Coast Survey attends U.S. Hydro 2017 Conference

Coast Survey had a strong showing at the U.S. Hydro 2017 conference last week. The following is a list of presentations that were given during panel, speaker, lightning round, and poster sessions. Feel free to contact the presenters for further information on their topic(s):

CAPT Rick Brennan - Navigating with Precise Navigation Products; NOAA's MSDI Approach for Delivering Information to Mariners; NSPS/THSOA Hydrographer Certification Review

LT Adam Reed - Steps Towards a True Crowd, Collecting Bathymetry via Electronic Navigation Systems

Starla Robinson - Ping Once Use Many Times: NOAA Wilmington NC 2016 Field Season

Katrina Wyllie - NOAA's Arctic Survey Initiatives; Developing a Method to Validate the Navigational Bathymetric Database

Christy Fandel - Hydrographic Health: A National Overview

LTJG Patrick Debroisse - Vessel Mounted Lasers for Shoreline Feature Acquisition

Christie Ence - Vector and Raster Nautical Charting: the Wave of the Future

Guillaume Auclert - Plan to Rescheme NOAA ENC Coverage

Corey Allen - Using Vessels' Calculated Under‐Keel Clearance to Estimate the Appropriate Level of Effort for Hydrographic Surveying

Kurt Nelson - Implementing a Navigational Bathymetric Database within the U.S. Office of Coast Survey

Giusseppe Masetti (UNH/CCOM) presented on behalf of Barry Gallagher - Sound Speed Manager: An Open‐Source Initiative to Streamline the Hydrographic Data Acquisitions Workflow

Matt Wilson - Finding Fliers: New Techniques and Metrics

Jack Riley presented on behalf of Janice Eisenberg - Implementing Variable‐Resolution Gridding Technology for Hydrographic Surveying

Jack Riley - Determination of Possible Errors in Geoid Models via the Ellipsoid‐Referenced Hydrographic Datum

Rob Downs - Activities to Incorporate Unmanned Surface Vehicles into NOAA's Hydrographic Survey Fleet

U.S.-Canada Hydrographic Commission meets

National hydrographic authorities from the U.S., Canada, France, and the United Kingdom gathered for the 40th U.S.-Canada Hydrographic Commission meeting in Galveston, Texas, in connection with the U.S. Hydro 2017 Conference. Led by RDML Shepard Smith and Canada’s Denis Hains, participants reviewed surveying and charting plans and recent activities in the region. The commission also discussed representation of North America’s hydrographic priorities within the global efforts of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). Additional topics agreed to included creating a combined North America ENC scheming plan (an expansion of NOAA’s Nautical Charting Plan) and adoption of global standards for displaying surface currents on nautical charts by the global community. The meeting report will be available on the IHO website, together with the various presentations and associated meeting documents.

Coast Survey sandbox displayed at Nauticus for Women in STEM Day

Members of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey and Office of Marine and Aviation Operations had the pleasure to participate in the annual Women in STEM Day at the Nauticus Interactive Science and Technology Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, U.S. Navy Fleet Forces Command, and other local organizations, a variety of fun science, technology, engineering, and math related activities were presented throughout the day to highlight and encourage young women to become more interested in STEM career fields.

LTJG Kristin Johns, deputy chief of operations, and LCDR Emily Rose, with the Atlantic Marine Operations Center, took this opportunity to display the Atlantic Hydrographic Branch’s new interactive augmented reality (AR) sandbox to the public. Working with Coast Survey IT personnel Mary Little and physical scientists Jeff Marshall and Rita Bowker, the AR sandbox was delivered, configured, and tested the day before the workshop in preparation for the over 500 participants who attended the event. The AR sandbox is a unique educational tool that allows users to create topography models by shaping real sand, which is then augmented in real time by an elevation color map, topographic contour lines, and simulated water flow. The system teaches fundamental geographic, geologic, and hydrologic concepts such as how to read topographic and bathymetric maps in a fun, hands-on manner. This was the group’s first opportunity to share the Sandbox with the general public and based on the extremely positive feedback is sure to be a favorite NOAA outreach tool.

Coast Survey Development Lab attends S100 Working Group meeting in Genoa, Italy

The International Hydrographic Organization held a series of working group meetings March 13-22, in Genoa, Italy. The S100 Working Group, chaired by Julia Powell, deputy chief of the Coast Survey Development Lab (CSDL), and represented by Janice Eisenberg (CSDL) and Megan Bartlett (Marine Chart Division), held their annual meeting to review progress on the development of various specifications that fall under the IHO's S100 universal hydrographic data model, including the development of specifications for underkeel clearance management systems, high resolution bathymetry and the next generation electronic chart for next generation navigation systems. In addition to the S100 Working Group meeting, the ENCMWG (Electronic Navigational Chart Maintenance Working Group) also meet to discuss issues regarding the standardization of current specifications related to ECDIS.