Misplaced Pages

#886113

60-666: 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. The UKHO is responsible for operational support to the Royal Navy and other defence customers. Supplying defence and

120-691: A savant for the latter's surveying voyage to South America, Charles Darwin . After completing extensive surveys in South America he returned to Falmouth, Cornwall via New Zealand and Australia in 1836. By the time of Beaufort's retirement in 1855, the Chart Catalogue listed 1,981 charts and 64,000 copies of them had been issued to the Royal Navy . In the 1870s, the Royal Naval Surveying Service supported

180-489: A hazard to navigation such as rocks, shoals , reefs and other features that obstruct ship passage. Bottom measurements also include collection of the nature of the bottom as it pertains to effective anchoring. Unlike oceanography, hydrography will include shore features, natural and manmade, that aid in navigation. Therefore, a hydrographic survey may include the accurate positions and representations of hills , mountains and even lights and towers that will aid in fixing

240-473: A method of observation developed in earlier small-scale expeditions. To measure depth, the crew would lower a line with a weight attached to it until it reached the sea floor. The line was marked in 25 fathom intervals with flags denoting depth. Because of this, the depth measurements from the Challenger were at best accurate to 25 fathoms (150 feet), or about 46 metres. As the first true oceanographic cruise,

300-762: A motion in favour of the use of the Greenwich Meridian for (smaller scale) passage charts , suggesting that it should become mandatory within 15   years. In Britain, the Great Western Railway had standardised time by 1840 and in 1847 the Railway Clearing Union decreed that " GMT be adopted at all stations as soon as the General Post Office permitted it". The Post Office was by this time transmitting time signals from Greenwich by telegraph to most parts of

360-620: A pamphlet titled A System of national time and its application advocating three time zones across the country based on the Washington meridian , modifying this to four zones based on the Greenwich meridian in 1872. The first proposal for a consistent treatment of time worldwide was a memoir entitled " Terrestrial Time " by Sandford Fleming , at the time the chief engineer of the Canadian Pacific Railway , presented to

420-421: A preference for multi-use surveys, so that the same data collected for nautical charting purposes can also be used for bathymetric portrayal. Even though, in places, hydrographic survey data may be collected in sufficient detail to portray bottom topography in some areas, hydrographic charts only show depth information relevant for safe navigation and should not be considered as a product that accurately portrays

480-645: A range of cartographic and ENC training programmes delivered internationally to develop the core skills of marine cartography. Since 2015, the UKHO has supported the delivery of the Commonwealth Marine Economies (CME) Programme in partnership Cefas and NOC , a programme enabling Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to sustainably develop their marine economies. The UKHO publishes the Admiralty List of Lights and Fog Signals covering

540-571: A raster navigational chart service for Electronic Chart Display and Information System . This was followed in 2008 by ADMIRALTY Vector Chart Service, offering 15,750 fully vectorised Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) . The UKHO produces over 200 nautical publications, which are available as e-Nautical Publications or in the Digital Publications suite. Notable publications include Sailing directions (Pilots) , Tide tables , List of Radio Signals , List of Lights and Fog Signals and

600-621: A remit to gather and distribute charts to HM Ships. Within a year existing charts from the previous two centuries had been collated, and the first catalog published. The first chart produced under the direction of the Admiralty , was a chart of Quiberon Bay in Brittany , and it appeared in 1800. Under Captain Thomas Hurd the department received its first professional guidelines, and the first catalogs were published and made available to

660-640: A sectional flow rate of moving water through a section and or current. Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs) and are commonly used for hydrographic surveys - they are often equipped with some sort of sonar. Single-beam echosounders, multibeam echosounders , and side scan sonars are all frequently used in hydrographic applications. The knowledge gained from these surveys aid in disaster planning, port and harbor maintenance, and various other coastal planning activities. Hydrographic services in most countries are carried out by specialized hydrographic offices . The international coordination of hydrographic efforts lies with

SECTION 10

#1732772150887

720-488: A ship's position, as well as the physical aspects of the sea and seabed. Hydrography, mostly for reasons of safety, adopted a number of conventions that have affected its portrayal of the data on nautical charts. For example, hydrographic charts are designed to portray what is safe for navigation, and therefore will usually tend to maintain least depths and occasionally de-emphasize the actual submarine topography that would be portrayed on bathymetric charts . The former are

