Hydrographic office
Encyclopedia
A hydrographic office is an organization which is devoted to acquiring and publishing hydrographic
information.
Historically, the main tasks of hydrographic offices were the conduction of hydrographic survey
s and the publication of nautical chart
s. In many countries, various navigation
-related services are now concentrated in large governmental organizations, sometimes termed "maritime administration" (however, the International Hydrographic Organization
uses the term "hydrographic offices" for its member organizations).
Besides nautical charts, many hydrographic offices publish a body of books and periodicals that are collectively known as nautical publications
. The most important of these are:
Hydrographic organizations may also be involved in services such as:
n waters were performed by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy since the 19th century. In 1920 the Australian Hydrographic Service was formed as a part of the Royal Australian Navy
.
and Lake Huron
. Its geographic area of responsibility increased and in 1904 the name was changed to the "Hydrographic Survey of Canada." The current name Canadian Hydrographic Service
(CHS) was adopted in 1928.
In 1951, Canada became a State Member of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the Dominion Hydrographer is Canada's representative.
Today, the mandate of CHS is found in the Canada Oceans Act, the Canada Shipping Act (Charts and Publications Regulations) and the Navigable Waters Protection Act.
With its headquarters office located in Ottawa, Ontario there are regional offices in Sydney (British Columbia), Burlington (Ontario), Mont-Joli (Quebec), Halifax (Nova Scotia), and a branch office in St. John’s Newfoundland. CHS has 300 staff across the country.
The national chart folio consists of 950 paper charts, 541 S-57 vector Electronic Navigation Charts and 651 raster charts in the BSB format. CHS produces and maintains seven volumes of Tides and Water Levels books, 25 Sailing Directions books, and prints and distributes a number of publications such as the Annual Notices to Mariners and Radio Aids to Marine Navigation.
In addition to significant hydrographic data holdings (single & multibeam), CHS operates 78 permanent water level stations, a real time water level and forecast system in the St. Lawrence River, and participates in the operation of Atlantic & Pacific tsunami warning systems.
CHS is directly responsible for the sales and distribution of all its products, in paper and digital form. A network of 850 dealers (domestic and international) distributes CHS paper and digital products. Products and data are also made available to Value Added Resellers, under licence.
an official authority on drawing and publishing nautical charts of the South Pacific Ocean for Military and Civil navigation.
This institution is also the main authority on controlling the official hour
of the country.
(including Greenland
and the Faroe Islands
), hydrographic surveying and charting is conducted by "Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen" (KMS), a division of the Ministry of Environment.
, the first official organization, the French Dépôt des Cartes, Plans, Journaux et Mémoires Relatifs à la Navigation, was formed in 1720.
Today, the SHOM is the official French hydrographic office, it stands for 'Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine' and means Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service
.
federal hydrographic office. Its offices are located in Hamburg
and Rostock
. The BSH is responsible for a wide variety of services, among them hydrographic surveys, nautical publications, ship registration, testing and approval of technical equipment, oceanographic
research, development of nautical information systems, and maritime pollution surveillance. The BSH runs six ships for survey and research purposes.
In 1945 the tasks of various predecessor organisations (among them the German Navy's hydrographic service, the Wilhelmshaven
maritime observatory, and the "Deutsche Seewarte" under Georg von Neumayer
) were concentrated in the newly created "Deutsches Hydrographisches Institut" (DHI) in Hamburg. In 1990 the DHI and the corresponding East German organisation, the "Seehydrographische Dienst der DDR" in Rostock were integrated to form the BSH in its present form.
General Staff, is responsible for hydrographic surveying and production and sale of charts. The first naval hydrographic office was created in 1905 and its first mission was the hydrographic survey of Maliakos Gulf. Its first nautical chart was issued in 1909 and in 1919 the Hellenic Navy became a founding member of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). The hydrographic office evolved into the independent naval Hydrographic Service in 1921. Today the HNHS operates three naval hydrographic vessels: HS OS Nautilos (A-478), HS OS Pytheas (A-474) and HS Stravon (A-476).
national hydrographic organisation. Established in 1956 and governed by the Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications, Sjöfartsverket is responsible for most aspects of safe navigation in Sweden. This includes maintenance and marking of fairways, surveying and charting Swedish waters, pilotage, search-and-rescue (in cooperation with other organisations), ice-breaking, and safety inspections.
