Administration and mandate
The CHS is administratively part of Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Oceans and Ecosystems Science Sector. According to mandated obligations of the Oceans Act and the Canada Shipping Act , the CHS is led by the Hydrographer General of Canada who is responsible for gathering, managing, transforming and disseminating bathymetric, hydrographic and nautical data and information into paper and electronic nautical charts, as well as publications and “hydrospatial” (blue geospatial) data and services, including updating services of: broadcast Navigational Warnings and/or Notices to Mariners; and, other publications, data and services of: Tide & Current Tables; water levels observations in near-real time, real-time and forecasting; Sailing Directions and hydrospatial dynamic data, products and services primarily for safe and efficient navigation in Canadian waters and much more.
CHS is responsible for leading and coordinating the Government of Canada's implementation of a Marine Spatial (Hydrospatial) Data Infrastructure (MSDI) as a key oceans and freshwater component of the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI). MSDI compatible and interoperable globally within the directions and framework of the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM). Feeding and guiding future needs and requirements, such as standard near real-time and real-time Hydrographic and Hydrospatial Dynamic Products, for safe and efficient navigation, and serve new technologies such as Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS); in close collaboration with Natural Resources Canada's (NRCan) Mapping and Earth Observation (CCMEO) Branch colleagues.
History
Prior to Confederation, responsibilities for hydrographic survey and chart production in British North America rested with the Royal Navy. [1]
In 1882, the loss of the steamship SS Asia on an uncharted shoal in Georgian Bay resulted in 150 fatalities and was Canada's worst maritime disaster at the time. On August 13, 1883, the Dominion government established the Georgian Bay Survey which was empowered by legislation with the responsibility to survey and chart navigable waters of Georgian Bay and Lake Huron.
Surveying and charting was extended to Canada's Pacific coast in 1891, tidal and current metering nationwide began in 1893, surveying and charting extended to the Maritimes by 1905, and water level gauging of the Great Lakes began in 1912. [1]
In 1904, a Privy Council order renamed the Georgian Bay Survey to the Hydrographic Survey of Canada with some modified responsibilities. In 1913 one of Canada's most famous hydrographic survey vessels, CSS Acadia was commissioned for use on the Atlantic coast. In 1928, the organization was renamed to the Canadian Hydrographic Service. Responsibility was extended on March 31, 1949, with the entry of Newfoundland into Confederation, with CHS taking over surveys and charting around the island of Newfoundland and the coast of Labrador from the Royal Navy. [1]
Technology
CHS is a world leader in the adoption of hydrographic survey technology, as well as in research and development. With responsibility for charting the world's longest coastline (243,792 kilometres) as well as 6.55 million square kilometres of continental shelf and territorial waters (second largest in the world), including extensive inland waterways such as the St. Lawrence Seaway, CHS maintains a world-record inventory of more than 1,000 published charts. As such, the organization was an early adopter of single-beam sonar, radio-navigation positioning systems, and computer processing and storage.
The joint Canada-U.S. DEW Line also necessitated innovative surveying techniques throughout remote northern areas in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in support of ships carrying logistics and construction material. CHS is one of the only hydrographic offices in the world with the capability to undertake Arctic surveying, frequently operating in waters that are frozen between 10 and 12 months of the year.
CHS has migrated from single-beam sonar to becoming a major user of multi-beam echo-sounder sonar systems coupled with GPS to achieve improved survey accuracies. CHS was also one of the first organizations in the world to develop airborne LiDAR technology, with the LARSEN-500 sensor being used for remote Arctic surveys. Survey data processing software provided by companies such as CARIS and Helical Systems, as well as the development of Oracle Spatial database storage, are spin-offs from research developments at CHS, and are now used throughout the world by other Hydrographic Offices and in the geo-spatial technology industry. CHS demonstrates international leadership in influencing, contributing, developing and adopting: hydrographic standards (S-100); crowd-sourced bathymetry (CSB); satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB); GEneral Bathymetric Charts of the Oceans (GEBCO) and the Seabed2030 project; autonomous hydrographic surface vehicles (AHSV); and the implementation of a Marine Spatial (Hydrospatial) Data Infrastructure (MSDI) as an Hydrospatial Office. CHS is also involved in the successful implementation of new technologies such as: autonomous hydrographic vehicles (surface, underwater, airborne and/or micro-satellites); Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS); and many more in the context of the emerging hydrographic and hydrospatial artificial intelligence within hydrospatial.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. As of November 2023, the IHO comprised 99 Member States.
Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary purpose of safety of navigation and in support of all other marine activities, including economic development, security and defense, scientific research, and environmental protection.
Echo sounding or depth sounding is the use of sonar for ranging, normally to determine the depth of water (bathymetry). It involves transmitting acoustic waves into water and recording the time interval between emission and return of a pulse; the resulting time of flight, along with knowledge of the speed of sound in water, allows determining the distance between sonar and target. This information is then typically used for navigation purposes or in order to obtain depths for charting purposes.
Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore wind farms, offshore oil exploration and drilling and related activities. Surveys may also be conducted to determine the route of subsea cables such as telecommunications cables, cables associated with wind farms, and HVDC power cables. Strong emphasis is placed on soundings, shorelines, tides, currents, seabed and submerged obstructions that relate to the previously mentioned activities. The term hydrography is used synonymously to describe maritime cartography, which in the final stages of the hydrographic process uses the raw data collected through hydrographic survey into information usable by the end user.
A hydrographic office is an organization which is devoted to acquiring and publishing hydrographic information.
Piloting or pilotage is the process of navigating on water or in the air using fixed points of reference on the sea or on land, usually with reference to a nautical chart or aeronautical chart to obtain a fix of the position of the vessel or aircraft with respect to a desired course or location. Horizontal fixes of position from known reference points may be obtained by sight or by radar. Vertical position may be obtained by depth sounder to determine depth of the water body below a vessel or by altimeter to determine an aircraft's altitude, from which its distance above the ground can be deduced. Piloting a vessel is usually practiced close to shore or on inland waterways. Pilotage of an aircraft is practiced under visual meteorological conditions for flight.
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues in Canadian waters, such as navigation aids and icebreaking, marine pollution response, and support for other Canadian government initiatives. The Coast Guard operates 119 vessels of varying sizes and 23 helicopters, along with a variety of smaller craft. The CCG is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, and is a special operating agency within Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The National Ocean Service (NOS) is an office within the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It is responsible for preserving and enhancing the nation's coastal resources and ecosystems along approximately 95,000 miles (153,000 km) of shoreline, that is bordering 3,500,000 square miles (9,100,000 km2) of coastal, Great Lakes and ocean waters. Its mission is to "provide science-based solutions through collaborative partnerships to address evolving economic, environmental, and social pressures on our oceans and coasts." The office works with partnered agencies to ensure that ocean and coastal areas are safe, healthy, and productive. It`s projects focus on working to ensure safe and efficient marine transportation, promoting the protection of coastal communities, conserving marine and coastal places. It employs 1,700 scientists, natural resource managers, and specialists in many different fields. The National Ocean Service was previously known as the National Ocean Survey until it was renamed in 1983.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and scientific interests in oceans and inland waters. Its mandate includes responsibility for the conservation and sustainable use of Canada's fisheries resources while continuing to provide safe, effective and environmentally sound marine services that are responsive to the needs of Canadians in a global economy.
A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the purpose, modified for the purpose or temporarily put into the service as a vessel of opportunity, and may be crewed, remotely operated, or autonomous. The size and equipment vary to suit the task and availability.
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) is the UK's agency for providing hydrographic and marine geospatial data to mariners and maritime organisations across the world. The UKHO is a trading fund of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and is located in Taunton, Somerset, with a workforce of approximately 900 staff.
Admiralty charts are nautical charts issued by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) and subject to Crown Copyright. Over 3,500 Standard Nautical Charts (SNCs) and 14,000 Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) are available with the Admiralty portfolio offering the widest official coverage of international shipping routes and ports, in varying detail.
A 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.
United States Coast Pilot is a ten-volume American navigation publication distributed yearly by the Office of Coast Survey, a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Ocean Service. The purpose of the publication is to supplement nautical charts of the waters of the United States.
NOAAS Thomas Jefferson is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hydrographic survey vessel in service since 2003. The ship was built for the United States Navy as USNS Littlehales (T-AGS-52) serving as one of two new coastal hydrographic survey vessels from 1992 until transfer to NOAA in 2003 when it was named after Founding Father and third U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson.
The Office of Coast Survey is the official chartmaker of the United States. It is an element of the National Ocean Service in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is part of the United States Department of Commerce.
Gerd F. Glang is a former NOAA Corps rear admiral who last served as the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Coast Survey. In this position, he also concurrently served as the U.S. National Hydrographer and as one of the commissioners of the Mississippi River Commission. He was appointed by Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank on August 13, 2012, after nomination by President Barack Obama, and confirmation by the U.S. Senate. He retired from the NOAA Corps on August 26, 2016 after over 32 years of combined uniformed service.
The Russian Hydrographic Service, full current official name Department of Navigation and Oceanography of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, is Russia's hydrographic office, with responsibility to facilitate navigation, performing hydrographic surveys and publishing nautical charts.
The Hydrographic Institute of the Republic of Croatia is a government agency responsible for providing hydrographic and marine geospatial data for the Republic of Croatia. The institute is located in Split, and covers scientific research and development, services related to the safety of navigation, the hydrographic-geodetic survey of the Adriatic sea, marine geodesy, design and publication of nautical charts and books, oceanographic research, and submarine geology research. The Croatian Hydrographic Institute is responsible for the development of navigational safety service in the Adriatic, within the worldwide navigational safety system, and in cooperation with the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, port authorities, the Croatian Navy, lighthouse authorities, and hydrographic offices of all maritime countries, following internationally agreed standards.