780-496: Is more commonly called hydrometry or hydrology . Hydrography of rivers and streams is also an integral part of water management. Most reservoirs in the United States use dedicated stream gauging and rating tables to determine inflows into the reservoir and outflows to irrigation districts, water municipalities and other users of captured water. River/stream hydrographers use handheld and bank mounted devices, to capture

840-421: Is to have first , a primary standard time, based on the prime meridian that is to be used for non-local purposes; second , to have twenty-four secondary standard times to govern local reckoning." There was discussion of setting zones as small as 10   minutes (2½°) (that's 10   minutes of time, not 10   minutes of arc/angular measure), but no motion was tabled, as there was little experience to guide

900-503: The Battle of Trafalgar . The astronomical day was shifted from noon, twelve hours after midnight, to midnight effective 1 January 1925 by a resolution of the newly formed International Astronomical Union . On 13 October 1884, the following resolution was not adopted: Twenty-one countries voted against the proposal, while three (France, Brazil, San Domingo) voted in favor. From the Act of

960-549: The Canadian Institute in 1876. This envisaged clocks showing 24-hour universal time with an extra dial having a local time rounded to the nearest hour. He also pointed out that many of the corrections for local mean time were greater than those involved in abandoning solar time . In 1878/79, he produced modified proposals using the Greenwich meridian. Fleming's two papers were considered so important that in June 1879

1020-494: The Challenger expedition , a scientific exercise that made many discoveries, laying the foundation of oceanography . The cruise was named after the mother vessel, HMS  Challenger . On her 68,890-nautical-mile (127,580 km) circumnavigation of the globe, 492 deep sea soundings, 133 bottom dredges, 151 open water trawls and 263 serial water temperature observations were taken. The Challenger crew used

1080-630: The International Hydrographic Organization . The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office is one of the oldest, supplying a wide range of charts covering the globe to other countries, allied military organizations and the public. In the United States, the hydrographic charting function has been carried out since 1807 by the Office of Coast Survey of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within

1140-522: The Mariner's Handbook . The UKHO also offers astronomical publications from HM Nautical Almanac Office , including The Nautical Almanac and The Astronomical Almanac , among others. Today, the UKHO has expertise in areas such as bathymetry, oceanography, geodesy and data science. It provides advice on technical aspects of Law of the Sea , specialising in maritime limits and boundaries . It also delivers

1200-540: The Naval Observatory, Washington and British Astronomer Royal , George Airy who had both established wire services supporting local time in various cities. The Naval Observatory had also foiled the onward transmission of the Greenwich time signal from Harvard , where it was received via transatlantic cable and used to time a time ball in Boston . The International Meridian Conference had its origins in

1260-742: The RMS ; Titanic in 1912, the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention was established, as well as the introduction of ice reporting and forecasting. During World War I , while Rear-Admiral Sir John F. Parry was Hydrographer of the Navy, the Hydrographic Office produced numerous new charts and products to support the Royal Navy. Following the war, the First International Hydrographic Conference

SECTION 20

#1732772150887

1320-403: The Royal Navy as its prime customer by supplying hydrographic and geospatial data. The UKHO's products and services are sold to merchant mariners and leisure users through its commercial branch. In addition to traditional paper nautical charts and publications, the range has expanded to include a number of digital products and services. In 1996, the UKHO developed ADMIRALTY Raster Chart Service,

1380-531: The U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . International Meridian Conference The International Meridian Conference was a conference held in October 1884 in Washington, D.C. , in the United States , to determine a prime meridian for international use. The conference was held at the request of U.S. President Chester A. Arthur . The subject to discuss

1440-520: The anti-meridian of Greenwich was not supported by the British delegation. In the end, the pragmatic argument for continuity with most nautical charts won the day and the French delegation abstained in the vote. On the question of universal time, Fleming's opinion to one of the lead-up committees was borne out: "In my judgment, the nearest approach to it which may be attempted with any chance of success,

1500-422: The mariner 's tools to avoid accident. The latter are best representations of the actual seabed, as in a topographic map, for scientific and other purposes. Trends in hydrographic practice since c. 2003–2005 have led to a narrowing of this difference, with many more hydrographic offices maintaining "best observed" databases, and then making navigationally "safe" products as required. This has been coupled with

