Office of Coast Survey

Providing Navigation Support Providing Navigation Support for Growth in the Arctic Maritime Economy for Growth in the Arctic Maritime Economy

Crescent MoeglingNorthwest Navigation Manager, Office of Coast Survey

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Office of Coast Survey

Coast Survey is the nation’s nautical chart maker

Traditional paper charts

Electronic navigational charts

Office of Coast Survey

NOAA charts cover U.S. coastal waters

U.S. marine transportation system:95,000 miles of coastline

25,000 miles of navigable channels

U.S. EEZ is 3.4 million square nautical miles

Office of Coast Survey

NOAA charts are the source of all U.S. nautical charts

Commercial vessels called on U.S. ports 63,000 times in 2010.

Every vessel is required to carry nautical charts.

10 million U.S. residents sailed on a cruise in 2010.

Every cruise ship must use nautical charts.

Office of Coast Survey

Mariners have trusted Coast Survey for over two centuries

• First science agency of the U.S., formed in 1807• Surveys 3.4 million square nautical miles• Creates and updates over 1,000 nautical charts• Speeds re-opening of ports after hurricanes and

other disasters• Develops hydrodynamic models for coastal

management• Provides global hydrographic leadership

Office of Coast Survey

Advanced technologies to acquire hydrographic data

RainierNewport, OR1968, MRP 2010-11

FairweatherKetchikan, AK1968, 2010

Thomas JeffersonNorfolk, VA1992

Bay Hydro IISilver Spring, MD

2008

HasslerNew Hampshire

2012

King Air 2009

Six Navigation Response

Teams

Office of Coast Survey

“Seeing” the seafloor

• Deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers.

Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences that:

Office of Coast Survey

National Policy guides NOAA in the Arctic• Presidential Executive Order (July 2010)

– “Address environmental stewardship needs in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent coastal areas in the face of climate-induced and other environmental changes.”

– “Implement comprehensive integrated ecosystem-based coastal and marine spatial planning in the United States.”

• NOAA Arctic Vision and Strategy (February 2011)

– Enhance international & national partnerships. Share data and observational platforms.

– Advance resilient and healthy Arctic communities and economies. Improve safe navigation, oil spill response readiness, geospatial infrastructure, and climate change adaption strategies.

Office of Coast Survey

Office of Coast Survey

Alaska accounts for 63% of U.S. “navigationally significant waters”

In square nautical miles

Office of Coast Survey

Comparison of Alaska and the contiguous states shows the extent of historical survey coverage

Office of Coast Survey

Preparing for new Arctic routes

Office of Coast Survey

NOAA recently updated Arctic charting priorities

• 14 new charts planned• Seeking views of

maritime interests

http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/mcd/docs/Arctic_Nautical_Charting_Plan.pdf

Office of Coast Survey

Marine traffic drives new chart coverage

Office of Coast Survey

Example of harbor scale charts

Office of Coast Survey

Chart 16161:Kotzebue Harbor and Approaches

• Based on a large survey conducted by NOAA Ship Fairweather, summer, 2011

• Published in April 2012 – 1:50,000 scale

• Previously, the largest scale chart available was 1:700,000

Office of Coast Survey

New charts are planned as data becomes available

Office of Coast Survey

Recon surveys in 2012• Fairweather checked

sparse soundings acquired by early U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey field parties and by other agencies.

• The vessel traveled along a 1,500 nautical mile coastal corridor from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, to the Canadian border.

Office of Coast Survey

Crew saw the beauty of the Arctic

Office of Coast Survey

Office of Coast Survey

Office of Coast Survey

An example of Fata Morgana – an Artic mirage

Office of Coast Survey

A “ghost ship”??

Office of Coast Survey

Office of Coast Survey

Navigation response in the Arctic?

Office of Coast Survey

NOAA navigation products are used in response to oil spills

Office of Coast Survey

Could we respond to a major event in the Arctic?

• Improving geospatial infrastructure• Correcting meters-level positioning errors• Increasing tide, current, and water-level coverage• Updating shoreline and hydrographic data• Producing new nautical charts

NOAA must tackle substantial hydrographic, cartographic, and geospatial tasks in Alaska. These tasks include:

Office of Coast Survey

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