New progress report on mapping U.S. ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes

Geographic distribution and extent of the unmapped areas within U.S. ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes waters.

The Interagency Working Group on Ocean and Coastal Mapping (IWG-OCM) has released the third annual report on the progress made in mapping U.S. ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes waters. Knowledge of the depth, shape, and composition of the seafloor has far-reaching benefits, including safer navigation, hazard mitigation for coastal resilience, preservation of marine habitats and heritage, and a deeper understanding of natural resources for sustainable ocean economies. The 2020 National Strategy for Mapping, Exploring, and Characterizing the United States Exclusive Economic Zone and the global Seabed 2030 initiative make comprehensive ocean mapping a priority for the coming decade. The Unmapped U.S. Waters report tracks progress toward these important goals. For more information, check out our blog or contact Meredith.Westington@noaa.gov.

Coast Survey launches NOAA Chart Display Service

NOAA Chart Display Service rendering of ENC data along the Columbia River with traditional paper chart symbology.

The new NOAA Chart Display Service (NCDS) renders NOAA electronic navigational chart (NOAA ENC^®) data with traditional paper chart symbology in online and offline applications for which a basemap of nautical chart data is desired, including GIS, web-based, and mobile mapping applications. The new service uses symbols, labels, and color schemes familiar to those who have used NOAA paper nautical charts or the NOAA Custom Chart application. NCDS is available as Esri REST Map Service, OGC Web Map Service (WMS), and MBTiles formats. The NCDS replaces the Raster Navigational Chart (RNC) Tile Service and the Seamless RNC Service. These services are being shut down on March 15 as part of NOAA's continuing transition away from traditional paper and raster nautical charts. Special thanks goes out to Leland Snyder and Jeremy Wetzel who were integral in getting this service up and running. For more information, see our blog post.

BlueTopo™ webpage is now live

The Office of Coast Survey's new BlueTopo webpage provides information and access to a compilation of the nation's best available bathymetric data. BlueTopo is unique in its acute attention to datum control, ability to account for changes in data quality over time, and method of compilation according to data quality metrics. Primary sources of bathymetry include NOAA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hydrographic surveys and topographic bathymetric (topo-bathy) LiDAR (light detection and ranging) data. BlueTopo is available to download through NOAA's big data project and will be available to view on nowCOAST™ in the near future. For more information please contact Katrina.Wyllie@noaa.gov or Glen.Rice@noaa.gov.

Coast Survey participates in Southwest Pacific regional meeting

Coast Survey participated virtually in the South-West Pacific Hydrographic Commission (SWPHC) meeting on February 22-24 to discuss hydrographic activity in the Southwest Pacific region, including review of a gap analysis of the SWPHC work plan and priorities to achieve the goals and targets of the IHO strategic plan. Goals of the strategic plan include safe and efficient maritime navigation, hydrography to benefit society, and partnerships for a sustainable ocean. Additional agenda items included capacity building efforts, disaster response, the UN-GGIM Integrated Geospatial Information Framework and open data, UN Decade of Ocean Science, and Seabed 2030 efforts. Coast Survey will also be in Guam, the Mariana Islands, and Wake Island in 2022 to conduct an extensive hydrographic survey to map bathymetry and habitat around the islands, pinnacles, and reefs in support of nautical charting and habitat mapping. For more information contact John.Nyberg@noaa.gov.

Coast Survey participates in IHO Working Group Meeting

The International Hydrographic Organization's Worldwide Electronic Navigation Database Working Group (WEND) met in Monaco and virtually in a hybrid format on February 22-24, gathering approximately 65 participants from Asia, Europe, and the Americas. John Nyberg chaired the meeting and Julia Powell led the U.S. delegation. Participants discussed the process of handling new digital data, products, and services which include information about water levels, surface currents, high-resolution bathymetry, nautical publications, and S-101 electronic navigational charts. Key accomplishments for the week included reviewing the work of the WEND S-100 Implementation Guidelines and agreeing on a way forward to consolidate behind two use cases – SOLAS navigation and uses other than navigation. The key outcome was that the working group agreed to follow the United Nations principles for the non-navigation use case. For more information contact Julia.Powell@noaa.gov.