Sir Cloudesley Shovell
on an uncharted reef
off the Scilly Isles
which happened in October 1707 (see main article Scilly naval disaster of 1707
).
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office
(UKHO) is now a part of the Ministry of Defence
rather than a naval department and is located in Taunton, Somerset, near Creechbarrow hill. It is best known for producing the well-known Admiralty chart
series of nautical charts that covers almost every navigable stretch of water on Earth. The UKHO also calculates tide tables for the UK.
In contrast to the US government, all of whose creative work is placed into the public domain, British government policy requires agencies such as the UKHO and the Ordnance Survey
to be self-funding through the sale of the information they create. The Hydrographic Office therefore actively protects the copyright of all of its data including paper charts, electronic charts, tidal data and other data and has been known to take measures to ensure that its copyrighted information is used appropriately.
UKHO attracted worldwide attention in February 2005 when it published in-depth pictures of the ocean floor in the vicinity of the Indian ocean tsunami
disaster of December 26, 2004.
, the Survey of the Coast (America's first scientific agency) was established through an 1807 Congressional resolution and signed into law by President Jefferson
. It subsequently became the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1878, and incorporated the Coast and Geodetic Survey Corp in 1917. (Surveyors who were commissioned officers could not be shot as spies if captured during time of war.) The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey was eventually incorporated into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) when it was formed in 1970. NOAA's Office of Coast Survey is the national Hydrographic Office of the United States
.
Non-domestic hydrographic and bathymetric surveys are conducted by the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office
, which started with the establishment of the Depot of Charts and Instruments in 1830 that by 1854 was designated the U.S. Naval Observatory and Hydrographical Office. The hydrographic portion became the U.S. Naval Hydrographic Office under the Hydrographer of the Navy. With the popularization of oceanography in the early 1960s (partly due to President Kennedy's interest) the name was changed to the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office
in 1962. That office, as a matter of historical and semantic interest, and the U.S. Naval Observatory are still part of the command overseen by the "Oceanographer of the Navy" with headquarters at the Naval Observatory.
Hydrography
Hydrography is the measurement of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea, river or lake bed topography and morphology. Normally and historically for the purpose of charting a body of water for the safe navigation of shipping...
information.
Historically, the main tasks of hydrographic offices were the conduction of hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/drilling and related disciplines. Strong emphasis is placed on soundings, shorelines, tides, currents, sea floor and submerged...
s and the publication of nautical chart
Nautical chart
A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a maritime area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land , natural features of the seabed, details of the coastline, navigational hazards, locations of natural and man-made aids...
s. In many countries, various navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
-related services are now concentrated in large governmental organizations, sometimes termed "maritime administration" (however, the International Hydrographic Organization
International Hydrographic Organization
The International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing the hydrographic community. It enjoys observer status at the UN and is the recognised competent authority on hydrographic surveying and nautical charting...
uses the term "hydrographic offices" for its member organizations).
Besides nautical charts, many hydrographic offices publish a body of books and periodicals that are collectively known as nautical publications
Nautical publications
Nautical publications is a technical term used in maritime circles describing a set of publications, generally published by national governments, for use in safe navigation of ships, boats, and similar vessels....
. The most important of these are:
- Sailing DirectionsSailing DirectionsSailing Directions is a 42-volume American navigation publication published by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency . Sailing Directions consists of 37 Enroute volumes, 4 Planning Guide volumes, and 1 volume combining both types...
