Electronic Navigational Charts and Tools to Fuel the New Blue Economy

Keywords: Navigation, Maritime, Blue Economy, Ports, Coastal Development, Bathymetry, Charts, Security
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Coast Survey (OCS) was created as the U.S. Coast Survey in 1807 to provide nautical charts to help the Nation with safe shipping, national defense, and maritime boundaries. Today, the Coast Survey maintains the nation’s nautical charts and publications for U.S. coasts and the Great Lakes, which over a thousand charts covering 95,000 miles of shoreline and 3.4 million square nautical miles of water. The Coast Survey’s products and services serve a dynamic consortium of customers and stakeholders like professional mariners, U.S. Coast Guard, port authorities, recreational boaters, and manufacturers. This study provides insights on the Coast Survey’s products and services that can aid geospatial communities and academia in monitoring, analyzing, and evaluating spatial and temporal relationships between disciplines like bathymetry, geomorphology, oceanography, and marine engineering. Nautical data and charts are vital to maintaining vessel traffic management, revitalizing maritime infrastructure, and empowering the Blue Economy. This study will provide an introduction to the Office of Coast Survey and its charting program, a history of nautical charting and mapping, and a summary of the new charting products and services from the Office of Coast Survey.