bathymetry Archives - Office of Coast Survey

September 12, 2023September 12, 2023

NOAA contributes to Empowering Women in Hydrography through at-sea experience, part 6

The Empowering Women in Hydrography project is a global effort led by the International Hydrographic Organization and Canada that seeks to initiate, organize and track a series of activities and initiatives which will enable more women to participate equitably in the field of hydrography and to assume leadership roles within the hydrographic community. NOAA is contributing to the project via an ‘at-sea experience’ on NOAA hydrographic ships for three women each year over the lifespan of the project. After a global call for nominations, three women were selected to join NOAA ships for the 2023 survey season. Lt. Lucía Cattana, from the Argentine Naval Hydrography Service, joined NOAA Ship Nancy Foster from 5 to 10 July 2023, while conducting surveys off the coast of South Carolina.

September 5, 2023September 5, 2023

NOAA’s updated hydrographic survey specifications now available for public comment

A draft of the new Hydrographic Survey Specifications and Deliverables document from NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey is now posted to the Federal Register, where it will be available for public comment until October 12, 2023. All interested parties are encouraged to review the draft and provide feedback via the instructions provided in the Federal Register Notice.

August 31, 2023September 5, 2023

Surveying the Pribilof Islands, from Pathfinder to Fairweather

Two images of Pathfinder and Fairweather lined up side by side.

By Lt. Taylor Krabiel

In the 1950s, U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS) Pathfinder surveyed the Pribilof Islands with the latest technologies to chart previously unsurveyed waters and bring the islands into a common datum with the mainland. Fast forward 71 years and NOAA Ship Fairweather continues this work. Despite the decades and technologies that separate the two ships, they share many commonalities in their mission and their surveying techniques.

August 30, 2023August 31, 2023

NOAA Ship Fairweather surveys the remote Pribilof Islands

Northern Fur Seals on the beach of St. George as Fairweather navigates the thick fog in the background.

By Lt. Taylor Krabiel

The Pribilof Islands are remote and isolated, located in the Bering Sea roughly 280 nautical miles north of Dutch Harbor Alaska. The economy and community are reliant on the surrounding ocean, while the islands themselves provide shelter for vessels working in the Bering Sea. Accurate nautical charts are not only integral to safe navigation and delivery of goods and services for the community, but also to commercial fishing and crabbing. The last major survey of the area was conducted from 1951 to 1954 by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey vessel Pathfinder. However, much of the shoreline around St. George remained uncharted. The Fairweather’s surveys of the islands will provide modern bathymetric data for updating NOAA’s charting products in support of navigation safety.

August 28, 2023October 6, 2023

Vessel pilots transition to new chart format

NOAA’s Precision Marine Navigation (PMN) program aims to seamlessly integrate high-resolution bathymetry and high accuracy positioning and shoreline data with the forecast data of water levels, currents, waves, and weather forecasts. This information can be easily accessed and integrated into maritime electronic charting systems and other decision support tools so mariners can plan their transits and make decisions while at sea and coming to and from port. A key component of this program is providing vessel pilots with detailed depth information to ensure safety of vessel transits and that critical under keel clearance safety margins are maintained. Electronic navigational charts, although accurate, typically do not provide the detail that pilots prefer.

August 24, 2023August 30, 2023

Historical Hydrography on the St. Mary’s River

An image of NOAA's Bay Hydro II on the water with the Echoboat 240, uncrewed system in the foreground.

By Riley O’Connor

In November 1633, the Ark and the Dove set sail from the Isle of Wight—an island off the south coast of England—carrying English and Irish settlers bound for the new colony of Maryland. By January 1634, both vessels arrived at the Island of Barbados and began heading for the colony of Maryland. These settlers sailed into the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River, and eventually, the St. Mary’s River. They stopped roughly 12 miles (19 km) northwest from Point Lookout, where the Potomac River enters the Chesapeake Bay. This group of settlers would go on to found Maryland’s first European settlement and future provincial capital, St. Mary’s City.

August 8, 2023August 8, 2023

NOAA Announces 2024 Brennan Matching Fund Selection and Webinar for 2025 Funding Opportunity

A decorative banner advertising the Brennan Matching Fund.

Meet our FY2024 Brennan Matching Fund partner at the upcoming August 10 webinar for the 2025 Rear Admiral Richard T. Brennan Ocean Mapping Fund program! The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is pleased to announce our partnership with the State of Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CTDEEP) on behalf of the Steering Committee for the Long Island Sound Cable Fund (LISCF) for a hydrographic surveying project in Long Island Sound. The LISCF Steering Committee project was selected for the Brennan Matching Fund from last year’s round of applicants. Register for the August 10 informational webinar to learn about the new 2025 funding opportunity and to hear from a CTDEEP representative about their experience with the mapping matching fund process!

August 8, 2023August 8, 2023

United Nations Ocean Decade endorses Seascape Alaska

A graphic showing the Seascape Alaska and United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development logos on a blue background.

Congratulations to Seascape Alaska! The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization recently endorsed this important regional mapping campaign as part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (Ocean Decade), in part for its contributions to The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project.

August 7, 2023August 8, 2023

NOAA contributes to Empowering Women in Hydrography through at-sea experience, part 4

NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson tied up at the Port of Galveston before departing for its survey leg.

The Empowering Women in Hydrography project is a global effort led by the International Hydrographic Organization and Canada that seeks to initiate, organize and track a series of activities and initiatives which will enable more women to participate equitably in the field of hydrography and to assume leadership roles within the hydrographic community. NOAA is contributing to the project via an ‘at-sea experience’ on NOAA hydrographic ships for three women each year over the lifespan of the project. After a global call for nominations, three women were selected to join NOAA ships for the 2023 survey season. Lt.j.g. Liezel Bastez, a hydrographer surveyor from the Hydrography Branch under the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) of the Philippines, joined NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson from 27 May to 9 June 2023 while surveying the Gulf of Mexico Galveston, Texas.

June 28, 2023August 8, 2023

Nippon Foundation/GEBCO scholar joins NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson

An image of Thomas Jefferson's survey launch 2903.

By Rebecca Formanek

Staring off into the seemingly infinite blue horizon something inside me asks, what secrets lie beneath the last frontier of this planet? Three weeks aboard NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson showed me I am not the only one to think this. The talented individuals that comprise the crew of Thomas Jefferson demonstrated the range and dedication to discovering these secrets, and I thank them for sharing their time, knowledge, and experiences. If there is anything that can unite a diverse group of people, it is the sea.