There is a risk factor when navigating in and out of our nation’s busiest ports, particularly at the helm of some of the world’s largest deep draft vessels. Mariners rely on tide and water level information, wind and weather data, but perhaps most importantly, they rely on electronic navigational charts and the quality of depth measurements that comprise them. Recently, NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey certified the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) hydrographic surveys for the Pinole Shoal Channel in San Francisco Bay — a critical waterway for bulk carriers and tankers to reach the ports of Sacramento, Stockton, Martinez, and Benicia — the highest possible data quality rating, Category Zone of Confidence (CATZOC) A1, for two years. This is the first USACE federally-maintained channel to receive the highest-level certification. NOAA anticipates the increased CATZOC rating will dramatically increase shipping efficiency.
Continue reading “NOAA certifies San Francisco Bay shipping channel with top survey rating, increasing confidence for deep draft vessel navigation”NOAA modernizes ENC Direct to GIS viewer to download GIS data
By Scott Sherman
NOAA updated its NOAA ENC Direct to GIS website with a more modern viewer and the latest Esri GIS tools, removing the requirement for older software. The viewer retains the familiar, easy-to-use interface and tools, now with a modern user interface.
Continue reading “NOAA modernizes ENC Direct to GIS viewer to download GIS data”Follow the status of electronic navigational chart improvements with NOAA’s new map viewer
NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey released a new and improved map viewer featuring the status of NOAA electronic navigational charts (NOAA ENC®) as they undergo major improvements. The data is also available as a GIS map service. The public can now view ENC project status from the planning and creation stages all the way to completion, keeping them better informed when these enhanced navigational charts become available.
Continue reading “Follow the status of electronic navigational chart improvements with NOAA’s new map viewer”Nautical Charts: Marine Navigation Joins the Geospatial Revolution
By Rear Adm. Shepard M. Smith
When I traveled around Europe as a young man, my first stop upon leaving the train station in a new city was at the tourist bureau kiosk for a paper city map. On a recent trip to Malaysia, I used my phone to find walking instructions to a street market across town. When I arrived, I described my route to my host, who said that the pedestrian bridge I had used only opened the week before.
Continue reading “Nautical Charts: Marine Navigation Joins the Geospatial Revolution”Building the National Bathymetry
By Katrina Wyllie and Glen Rice
The National Bathymetric Source (NBS) project creates and maintains high-resolution bathymetry composed of the best available data. This project enables the creation of next-generation nautical charts while also providing support for modeling, industry, science, regulation, and public curiosity.
Continue reading “Building the National Bathymetry”NOAA ship readies for historic deployment to the Western Pacific to map the oceans
In three weeks, NOAA Ship Rainier will depart on the farthest journey of its 52-year history as it embarks on a multidisciplinary mapping trip to the Western Pacific. Rainier and a diverse team of scientists on board will map the waters from shore to almost 2000 meters deep around Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian. The data and observations collected will support safe navigation, coral habitat and fisheries conservation, and storm surge and tsunamis modeling. The data will also be made available to those at the local level and contribute to the larger national and global initiatives regarding comprehensive seafloor mapping.
Continue reading “NOAA ship readies for historic deployment to the Western Pacific to map the oceans”NOAA hydrographic community prepares for field season at annual workshop
The field of hydrography, like most sciences, is comprised of experts honing their craft, improving their tools, building upon the successes of previous years, and learning from their mistakes. Hydrographers typically accomplish this iterative process in the field, publishing papers, presenting at industry conferences, and often through discussions over the phone or via email. However, once a year, the NOAA hydrographic community — those who measure and describe the features of the seafloor to update nautical charts and support a variety of sciences — meets at the Field Procedures Workshop to not only share information, but have frank discussions about their challenges and the path forward in preparation for the upcoming hydrographic field season.
Continue reading “NOAA hydrographic community prepares for field season at annual workshop”NOAA releases 2020 hydrographic survey season plans
NOAA hydrographic survey ships and contractors are preparing for the 2020 hydrographic survey season. The ships collect bathymetric data (i.e. map the seafloor) to support nautical charting, modeling, and research, but also collect other environmental data to support a variety of ecosystem sciences. NOAA considers hydrographic survey requests from stakeholders such as marine pilots, local port authorities, the Coast Guard, and the boating community, and also consider other hydrographic and NOAA science priorities in determining where to survey and when. Visit our “living” story map to find out more about our mapping projects and if a hydrographic vessel will be in your area this year!
Continue reading “NOAA releases 2020 hydrographic survey season plans”Register for NOAA Nav-cast webinar: How to obtain NOAA ENC-based paper nautical charts
Join us for our next NOAA Nav-cast, a quarterly webinar series that highlights the tools and trends of NOAA navigation services.
How to obtain NOAA ENC-based paper nautical charts after NOAA ends production of traditional paper charts
Recently, NOAA announced the start of a five-year process to end traditional paper nautical chart production. While NOAA is sunsetting its traditional nautical chart products, it is undertaking a major effort to improve the data consistency and provide larger scale coverage within its electronic navigational chart (NOAA ENC®) product suite. Over the next five years, NOAA will work to ease the transition to ENC-based products, such as providing access to paper chart products based on ENC data. The online NOAA Custom Chart prototype application enables users to create their own charts from the latest NOAA ENC data. Users may define the scale and paper size of custom-made nautical charts centered on a position of their choosing. Users may then download, view, and print the output. The application is an easy way to create a paper or digital backup for electronic chart systems.
This webcast will provide an overview of the sunsetting process and a live demonstration of the NOAA Custom Chart prototype, including a discussion of the improvements that are planned for the prototype.
Date and time: Thursday, January 9, 2020, at 2 p.m. (EST)
How to register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7410207397804043779
Change of command for NOAA Ship Rainier
On November 15, 2019, the crew of NOAA Ship Rainier hosted a change of command in Valejo, California. Cmdr. Sam Greenaway accepted command of Rainier, relieving Capt. Ben Evans in a ceremony led by Capt. Michael Hopkins, commanding officer of NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) Marine Operations Center-Pacific.
Continue reading “Change of command for NOAA Ship Rainier”