Hydro International Columns

"It is on the Web" has become one of the most common responses that I hear whenever I ask for information about almost anything. The only problem with this has to be where on the Web? Typing the word ...

There is at present a huge rise in the tasks and responsibilities of most national Hydrographic Offices (HOs) world-wide. Most governments require them to undertake work related to both national respo...

Legislation varies from country to country, with respect to the definition of the maritime, fluvial and lacustrine spaces administered by the state. In general, the sea floor and the water column are ...

When I was asked to write an Insider’s View article for this issue, in my mind I thought that it might benefit a lot of institutions planning to offer hydrographic courses if I shared my experiences...

Increasing global environmental awareness means that endeavours impacting any geographical area are subject to cumbersome processes in order to get clearance from government and, often, non-government...

I have just been reading about and studying some of the recent offshore Oil and Gas Exploration licences, not just in the North Sea, but all over the world. It reminds me of two things, one how much t...

Some twenty years ago I was involved in a re-survey of Doubtful Sound, in the isolated Fiordland area of New Zealand. The existing chart dated from 1851 but was adequate for the small fishing vessels ...

Over the last few years it has become apparent to many in our profession that some form of recognised formal career development, above and beyond an initial degree or course of study, is becoming more...

This issue of Hydro international clearly demonstrates the level of effort and anticipation that is presently going into the development of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) for offshore marine su...

The offshore industry has a range of standards in common use. As survey contractors/subcontractors, how far should we aim for standardisation in the work we do and how much scope should we leave for d...

Traditionally the hydrographer, interested primarily in measuring the precise depth for charting purposes, suppressed acoustic ‘noise’ in the water column; now we realise what the ‘noise’ can ...

My colleague Peter Johnson presented a paper at this year’s Canadian Hydrographic Conference explaining how Australia is implementing Zones of Confidence in its charts. The Zones of Confidence (ZOC)...

The resolution of object detection in the world’s oceans has increased exponentially during the past century, supporting engineering design of complex seafloor structures and leading to new sci...

I was recently asked by Hydro international to answer, in the form of an Invited Reply, the question of why fewer people are choosing hydrographic surveying as a profession. Levels of students have di...

It has been long years since Japan started the hydrographic organisation now called Japan Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department, JHOD, in 1872. The primary functions of the organisation have not b...