1560-715: The Admiralty Board during this period included: Rear-Admiral John Washington , Rear-Admiral George Henry Richards , Captain Sir Frederick J. O. Evans and Rear-Admiral Sir William J. L. Wharton . During Rear-Admiral A. Mostyn Field's term as Hydrographer to the Admiralty Board, the Hydrographic Office lent instruments to the Nimrod Expedition of the British Antarctic Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton in 1907. Following

1620-729: The British Government forwarded copies to eighteen foreign countries and to various scientific bodies in England. At the same time the American Metrological Society produced a "Report on Standard Time" by Cleveland Abbe , chief of the United States Weather Service proposing essentially the same scheme. These proposals did not meet universal approval in the scientific community, being opposed by John Rodgers , Superintendent of

1680-509: The Challenger expedition established an entire academic and research discipline. During the late 19th century, the UKHO took part in several international conferences, including the International Meridian Conference to determine a prime meridian for international use and other conferences working towards the establishment of a permanent international commission concerning hydrographic matters. Hydrographers to

1740-587: The Conference the Delegates were: The main issue at the conference, apart from procedural issues such as the provision of an authorized French translation of the proceedings, was France's insistence that the meridian should have a strictly neutral character in the same way that they maintained that the metre was a neutral measure. This requirement conflicted with the need to base measurements on an established observatory on land and Fleming's proposal of using

1800-437: The Greenwich meridian as the beginning of the universal day until 1911. Even then it refused to use the name "Greenwich", instead using the term "Paris mean time, retarded by 9   minutes and 21   seconds". France finally replaced this phrase with "Coordinated Universal Time" (UTC) in 1978. Resolution 4 expressly exempts standard time from the universal day. Although two delegates, including Sandford Fleming , proposed

1860-677: The Information Fair Trader Scheme Report on the UKHO in April 2011 it states that the UKHO data will not be included in the Public Data Corporation to make government owned data more freely available, but it does recommend that the "UKHO should consider the introduction of a Free Navigational Licence" for non-commercial or low value use, consistent with its treatment of non-navigational use. Hydrography The origins of hydrography lay in

United Kingdom Hydrographic Office - Misplaced Pages Continue

1920-634: The President to call an international conference to fix on a common prime meridian for time and longitude throughout the world. On 11 October 1883, a convention of railroad executives met in Chicago and agreed to the implementation of five time zones in North America, using as a basis Greenwich Mean Time. Before the invitations to the Washington conference were sent out on 1   December,

1980-646: The Third International Geographical Congress held in Venice in 1881, in which the establishment of a universal prime meridian and a uniform standard of time was high on the agenda. The Seventh International Geodesic Conference in Rome in October   1883 then thrashed out most of the technical details, leaving the diplomatic agreements to a later conference. The United States passed an Act of Congress on 3 August 1882 authorizing

2040-458: The actual shape of the bottom. The soundings selected from the raw source depth data for placement on the nautical chart are selected for safe navigation and are biased to show predominantly the shallowest depths that relate to safe navigation. For instance, if there is a deep area that can not be reached because it is surrounded by shallow water, the deep area may not be shown. The color filled areas that show different ranges of shallow water are not

2100-420: The adoption of standard time by all nations, other delegates objected, stating that it was outside the purview of the conference, so neither proposal was subjected to a vote. Thus the conference did not adopt any time zones , contrary to popular belief. Regarding resolution 6: Great Britain had already shifted the beginning of the nautical day from noon, twelve hours before midnight, to midnight in 1805, during

2160-531: The age of 55, Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort became Hydrographer. During his time as Hydrographer, he developed the eponymous Scale , saw the introduction of official tide tables in 1833 and instigated various surveys and expeditions. Several of these were by HMS  Beagle , including one to Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia in 1826. In 1831 Captain Beaufort informed Captain FitzRoy that he had found

2220-536: The best data available and will caveat its nature in a caution note or in the legend of the chart. A hydrographic survey is quite different from a bathymetric survey in some important respects, particularly in a bias toward least depths due to the safety requirements of the former and geomorphologic descriptive requirements of the latter. Historically, this could include echosoundings being conducted under settings biased toward least depths, but in modern practice hydrographic surveys typically attempt to best measure