(or pilots): detailed descriptions of areas of the sea, shipping routes, harbours, aids to navigation, regulations etc. - lists of lights: descriptions of lighthouses and lightbouys
- tideTideTides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
tables and tidal stream atlases - ephemeridesEphemerisAn ephemeris is a table of values that gives the positions of astronomical objects in the sky at a given time or times. Different kinds of ephemerides are used for astronomy and astrology...
and nautical almanacNautical almanacA nautical almanac is a publication describing the positions of a selection of celestial bodies for the purpose of enabling navigators to use celestial navigation to determine the position of their ship while at sea...
s for celestial navigationCelestial navigationCelestial navigation, also known as astronavigation, is a position fixing technique that has evolved over several thousand years to help sailors cross oceans without having to rely on estimated calculations, or dead reckoning, to know their position... - Notice to MarinersNotice to MarinersA notice to mariners advises mariners of important matters affecting navigational safety, including new hydrographic information, changes in channels and aids to navigation, and other important data.Over 60 countries which produce nautical charts also...
: periodical (often weekly) updates and corrections for nautical charts and publications
Hydrographic organizations may also be involved in services such as:
- pilotagePilotagePilotage is the use of fixed visual references on the ground or sea by means of sight or radar to guide oneself to a destination, sometimes with the help of a map or nautical chart. People use pilotage for activities such as guiding vessels and aircraft, hiking and Scuba diving...
- search and rescueSearch and rescueSearch and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
- maintenance of lighthouseLighthouseA lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
s and other aids to navigation - ice breaking
- weather observation and information
- sea traffic information and surveillance
- maritime research
- regulatory affairs of ship safety
History
In the development of hydrographic services, shipping organizations played a part, but the major players were the naval powers. Recognizing hydrographic information was a military advantage these naval organizations, usually under the direction of a "Hydrographer," utilized the expertise of naval officers in collecting hydrographic data that was incorporated into the navy's collection. In order to distribute the processed information (charts, directions, notices, and such) these organizations often developed specialized printing capabilities.Australia
Hydrographic tasks in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n waters were performed by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy since the 19th century. In 1920 the Australian Hydrographic Service was formed as a part of the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
.
Brazil
Hydrographic tasks in Brazilian waters were performed by the DHN since 02/02/1876.Canada
Starting in 1883, the "Georgian Bay Survey" was responsible for hydrographic surveying of Georgian BayGeorgian Bay
Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, located entirely within Ontario, Canada...
and Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
. Its geographic area of responsibility increased and in 1904 the name was changed to the "Hydrographic Survey of Canada." The current name Canadian Hydrographic Service
Canadian Hydrographic Service
The Canadian Hydrographic Service is Canada's hydrographic office, with responsibility for performing hydrographic surveys and publishing paper and electronic nautical charts...
(CHS) was adopted in 1928.
In 1951, Canada became a State Member of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the Dominion Hydrographer is Canada's representative.
Today, the mandate of CHS is found in the Canada Oceans Act, the Canada Shipping Act (Charts and Publications Regulations) and the Navigable Waters Protection Act.
With its headquarters office located in Ottawa, Ontario there are regional offices in Sydney (British Columbia), Burlington (Ontario), Mont-Joli (Quebec), Halifax (Nova Scotia), and a branch office in St. John’s Newfoundland. CHS has 300 staff across the country.
The national chart folio consists of 950 paper charts, 541 S-57 vector Electronic Navigation Charts and 651 raster charts in the BSB format. CHS produces and maintains seven volumes of Tides and Water Levels books, 25 Sailing Directions books, and prints and distributes a number of publications such as the Annual Notices to Mariners and Radio Aids to Marine Navigation.
In addition to significant hydrographic data holdings (single & multibeam), CHS operates 78 permanent water level stations, a real time water level and forecast system in the St. Lawrence River, and participates in the operation of Atlantic & Pacific tsunami warning systems.
CHS is directly responsible for the sales and distribution of all its products, in paper and digital form. A network of 850 dealers (domestic and international) distributes CHS paper and digital products. Products and data are also made available to Value Added Resellers, under licence.
Chile
Since 1874, the Navy's Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service ("SHOA", as acronym of "Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada") has been the ChileChile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an official authority on drawing and publishing nautical charts of the South Pacific Ocean for Military and Civil navigation.
