From the National Societies

Australasian Hydrographic Society

Change at the Top
Recently, Paul Hornsby stood down as President of the Australasian Hydrographic Society (AHS) in order to take up an overseas posting. The AHS Council was pleased to announce that Alec Millett has agreed to take over the role of President until the next AGM on 13 September 2010. Paul's tenure as President of AHS has been long, about eight years (plus an earlier period before its transformation in 2002). He saw the AHS through the difficult times of its hesitant and fledgling start as an entity in its own right, following the change of international arrangements. It has, of course, maintained its links to the then newly formed International Federation of Hydrographic Societies (IFHS) as a founding member of that body. Paul's personal contribution was extraordinary and his leadership significant.

Paul's time at the helm has been remarkable in many ways. His prodigious capacity for work saw the AHS grow in membership and scope, credit is due to Paul for the strength of the AHS Awards scheme, its relationships with its corporate members, its support for World Hydrography Day, the notable Hydro series conference in Cairns, its relationship with kindred societies and many other activities. Who can forget Paul's flair in pulling off the most remarkable event in the annals of hydrography at the first AHS Hydro Ball in Canberra when even the pollies were upstaged on their own night of nights. Or his ability to produce the Navy Band seemingly at a moment's notice! Paul has been the AHS representative of the IFHS and chaired that organisa-tion. Paul will take up a posting in the United States from February 2010. We wish him and his family safe travelling. They go with our very best wishes for a successful time with our American friends.  Paul has agreed to provide continuity by remaining to be the AHS alternate member on IFHS.

Alec Millett has had a long career in the hydrographic industry and has been active too in the AHS for various periods. He is presently Deputy Harbourmaster at the Port of Fremantle and is also the Chair of the West Australia Region as well as Chair of the organising committee for the international conference, Hydro'11 which will be held in Fremantle in 2011. Alec will become the AHS representative on the IFHS and looks forward to taking the tiller of AHS for the next period of its existence.

AHS Education Award
The Education Award Panel, Ron Furness, Mike Calder and Daniel Fitzhenry announce the winner of the Australasian Hydrographic Society Award for 2009.
 
The Society had a record number of applications this year and the topics covered a wide range of marine science subjects. The Panel have unanimously recommend Jacquomo Monk as the winner, carrying out research for a PhD at Deakin University.  The title of his research project is "Understanding demersal fish-habitat associations using video observations and sonar imaging".

 
New Zealand Region
The New Zealand region annual seminar will be held on 21 June at Trimble Navigation, Christchurch. This coincides with World Hydrography Day on 22 June 2010.
After lunch there will be a visit to Trimble's adjoining land-based test site to see how precise GPS is installed and used on excavators. Such systems are used for marine dredging and breakwater construction. The seminar precedes the NZ Region Hydrographic Society AGM which will be held at the end of the afternoon sessions. For further information contact Maurice Perwick on e-mail: [email protected] or visit the Hydrographic Society website; www.ahs.asn.au

East Australian Region
The East Australian Region is beginning to arrange its one day Seminar and dinner to be held at the Royal Automobile Club of Australia in Sydney on Monday 13 September 2010. It is hoped the Seminar will be as successful an event as the World Hydrography Day Seminar hosted by the EAR in June 09. Further details can be found on the Hydrographic Society websit www.ahs.asn.au.

West Australia Region
21 June 2010 is World Hydrography Day (WAR).  WAR is proposing a dinner with partners around this date possibly in co-operation with the Company of Master Mariners, Australia (their Federal Master is also in Perth).  Given that the 21st is a Monday, the most likely date for this dinner will be the Friday 19 June.

The Combined AHS/SUT AUV conference will again be on 28 October 2010; the AHS (WAR) has been honoured by the IFHS to host HYDRO11.  This international hydrographic conference will be held from 7 - 11 November 2011 at the Esplanade Hotel, Fremantle. Scott Elson and Cass Castalanelli have already been nominated for the organising committee and we will be seeking up to 4 members/volunteers to assist with the organising of this prestigious event.

Hydrographic Society Russia

New Atlas
HSR Council member Viktor Rybine had a meeting on 16 December 2009 in St. Petersburg with Dr. Rudolf Greku, an HSR member from Kiev (Ukraine) and scientist of the National Academy of Sciences Ukraine. Dr. Greku presented Viktor Rybine with a gift, an atlas entitled Atlas of the Antarctic deep structure with the Gravimetric Tomography, by R.H. Greku, P.F. Gozhik, V.A. Litvinov, V.P. Usenko, and T.R. Greku; published in Kiev, 2009, 67 pages.

The atlas contains results of modeling of a deep structure of the Antarctic Region and regions of the Southern ocean. The initial data are spherical harmonics of global geoid EGM96 model. Density heterogeneity are designed using a method of gravimetric tomography. 3D images of vertical and lateral sections at various depths have been submitted.

HSR rewards young hydrographers
On 22 January 2010 a graduation ceremony for young hydrograph-ers took place in the ancient building housing the Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy (SMA) of the Russian Transport Ministry on Vasiljevsky Island in St.Petersburg. A few days earlier, Dr. Andrey Aphonin, the Director of the SMA Arctic faculty that educates hydrography specialists, addressed the HSR Council requesting that two graduates be rewarded with the honorary Professor Belobrov diploma. This year they were: Eugeny Tarasenkov and Aleksey Chulkov. They have shown devotion to their studies and the aspiration to master the hydrographic profession. Both secured their degree work very well. During the ceremony, HSR President Dr. Nikolay N. Neronov awarded the two graduates.