Coast Survey provides outreach at environmental career fair

The Pacific Hydrographic Branch's Jessica Murphy participated in the University of Washington's 2022 Virtual Environmental Career Fair along with other NOAA line office representatives to discuss paths to employment, open positions, and other opportunities for current and recent graduates. In addition to outlining Coast Survey's mission and role in the ocean mapping community, Jessica also highlighted the unique travel and shipboard opportunities that come with working at Coast Survey. Over the course of the 3-hour event, a total of 88 attendees visited NOAA's virtual booth. If you have any questions about this event or would like to discuss future outreach opportunities in the Northwest region, please contact Jessica.Murphy@noaa.gov.

Navigation Response Branch team completes Antarctic mission and returns home

Bathymetric data collected in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.

The Navigation Response Branch Antarctic team has returned home after 86 days afloat on the USCG Cutter Polar Star. The team acquired two square nautical miles (33.3 nautical miles) of survey data across six project areas, including two previously unsurveyed areas. The team is working on a blog post which will further elaborate on all their adventures. For more information contact Chief.NRB.OCS@noaa.gov.

NOAA's Regional Collaboration Network workshop attended by Coast Survey

The NOAA Regional Collaboration Network held its annual workshop last week. The three goals for this year's workshop were to better understand NOAA leadership priorities concerning climate service delivery, develop goals and strategies for regional collaborative roles in climate service delivery, and enhance the network's capacity through relationship building. Northeast Navigation Manager Colleen Roche, participated in a climate equity panel during the regional collaboration network. She spoke about the shift in Coast Survey's delivery model to BlueTopo™. This shift follows a recognition that a curated compilation of the nation's most up-to-date bathymetry is a critical tool for climate resilience efforts like inundation modeling and habitat mapping. BlueTopo is currently being used by partners in the Office of Coastal Management's Gulf of Maine Seascape pilot project to show how habitat areas are distributed across the region. It is also being used to assist state and local governments in making decisions about potential cable access routes ahead of wind lease development. BlueTopo also has the potential to support the North Atlantic Regional Team's goal to further community participation and risk communication strategies around inundation. For more information contact Colleen.Roche@noaa.gov.

NOAA Ships and Contractor Operations

NOAA Ship Rainier got underway in mid-February for her 2022 field season in the Mariana Islands and Guam.

Staff Updates

Caleb Taylor

Caleb Taylor joins Coast Survey as a program and policy analyst in the front office. He is focused on fostering strong legislative, interagency, and external stakeholder relationships for effective advocacy and application of Coast Survey services. Interested in making a difference utilizing science and policy, Caleb earned a master's degree researching coastal restoration ecology at Louisiana State University (LSU). He worked with university leaders to improve graduate student life and retention as vice president of LSU's graduate student association. Upon graduating from the university, he cut his teeth in the maritime world by working as a commercial crabber, landing craft deckhand, and longshoreman in Kodiak, Alaska, before gaining honest employment as a 2021 Knauss fellow in Washington, D.C. There he served with the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS) as a policy advisor to the executive director and staff lead on interagency team efforts for improving U.S. arctic marine infrastructure, maritime innovative science and technology, ocean policy, environmental justice, and offshore energy facilitation. Fun facts: Caleb thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2016, has been charged by brown bears on two separate occasions, and went to the same high school as Britney Spears. Welcome Caleb!

Vanessa Miller is departing the Atlantic Hydrographic Branch after 14 years with NOAA to pursue a career in the private sector. We all wish her the best on her next endeavor. She will definitely be missed around AHB! There is a kudoboard available for anyone who would like to leave her a message.