Hydrographic surveys – Page 13 – Office of Coast Survey

February 2, 2016

Coast Survey announces surveys by navigation response teams

NRT data will be used to update nautical charts

Coast Survey’s navigation response teams have proven their value, time and again, especially after hurricanes when ports suspend operations, and shipping (or naval movements) cease until Coast Survey’s small boats can locate underwater dangers to navigation. But what do the six navigation response teams (NRTs) do during those long periods between deployments for maritime emergencies? They are busy, mostly year-round, collecting hydrographic data for updating nautical charts.
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November 5, 2015

Studying the use of satellite-derived bathymetry as a new survey tool

by Ensign Kaitlyn Seberger, onboard NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson

Nautical charts are an important tool in navigating safely in coastal waters, and Coast Survey’s mission is to keep these charts up to date. However, maintaining accurate charts can be a challenge in locations where sandy shoals may shift seasonally and present a danger to navigation. These areas differ from the current nautical charts, and bottom contours change so rapidly that it may seem an impossible task to keep up using the traditional survey methods. Office of Coast Survey and NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson are seeking a solution to this ongoing problem and may have an answer with satellite-derived bathymetry.
Satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB) begins with using multi-spectral satellite imagery, obtained by satellites such as Landsat and WorldView2, which compares green and blue color bands.
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August 20, 2015

Report from the Arctic: Surveying Kotzebue Sound 2015

By Starla Robinson, project manager in Coast Survey’s Hydrographic Surveys Division
Two hundred years after Otto von Kotzebue and the crew of the Ruiric explored what would later be named Kotzebue Sound, NOAA ships Fairweather and Rainer follow in the same tradition. Two centuries ago they were searching for the Northwest Passage in support of trade. Today, we explore to improve the science and safety of navigation in support of commerce, environmental protection, and local communities. Our bathymetric data and observations will also be used to better inform coastal decision-making.

kotzebue-historical charts — Original chart of Kotzebue Sound (left). 1973 chart of Kotzebue Sound (right). Today’s chart of the project area is not significantly different from that of 1973.

July 30, 2015

What does the age of the survey mean for nautical charts?

Alaska’s nautical charts need to be updated — we all know that. The diagram below shows the vintage of survey data currently used for today’s charts in Alaska. The graphic includes all surveys done by NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey (and its predecessors), and some limited data acquired by other agencies, i.e., the U.S. Coast Guard. Areas that are not colored in have never been surveyed or have data acquired by another source — from Russia or Japan, for instance — before the U.S. was responsible for charting in that area.
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March 19, 2015

Coast Survey announces plans for 2015 NOAA survey projects

In 2015, NOAA survey ships Thomas Jefferson and Ferdinand R. Hassler are scheduled to survey nearly 1,800 square nautical miles in the U.S. coastal waters of the lower 48 states, collecting data that will update nautical charts for navigation and other uses. In Alaska, NOAA ships Fairweather and Rainier will increase their Arctic operations, planning to acquire 12,000 nautical miles of “trackline” depth measurements of the U.S. Coast Guard’s proposed shipping route. (See this NOAA article.) The ships will also conduct several “full bottom” hydrographic survey projects, acquiring data from over 2,800 square nautical miles in survey areas along the Alaskan coastline.
We are also planning several projects for our contractual private sector survey partners, and those projects will be announced after work orders are finalized.
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November 20, 2014

Public has new web access to NOAA hydro survey plans

With over 3.4 million square nautical miles of U.S. waters to chart, NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey is constantly evaluating long-term hydrographic survey priorities. Now, for the first time, Coast Survey is posting its three-year survey plans and making them publicly available at the Planned NOAA Hydrographic Survey Areas (2015-2017) in ArcGIS Online. In addition to seeing the outlines of planned survey areas for the next three years, users can obtain additional metadata (project name, calendar year, and area in square nautical miles) for each survey by simply clicking on the outlines. Other features display the survey area information in a tabular format, and can filter the information using metadata fields.

The new Planned NOAA Hydro Survey map color codes project areas by year. Clicking on the outline gives additional information. — The new Planned NOAA Hydro Survey Area map color codes project areas by year. Clicking on the outline gives additional information.

October 7, 2014

NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson celebrates survey success with maritime community

by Ensign Diane Perry, onboard NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson
From 2005 through today, NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson has been surveying Long Island Sound, one project area at a time. Some of the area was last surveyed between the late 1800s and 1939. For the 2014 field season, Thomas Jefferson was assigned her final Long Island Sound project, 89 square nautical miles of Eastern Long Island Sound, Fisher Island Sound, and Western Block Island Sound. When this project is complete, we will have resurveyed over 95% of Long Island Sound and all of Block Island Sound with modern survey technology that allows for a complete picture of the seafloor and highly accurate soundings.

This image depicts Thomas Jefferson's bathymetry from eastern Long Island Sound to Gardiner's Bay. — This image depicts *Thomas Jefferson*‘s bathymetry from eastern Long Island Sound to Gardiner’s Bay.

July 16, 2014

Correcting chart discrepancies at Alaska’s Whale Passage

by Ensign Sarah Chappel, NOAA Ship Rainier
NOAA Ship Rainier recently surveyed Whale Passage, which separates Whale Island from Kodiak Island, Alaska. The area has never been surveyed with modern full bottom coverage methods, and some project areas were last surveyed by lead lines around a hundred years ago. The area frequently experiences 7 knot currents, making rocky or shoal areas particularly treacherous. Whale Passage is a high traffic area for fishing vessels, U.S. Coast Guard cutters, barges, ferries, and small boats, which is why updating the area’s nautical charts is so important.
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May 21, 2014

NOAA improves public access to hydrographic survey descriptive reports

by Marcus Cole, Coast Survey’s Cartographic & Geospatial Technology Program
Many are familiar with hydrographic surveys used to update nautical charts.
It isn’t enough, however, to collect just bathymetry during a survey. Without the context, such as when the data was collected, what instrumentation was used, or which tide stations were used to adjust the bathymetry to a particular datum, the data can’t be compiled into a chart update. The data can’t be discovered for a fish habitat study, or an analysis of coastal erosion, or tsunami inundation modeling. And, until two years ago, this metadata (data about data) was collected in a paper document that hadn’t changed much during the last century.

Find descriptive reports from NGDC's interactive map. — Find descriptive reports from NGDC’s interactive map.

April 22, 2014

NOAA hydro field season underway

The 2014 hydrographic survey season is underway, with the NOAA fleet beginning its projects for this year.
Have you ever wondered how Coast Survey goes about determining where to survey and when? Several considerations go into prioritizing survey plans, which are laid out several years in advance. Coast Survey asks specific questions about each potential survey area.

Is it considered a critical area? If so, how old are the most current survey data?
Have local pilots or port authorities submitted reports of shoaling, obstructions or other concerns?
Does the U.S. Coast Guard or other stakeholders from the maritime community (e.g., fisheries, energy, pipelines) need surveys for economic development or ecological protection?

Coast Survey’s 2014 projects reflect these priorities.
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