As it Is

New Zealand is a small country located in a vast ocean. Its hydrographic responsibilities cover 18 million square kilometres reaching from the shores of Antarctica to the Tokelaus and from the middle of the Tasman Sea to the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Much of the seabed lies at depths of 2,500 to 5,000 metres outside the continental shelf. Closer inshore it ranges from very shallow to deep trenches of 2,000 metres or more. The geography of the sea floor is complex, with a large number of undersea volcanoes, sea mounts and fracture zones. Many are yet to be discovered and charted.

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) became responsible for national hydrography in 1996. It took over from the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) who had held the role since 1949. LINZ introduced an outsourcing model that saw production activities such as surveying, cartography, warehousing and distribution devolved to organisations like the RNZN, the National Institute of Water and Atmospherics
(NIWA) and Hydrographic Sciences of Australia (HSA). It retained responsibility for government policy, the purchase of national hydrographic services, annual programmes, strategic development and standards. The move was radical and regarded with a degree of scepticism by some. Nevertheless, it has worked well and significant efficiency gains have been made. The principle suppliers have all successfully adapted to the new regime and significantly enhanced their own production capabilities.

Five challenges face New Zealand hydrographers in the coming years. The first is to align standards with open conventions such as those of the International Standards Organisation, the Open GIS Consortium and the Australia New Zealand Land Information Council. A five-year rolling survey programme has been developed that takes into account the risk to mariners, deeper draughts of the latest ships and international obligations. MBES is generating enormous amounts of new data that needs to be managed and preserved. LINZ has collected 102 billion soundings in the last four years and expects to have 192 billion by 2005. Consequently there is a need to implement a data infrastructure for archiving and dissemination. An ENC programme has been developed to replace RNCs. Vector charts are likely to be available through the Internet in an unencrypted form. The naming of features and their extents has become an important issue for a bicultural society.

During February and March of 2004 LINZ will undertake its second major survey in the Ross Sea. This will enlarge the coverage of the seabed between Capes Hallet and Adair in the Ross Sea. If time permits, further work will be carried out around the Balleny Islands. This work will be undertaken by NIWA under the supervision of a RNZN hydrographer. Conditions range from clear open seas and mild weather through to severe ice and storms. There is a need to ensure the safety of the crew through rugged equipment, a warm ship and, in the worst case, back-up survival systems. The reward will be charts of areas that have never been surveyed before.

John Spittal, Chief Topographer / Hydrographer, National Topographic / Hydrographic Authority, Land Information New Zealand