Alaska to be Resurveyed

NOAA's survey effort in the area began in 2006 with the Gulf of Esquilbel and has continued south over recent years. The first surveys of the area took place in the early 1900s. Depths were acquired with lead lines, a method that was accurate at the point of the sounding, but lacked information about the surrounding area.

Commissioned in 1968, Rainier is one of three ships in the NOAA fleet that conduct hydrographic surveys in support of the nautical charting mission of NOAA's Office of Coast Survey. Rainier last visited the area in 2009 before undergoing a year-long, USD13.1-million major repair period during which the ship was outfitted with up to date equipment to conduct its survey missions with even greater efficiency and accuracy.

Equipped with five 29-foot survey boats and high precision sonar and positioning equipment, Rainier is one of the most productive survey platforms of its type in the world. Rainier's crew of 50 is comprised of NOAA Corps officers and civilian wage mariners, both licensed and unlicensed. The ship typically operates eight to nine months of the year in the coastal waters of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.

To say that NOAA is going to resurvey Alaska is like saying we are setting up a hydrographic office on the moon. Alaska and Alaska waters is a big place and NOAA\'s yearly hydrographic surveys have been conducted there for 30 years or more. In time Alaska waters may be resurveyed but not by tomorrow as the title implies. Barry M. Lusk - 29/12/2011 - 17:03