This institution is also the main authority on controlling the official hour
Hour
The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds...
of the country.
Denmark
In DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
(including Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
and the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
), hydrographic surveying and charting is conducted by "Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen" (KMS), a division of the Ministry of Environment.
France
In FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the first official organization, the French Dépôt des Cartes, Plans, Journaux et Mémoires Relatifs à la Navigation, was formed in 1720.
Today, the SHOM is the official French hydrographic office, it stands for 'Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine' and means Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service
Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service
The Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service is a French administrative public body administered by the Ministry of Defence. It was set up by decree number 2007-800 on 11 May 2007...
.
Germany
The "Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie" (BSH) is the GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
federal hydrographic office. Its offices are located in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
. The BSH is responsible for a wide variety of services, among them hydrographic surveys, nautical publications, ship registration, testing and approval of technical equipment, oceanographic
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
research, development of nautical information systems, and maritime pollution surveillance. The BSH runs six ships for survey and research purposes.
In 1945 the tasks of various predecessor organisations (among them the German Navy's hydrographic service, the Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
maritime observatory, and the "Deutsche Seewarte" under Georg von Neumayer
Georg von Neumayer
Georg Balthazar von Neumayer , was a German polar explorer and scientist who conceived the idea of international cooperation for meteorology and scientific observation....
) were concentrated in the newly created "Deutsches Hydrographisches Institut" (DHI) in Hamburg. In 1990 the DHI and the corresponding East German organisation, the "Seehydrographische Dienst der DDR" in Rostock were integrated to form the BSH in its present form.
Greece
The Hellenic Navy Hydrographic Service (HNHS), an independent service of the Hellenic NavyHellenic Navy
The Hellenic Navy is the naval force of Greece, part of the Greek Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy has its roots in the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence...
General Staff, is responsible for hydrographic surveying and production and sale of charts. The first naval hydrographic office was created in 1905 and its first mission was the hydrographic survey of Maliakos Gulf. Its first nautical chart was issued in 1909 and in 1919 the Hellenic Navy became a founding member of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). The hydrographic office evolved into the independent naval Hydrographic Service in 1921. Today the HNHS operates three naval hydrographic vessels: HS OS Nautilos (A-478), HS OS Pytheas (A-474) and HS Stravon (A-476).
Hong Kong
The *Hong Kong Hydrographic Office is responsible for hydrographic surveying and production of nautical charts covering the waters of Hong Kong. It also produced electronic navigational charts and made available the prediction of tidal stream digitally *http://www.hydro.gov.hk/tidal/district.htm on the internet.New Zealand
LINZ Hydrographic Service are responsible for hydrographic surveying, production of nautical charts, and provision of tidal information covering the waters of New Zealand.Norway
The *Norwegian Hydrographic Service is responsible for hydrographic surveying and production of nautical charts covering the waters of Norway. Also operates the Primar ENC ServiceRepublic of Ireland
The Republic of Ireland is actively undertaking the largest civilian seabed mapping programme in the world, as a joint venture by the Marine Institute and the Geological Survey of Ireland. Total mapping coverage of the INSS to end of 2005 was 432,000 km² and taken along with an earlier DCENR Petroleum Affairs Division, over 81% of the Irish designated seabed area (at end 2005) has been mapped. The INtegrated Mapping FOr the Sustainable Development of Ireland’s MArine Resource (INFOMAR) programme is a successor to the Irish National Seabed Survey (INSS) and concentrates on creating a range of integrated mapping products of the physical, chemical and biological features of the seabed in the near-shore area. The programme is being funded by the Irish Government through the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources as part of the National Development Plan, 2007 – 2013 [11]. Data are passed on to the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) for subsequent production of nautical charts.Sweden
"Sjöfartsverket", Swedish Maritime Administration, includes the SwedishSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
national hydrographic organisation. Established in 1956 and governed by the Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications, Sjöfartsverket is responsible for most aspects of safe navigation in Sweden. This includes maintenance and marking of fairways, surveying and charting Swedish waters, pilotage, search-and-rescue (in cooperation with other organisations), ice-breaking, and safety inspections.
