United States Coast Pilot® covering the Pacific now in two volumes

Coast Pilot 10 cover

What is currently known as United States Coast Pilot® 7 was first published in 1903. The official published name was United States Coast Pilot—Pacific Coast California, Oregon and Washington. Content and information was inclusive of those three states. After Hawaii became a state in 1959, information on the Hawaiian Islands—including the long string of islands and atolls out to Midway Island—was incorporated into the newly titled United States Coast Pilot 7—Pacific Coast California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii. In 1988, information originally maintained by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency under Publication 126 on the remote Pacific Islands (American Samoa, Guam and the Marianas) was added as a new chapter.

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Coast Survey Spotlight: Meet Glen Rice

Glen Rice embarking on the "NOAA Ship Nancy Foster" to conduct acceptance testing to confirm proper operation of a newly installed multibeam system.

Ever wonder what it’s like to be a member of the NOAA Coast Survey team? We use the Coast Survey spotlight blog series as a way to periodically share the experiences of Coast Survey employees as they discuss their work, background, and advice.


“Coast Survey serves the public important information that has a real impact both to national commerce and to the individual.”

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High-definition charts advance precision marine navigation

Vessel entering the port of Long Beach, California.

By Craig Winn, HD charting portfolio manager

For large vessels entering port where there is next to zero margin for error, pilots and shipmasters are looking for the highest resolution data available to help them navigate these tight spaces safely and efficiently. NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey recently constructed and released 16 high-definition (HD), band 6 (or berthing scale) electronic navigational charts for Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor, providing mariners with the best charts available to do their job.

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Precision marine navigation surface current dissemination trials

By: Erin Nagel, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) Visiting Scientist

NOAA is preparing to release a prototype of the new Precision Navigation Data Dissemination System in July, and the S-111 surface current forecast guidance will be the first prototype service available in this new system. 

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A message to hydrographers: Your time is now

A global view of mapped and unmapped portions of the world ocean.

By Rear Adm. Shep Smith, Director of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey

There has never been a better time to be a hydrographer. Our skills, data, and technology are in high demand globally, driven by an increased emphasis both on supporting the blue economy and of protecting the ocean upon which all life on earth depends. The UN declared this decade the “Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development,” and that vision specifically calls out the need to map the world’s oceans. The Nippon Foundation has breathed new energy into the century-long project to create a General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) with a supporting campaign called Seabed 2030. Hydrography is now invaluable for habitat mapping, for mineral and energy exploration, for offshore wind development, and for ocean modeling supporting everything from predicting local harmful algal blooms to understanding the earth system itself at a global scale.

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NOAA joins federal and state partners in signing MOU on emergency maritime response in Hawaii

Coast Survey’s hydrographic survey experts along with the Office of National Marine Sanctuary staff are ready to survey Honolulu Channel following Hurricane Lane.

NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, United States Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Honolulu, State of Hawaii Department of Transportation and United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Honolulu Division established a memorandum of understanding (MOU) outlining each signatory’s area of responsibility in the event of a disaster in the Hawaii region. The intent of the MOU is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of response efforts and speed the reopening of the ports and waterways following an emergency. 

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