My first experience in the navy with data collecting for oceanography was taking part in a MILOC-survey (military oceanography), near the Azores in the 1960s. It took us 24 hours to take water samples with Nansen-casts to the bottom, and a lot of laboratory work and hand-mechanical computation to analyse the water samples for salinity and to compute the associated depths. Everything was written down in logbooks. Nowadays, equipment is capable of a lot more and is much more efficient: in situ measurements of temperature, chlorophyll, nitrite, optical plankton counters, etc. etc., while results are often given by auto-analysers. Back then the first steps in remote sensing in that area was sea surface temperature measurement from an aircraft. Remote sensing now gives us not only an enormous amount of data but also increasing types of data (in future issues of Hydro International some articles will elaborate on this).
Data are collected for various reasons: scientific research, exploiting the oceans’ richness, military (see e.g. the article on ‘The Naval Oceanographic Office’). Collecting data is expensive and the situation described in the article ‘Physical Oceanography in Malaysian waters’ is not unique. Therefore initiatives, as described in the article ‘OceanNET’, will make it easier to improve our knowledge and understanding of our planet, which perhaps we wrongly called ‘Earth’ instead of ‘Ocean’. On climatology, the sailing yacht (www.vagabond.fr) which I mentioned in the previous issue did the NE-passage with little ice-problems: a glimpse of the future (changing climate)? I really hope that all data recorded in the past (not only mine) is made available for databases to be used for various purposes, including the better understanding of processes.
Surveyors, in general, experienced a busy time last year. As large projects have been postponed and with the pressure on oil prices, something has to happen, which will undoubtedly demand more survey effort in future. Realising that writing articles, besides a busy (surveying) job, takes time, I am now announcing the suggested themes for the year 2003. In planned chronological order they are: Current Profiling, ECDIS and ECS, Global Navigation and Hydrography, GIS in Hydrography, OI America, Hydrography for Ports and Harbours, Monitoring Networks, New Age Motion Sensors and Positioning Systems, Seismic in Hydrography, Hydrographic Software. To make this list complete, the coming 2002-themes also include Legal Aspects and Hydrography for Exploration.
There are at least two ways to give the Editor a difficult job. One way is, not having enough articles (so that you have to actively chase for authors). An even more difficult way is to have too many articles (you have to make decisions). I encourage you to give us a difficult time by contacting us if you intend to write an article. If your favourite theme is not listed or planned for later in the schedule, no problem. You will be aware that we always publish some articles which are outside the main theme so as to have something for everyone in the issue.
A change in the Hydro international team: due to lack of time, GertJan Riemersma has left the editorial board of which he was a member from the beginning. GertJan, thank you for all the effort you put into it, especially in the Product Surveys.