NSD),
Rachel Medley (NSD), and
Darren Wright (CO-OPS) presented the data offerings from their respective divisions. Discussions focused on sharing data, particularly to validate models, as well as contributing to datasets between the organizations.
Hurricane Matthew Response:
In our
last newsletter we highlighted Coast Survey staff that was involved with the
Hurricane Matthew response. We want to add to that list of acknowledgements.
James Miller (HSD Atlantic Hydrographic Branch) left behind a flooded basement and planned leave to join NOAA Ship
Ferdinand Hassler in Charleston, South Carolina, so that they would have enough personnel to support 24-hr operations to survey the offshore approaches to Charleston and Savannah, Georgia. In Silver Spring,
Sergey Vinogradav (CSDL) provided ESTOFS (Extratropical Surge + Tide Operational Forecast System) modeling support to the National Weather Service. The ESTOFS model computes surge with tides for forecasting and for coupling to nearshore wave prediction system. Thank you for the tremendous effort!
NOAA Ships, NRTs, and Contractors:
NOAA SHIP FAIRWEATHER
Installed a horizontal control benchmark station in Neets Bay, Alaska. Currently surveying Behm Canal, Alaska. Continuing final survey reviews for Unalaska and starting survey reviews for South Kodiak.
NOAA SHIP THOMAS JEFFERSON
No report.
NOAA SHIP RAINIER
Departing Kodiak for Gulf of Alaska crossing where hydrographic survey operations will begin in the George and Carroll inlets.
NOAA SHIP FERDINAND HASSLER
Continuing survey operations on the approaches to Wilmington, North Carolina.
Bay Hydro II
Processing the Hudson River Project. Began acquisition on the Central Chesapeake Bay surveys.
NRT 1
Conducting familiarization exercises with the mobile integrated survey team (MIST) side scan sonar and single beam equipment while they are without a boat. They anticipate commencing with surveying in Biloxi Bay in January 2017.
NRT 2
Working on the St. Andrew Sound Project. Martha Herzog augmented on the NRT in September. Together they went over processing and coverage requirements to the four meter contour.
NRT 3
Completed two responses in the Columbia River in the area of the Cottonwood Anchorage for obstructions and Skamokawa, Washington.
NRT 4
Continuing acquisition on the approaches to Galveston Bay.
NRT 5
Acquired data and continue to process data for the Hudson River project. Completed 16 days of acquisition totaling approximately 550 linear nautical miles of multibeam echo sounder data. LT Andrew Clos set up a booth at the New London Maritime Heritage Festival where Coast Survey’s mission was highlighted.
NRT 6
Completed a naval oceanographic survey with graphics submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Transportation for the Suisan Bay survey. Cleared the boat of all equipment as they prepare to send it off for maintenance.
Leidos
The Atlantic Surveyor is currently in transit to homeport in New Jersey.
E-Trac, Ocean Surveys, Inc., Fugro, and David Evans and Associates - No report.
Staff updates
LCDR Mike Gonsalves is departing HSD to return to sea aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather as the executive officer. LCDR Gonsalves has done a fabulous job leading the HSD Operations Branch and developing a new GIS-based hydrographic survey priorities process. LT Russ Quintero joins the HSD Operations after serving as the flag aid for Dr. Katherine Sullivan, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and the Administrator of NOAA. Prior to that he served as operations Officer aboard NOAA Ship Rainier and is an IHO Cat A Hydrographer from the University of Southern Mississippi. HSD is also also welcoming ERT Cody Guilday to AHB. Cody was previously working with NRT5 and will be supporting the NOAA Ship Ferdinand R. Hassler for the next two months.
Kathleen Jamison (Resource Management Staff) will be on rotation as the acting chief of the business services group of OR&R for a 120-day rotational assignment from November 13, 2016 - March 12, 2017. While Kathleen is on detail, Paul Turner (HSD) will join the team on a 120-day rotational assignment. Paul worked on the team for an outstanding 6-month detail in 2015.
Thank you to Dr. Neil Weston for serving as acting chief of CSDL for the past year. We are very grateful for the expertise and leadership he has brought to Coast Survey. Neil will now be taking on the role of technical director of the lab.
CAPT Edward J. Van Den Ameele will be joining us this January as the chief of CSDL. As chief, he will lead the IT group, the hydrodynamic modeling group, and the scientists, engineers, and programmers that support our hydrographic and cartographic systems. CAPT Van Den Ameele has been a NOAA Corps officer for 23 years and is currently the commanding officer of NOAA Ship Rainier.
CDR Liz Kretovic will be joining Coast Survey as the deputy hydrographer next summer. As deputy hydrographer, CDR Kretovic will focus on external engagement, policy, partnerships, and collaboration. She will represent Coast Survey at public, interagency, and international conferences, meetings, and other events. CDR Kretovic has been a NOAA Corps officer for over seventeen years and recently completed NOAA's Leadership Competencies Development Program (LCDP) in January 2016. She is currently the commanding officer of NOAA Ship Hi’ialakai.
Awards
2016 National Ocean Service Awards:
Congratulations to Robb Mowery (NSD) who was selected as a 2016 Employee of the Year. This award recognizes significant contributions to NOS programs and demonstrated exceptional and sustained effort toward accomplishment of NOS missions. Rob is being honored for his exceptional dedication to Coast Survey’s mission and superlative performance as acting officer in charge of Bay Hydro II. We appreciate Robb’s exceptional and sustained effort over the last year.
Congratulations to Pete Gomez (MCD) who was selected as a NOS Team Member of the Year. This award is presented to members of the workforce who are not NOAA Federal employees for their contributions as recognized by their NOS peers. Pete is being recognized for his significant contributions to nautical charting in his efforts on the Chart Tile Service, which provides up-to-date nautical chart data to improve existing maritime navigation services for the public.
Congratulations to LaTonya Wilson (MCD) for being selected for the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Diversity Award. This award recognizes employees who have made exemplary contributions to the NOS EEO and Diversity program and who have displayed exceptional advances toward the improvement and development of the NOS EEO and Diversity program’s mission.
NOAA Administrator and Tech Transfer Award ceremony:
Mark your calendars for the awards ceremony on November 15 when Mark Griffin (MCD), Mark Higgins (MCD), and Colby Harmon (MCD) will receive the NOAA Tech Transfer Award for developing and implementing the Chart Tile capability that has improved existing maritime navigation services for the public. John Kelley (CSDL) will also receive this award for developing and implementing nowCOAST into an operational environment, supporting Department of Commerce goals to build a Weather-Ready Nation. Terence Lynch will receive the NOAA Administrator's Award for challenging the status quo and driving agency priorities on diversity and inclusion.
September's all hands meeting presentation is now available on Navigator.