2280-430: The commercial shipping industry, they help ensure Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) , protect the marine environment and support the efficiency of global trade. The UKHO also produces Admiralty charts , providing SOLAS-compliant charts, publications and digital services for ships trading internationally. The Admiralty 's first Hydrographer was Alexander Dalrymple , appointed in 1795 on the order of King George III and

2340-424: The country to set the clocks. By January   1848, Bradshaw's railway guide showed the unified times and met with general approval, although legal disputes meant that it was not until 1880 that GMT was formally established across the UK. In the United States, the problems were much more severe, with one table showing over 100 local times varying by more than 3   hours. In 1870, Charles F. Dowd published

2400-507: The data are interchangeable, but marine hydrographic data will be particularly directed toward marine navigation and safety of that navigation. Marine resource exploration and exploitation is a significant application of hydrography, principally focused on the search for hydrocarbons . Hydrographical measurements include the tidal , current and wave information of physical oceanography. They include bottom measurements, with particular emphasis on those marine geographical features that pose

2460-403: The depths observed, with the adjustments for navigational safety being applied after the fact. Hydrography of streams will include information on the stream bed, flows , water quality and surrounding land. Basin or interior hydrography pays special attention to rivers and potable water although if collected data is not for ship navigational uses, and is intended for scientific usage, it

United Kingdom Hydrographic Office - Misplaced Pages Continue

2520-581: The entire world, and produced over 130,000 charts annually, of which about half were sold. The word hydrography comes from the Ancient Greek ὕδωρ ( hydor ), "water" and γράφω ( graphō ), "to write". Large-scale hydrography is usually undertaken by national or international organizations which sponsor data collection through precise surveys and publish charts and descriptive material for navigational purposes. The science of oceanography is, in part, an outgrowth of classical hydrography. In many respects

2580-495: The equivalent of contours on a topographic map since they are often drawn seaward of the actual shallowest depth portrayed. A bathymetric chart does show marine topology accurately. Details covering the above limitations can be found in Part ;1 of Bowditch's American Practical Navigator . Another concept that affects safe navigation is the sparsity of detailed depth data from high resolution sonar systems. In more remote areas,

2640-494: The establishment of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office , Royal Navy captains were responsible for the provision of their own charts. In practice this meant that ships often sailed with inadequate information for safe navigation, and that when new areas were surveyed, the data rarely reached all those who needed it. The Admiralty appointed Alexander Dalrymple as Hydrographer in 1795, with

2700-464: The existing charts were brought together and catalogued. The first chart Dalrymple published as Hydrographer to the Admiralty (of Quiberon Bay in Brittany ) did not appear until 1800. He also issued Sailing Directions and Notices to Mariners (NMs) . Dalrymple was succeeded on his death in 1808 by Captain Thomas Hurd , under whose stewardship the department was given permission to sell charts to

2760-588: The first side-scan sonar of Mount's Bay, Cornwall, in 1987. The work has since been continued by the Bulldog-class survey vessels which form the "Hydrographic Squadron". In 1994, the Hydrographer of the Navy also became the Chief Executive of UKHO and the post was held by Rear-Admiral Nigel R. Essenhigh (1994–1996) and Rear-Admiral John P. Clarke (1996–2001). The UKHO continues to serve

2820-616: The joint efforts of Abbe, Fleming and William Frederick Allen, Secretary of the US railways' General Time Convention and Managing Editor of the Travellers' Official Guide to the Railways , had brought the US railway companies to an agreement which led to standard railway time being introduced at noon on 18 November 1883 across the nation. Thus, a strong sense of fait accompli preceded the Washington conference, although setting local times

2880-402: The making of charts to aid navigation, by individual mariners as they navigated into new waters. These were usually the private property, even closely held secrets, of individuals who used them for commercial or military advantage. As transoceanic trade and exploration increased, hydrographic surveys started to be carried out as an exercise in their own right, and the commissioning of surveys

2940-502: The only available depth information has been collected with lead lines. This collection method drops a weighted line to the bottom at intervals and records the depth, often from a rowboat or sail boat. There is no data between soundings or between sounding lines to guarantee that there is not a hazard such as a wreck or a coral head waiting there to ruin a sailor's day. Often, the navigation of the collecting boat does not match today's GPS navigational accuracies. The hydrographic chart will use