United Kingdom
The office of Hydrographer was created in 1795. Royal Navy charts and the related surveys were reputedly officially started as a result of the loss of AdmiralAdmiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Sir Cloudesley Shovell
Cloudesley Shovell
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell , was an English naval officer. Rising through the ranks and fighting in many of the important battles of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, he became a popular British hero, whose celebrated career was brought to an end in a disastrous shipwreck in...
on an uncharted reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
off the Scilly Isles
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
which happened in October 1707 (see main article Scilly naval disaster of 1707
Scilly naval disaster of 1707
Scilly naval disaster of 1707 is an umbrella term for the events of 22 October 1707 that led to the sinking of a British naval fleet off the Isles of Scilly. With four large ships and more than 1,400 sailors lost in stormy weather, it was one of the greatest maritime disasters in the history of...
).
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office
United Kingdom Hydrographic Office
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office is an organisation within the UK government responsible for providing navigational and other hydrographic information for national, civil and defence requirements...
(UKHO) is now a part of the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
rather than a naval department and is located in Taunton, Somerset, near Creechbarrow hill. It is best known for producing the well-known Admiralty chart
Admiralty chart
Admiralty charts are nautical charts issued by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office and subject to Crown Copyright. Over 3,000 charts are available and cover virtually the entire world in various levels of detail depending on the density of traffic and hazards...
series of nautical charts that covers almost every navigable stretch of water on Earth. The UKHO also calculates tide tables for the UK.
In contrast to the US government, all of whose creative work is placed into the public domain, British government policy requires agencies such as the UKHO and the Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
to be self-funding through the sale of the information they create. The Hydrographic Office therefore actively protects the copyright of all of its data including paper charts, electronic charts, tidal data and other data and has been known to take measures to ensure that its copyrighted information is used appropriately.
UKHO attracted worldwide attention in February 2005 when it published in-depth pictures of the ocean floor in the vicinity of the Indian ocean tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
disaster of December 26, 2004.
United States
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the Survey of the Coast (America's first scientific agency) was established through an 1807 Congressional resolution and signed into law by President Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
. It subsequently became the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1878, and incorporated the Coast and Geodetic Survey Corp in 1917. (Surveyors who were commissioned officers could not be shot as spies if captured during time of war.) The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey was eventually incorporated into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
(NOAA) when it was formed in 1970. NOAA's Office of Coast Survey is the national Hydrographic Office of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Non-domestic hydrographic and bathymetric surveys are conducted by the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office
Naval Oceanographic Office
The Naval Oceanographic Office , located at John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi, comprises approximately 1,000 civilian, military and contract personnel responsible for providing oceanographic products and services to all elements within the Department of Defense.Valued by maritime...
, which started with the establishment of the Depot of Charts and Instruments in 1830 that by 1854 was designated the U.S. Naval Observatory and Hydrographical Office. The hydrographic portion became the U.S. Naval Hydrographic Office under the Hydrographer of the Navy. With the popularization of oceanography in the early 1960s (partly due to President Kennedy's interest) the name was changed to the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office
Naval Oceanographic Office
The Naval Oceanographic Office , located at John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi, comprises approximately 1,000 civilian, military and contract personnel responsible for providing oceanographic products and services to all elements within the Department of Defense.Valued by maritime...
in 1962. That office, as a matter of historical and semantic interest, and the U.S. Naval Observatory are still part of the command overseen by the "Oceanographer of the Navy" with headquarters at the Naval Observatory.
External links
- International Hydrographic Organization
- Australian Hydrographic Office
- Hong Kong Hydrographic Office
- Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department (Japan)
- Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie (Germany)
- United Kingdom Hydrographic Office
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (United States)
- Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada (Chile)
- Sjöfartsverket (Sweden)
- Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine (France)
- Canadian Hydrographic Service
- Primar ENC Service
- Hydrography division of Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen (Denmark)
- Hellenic Navy Hydrographic Service