3000-611: The profits it makes. The UKHO grants six different licences, according to the use of the product. Whilst it generally allows use for non-navigational, non-commercial or low value purposes free of charge (over 80% of licences), where licensing is for use in a commercial product, a licence fee is charged. The UKHO is committed to the Information Fair Traders Scheme and makes available for reuse those data that are collected as part of its Public Task, which do not include third party Intellectual Property Rights. In

3060-402: The public and to other nations as well. In 1829, Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort , as Hydrographer, developed the eponymous Scale , and introduced the first official tide tables in 1833 and the first " Notices to Mariners " in 1834. The Hydrographic Office underwent steady expansion throughout the 19th century; by 1855, the Chart Catalogue listed 1,981 charts giving a definitive coverage over

SECTION 50

#1732772150887

3120-466: The public in 1821. In 1819, Captain Hurd entered into a bi-lateral agreement with Denmark to exchange charts and publications covering areas of mutual interest. This is thought to be the earliest formal arrangement for the mutual supply of information between the British and any foreign Hydrographic Office. Hurd developed the specialism of Royal Navy hydrographic surveyors. Rear-Admiral Sir W. Edward Parry

3180-484: The whole world in 12 volumes. The information is also available in digital form. The UKHO is the government department responsible for charting the seas. It is part of the Ministry Of Defence, and operates as a trading fund , enabling it to be self-funding through sale of products and licensing of data. The UKHO sources much of its information from foreign governments to whom it pays royalty fees funded by

3240-644: Was appointed Hydrographer in 1823 after his second expedition to discover a Northwest Passage . In 1825 some 736 charts and coastal views were being offered for sale by the Hydrographic Office. In 1828 Captain Parry and the Royal Society organised a scientific voyage to the South Atlantic , in collaboration with the Hydrographers of France and Spain, using HMS  Chanticleer . In 1829, at

3300-654: Was designed by the Chief Draughtsman, Mr Jowsey. In 1968, compilation staff were transferred from Cricklewood to Taunton, thus bringing together the main elements of the Hydrographic Office. A purpose-built office, named after Alexander Dalrymple, was opened. Metrication and computerisation of charts began in the later 1960s and early 1970s under the leadership of Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund G. Irving (1960–1966), Rear-Admiral George Stephen Ritchie (1966–1971), Rear-Admiral Geoffrey P. D. Hall (1971–1975) and Rear-Admiral Sir David W. Haslam (1975–1985). For centuries, data

3360-534: Was held in London. It led to the establishment in 1921 of the International Hydrographic Organization . In the 1930s, the systematic and regular collection of oceanographic and naval meteorological data started. In the Second World War , while led by Vice-Admiral Sir John A. Edgell, chart printing moved to Creechbarrow House in Taunton in June 1941. This was the first purpose-built chart making factory, and

3420-451: Was increasingly done by governments and special hydrographic offices. National organizations, particularly navies , realized that the collection, systematization and distribution of this knowledge gave it great organizational and military advantages. Thus were born dedicated national hydrographic organizations for the collection, organization, publication and distribution of hydrography incorporated into charts and sailing directions. Prior to

3480-452: Was mainly collected using ordinary Royal Navy ships. In 1953, the first purpose-built survey vessel was launched: HMS  Vidal . With the use of the echo sounder and other electronic equipment in the 20th century, there was a big increase in the quantity and quality of the data collected. The technology used to collect data also improved with the first commercial use of multibeam survey technology in 1977; HMS  Bulldog undertook

3540-541: Was not part of the remit of the conference and it was not legally established until 1918. Twenty-six countries, represented by 41 delegates, participated in the conference: On 22 October 1884, the following resolutions were adopted by the conference (voting took place on 13 October): Resolution 2, fixing the meridian at Greenwich, was passed 22–1 (San Domingo, now the Dominican Republic , voted against); France and Brazil abstained. The French did not adopt

3600-540: Was the choice of "a meridian to be employed as a common zero of longitude and standard of time reckoning throughout the world". It resulted in the recommendation of the Greenwich Meridian as the international standard for zero degrees longitude . By the 1870s there was pressure both to establish a prime meridian for worldwide navigation purposes and to unify local times for railway timetables. The first International Geographical Congress , held in Antwerp in 1871, passed

#886113