The Rocknes Casualty 2004

A Chartmaker’s Retrospect

The MV Rocknes (about 17,000 GRT (Gross Register Tons), draught approximately 10.5m, see Figure 1), en route from Eikefet, Norway to Emden, Germany, hit a shoal in Vatlestraumen, Norway on 19 January 2004. The vessel carried a pilot from the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA). Soon after the grounding the ship capsized with the loss of 18 crew. 12 crew were rescued. Norwegian Hydrographic Service (NHS) was blamed for not publishing its knowledge of a presumed new shoal in the Vatlestraumen. Three subsequent lawsuits were necessary to establish a credible explanation of the accident’s root causes. 10 years after the serious... (read more)

2014-07-17 01:17:21

Oceanology International to have Three Points of Focus

When Oi08 opens at the ExCeL centre in London’s Docklands on 11 March, the exhibition and its accompanying conference will focus on the three important issues that have begun to dominate thinking in ocean science and technology: climate change, meeting future energy demands, and ensuring environmental and civil security. These have become interconnected issues, with expertise now moving freely between each of these apparently specialised sectors.<P> With a 3-day conference accompanying this major exhibition, it is almost inevitable that public concerns about climate change will attract considerable interest. The role of the oceans in global warming is likely to take... (read more)

2008-03-12 12:00:00

Bathymetry From Space

Global grids of synthetic bathymetry make it a simple matter to portray generalised ocean depths in all parts of the world, except the central Arctic Ocean. Derived from measurements of satellite height above the sea surface, synthetic bathymetry lacks the resolution and accuracy of acoustic soundings, plus it contains flaws that arise from measurement and computational processes. Users must therefore exercise care in the analysis and presentation of such information. In Part II of his satirical account Gulliver’s Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, Jonathan Swift described his protagonist’s thoughts after a close-up observation of the flawed complexions... (read more)

2008-01-19 12:00:00

A Life-changing Voyage

On New Year’s Day 1916, S. Davis Winship, a young Coast and Geodetic Survey (C&GS) officer, began a life-changing voyage, one that would take him far from his New England roots to a life in an exotic tropical land. Much of what follows is in Winship’s own words. Prior to embarking for the Philippine Islands, he had been in the C&GS for two years and had worked off the rocky shores of New England, the comparatively calm waters of Chesapeake Bay and the sounds of North Carolina, and in the deep, but pinnacle-studded, waters of Alaska’s Inside Passage. He arrived... (read more)

2017-05-16 03:11:52

Unravelling the Ridge and Rift

Missed Opportunities and Triumph

Following Maurice Ewing’s first cruise to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, two more were made by the end of the 1940s. The first of these was led by Ewing while the second was led by Bruce Heezen. Although Gunter Dietrich’s paper was referred to in the 1949 paper by Ivan Tolstoy and Ewing (see part I in last issue), neither seems to have comprehended its significance as he reported in the November 1949 National Geographic magazine: “Crossing the ridge, we drew a detailed profile of its peaks with our fathometer. Flanking the central highlands, we found deep trenches separating the main Ridge... (read more)

2014-10-15 02:53:21

‘Hydrography is Both a Science and a Technique’

7 Questions to the New Director General of the French Hydrographic Office

Chief weapons engineer Laurent Kerléguer was appointed director general of Shom, the French hydrographic office, in July 2019. In this interview, Hydro International asks him about the latest developments regarding the world of hydrography, climate change and artificial intelligence. “It’s becoming more urgent than ever to measure the ocean.” Chief weapons engineer Laurent Kerléguer was appointed director-general of Shom, the French hydrographic office, in July 2019. In this interview, Hydro International asks him about the latest developments regarding the world of hydrography, climate change and artificial intelligence. “It’s becoming more urgent than ever to measure the ocean.” Laurent Kerléguer was born in Brest, France, and has always lived by – or close to – the sea. Although he never had a ‘dream job’ as a child, he always had the feeling that his career would be linked to the sea. “For me as an engineer, hydrography is the perfect... (read more)

2019-10-29 11:34:23

Sediment Waves

Geohazard or Geofeature?

The term ‘sediment waves’ was fully established in a special issue of Marine Geology and refers to large-scale depositional bedforms in various parts of the world’s oceans. These undulating objects usually have tens of metres to a few kilometres in wavelength and a height of several metres. The genesis is believed to be a near-bottom current, a turbidite current or both. The main issue about the sedimentary wavy features was, and is, to distinguish them from soft sediment deformations (creep). The methods used for such determinations are accurate processing of seismic sections to reveal whether the faults are real, measuring... (read more)

2013-12-04 11:25:17

Waterside Mapping

Laser scanning and bathymetric side-scan sonar represent the cutting edge of environmental survey technology. Over the last few years, we have tested the integration of these two methodologies, carrying out a number of high-resolution surveys on the Po River, the Venice canals and various Italian harbours. Bathymetric surveys were conducted using a SEA SWATHplus-H wide-swath sonar. An Optech ILRIS-3D terrestrial laser scanner was used to scan the areas above water level. Information from these scans was used to create 3D black and white images (intensity images) of the surveyed area. In the case of the laser scanner, these images are... (read more)

2008-03-12 12:00:00

The Dawn of the Digital Age

How digital visual systems lower costs and improve efficiency

Traditionally, Video Inspection surveys have been performed by ROV using analogue CCD colour cameras, with the video pictures recorded to S-VHS videotapes. This technology has served the industry well for more than twenty years but technology moves on: the world watches films on DVD, digital video movie trailers can be viewed over the internet and 3G mobile phones allow digital video clips to be viewed on the move. We are about to witness the same paradigm shift in the way we handle video information as occurred twelve years ago when CD audio replaced analogue vinyl recordings. Digital video systems offer... (read more)

2008-01-01 01:00:00

GNSS: Hydrographic Perspectives (Part 2)

Developments in GNSS, Possibilities for Hydrography

Hydro International Interviews Gary Chisholm, Trimble, Paul Cross, UCL, Owen Goodman, Fugro and Peter Grognard, Septentrio<br /> <br /> When Hydro International interviewed a group of experts on developments in GNSS as related to the hydrographic profession, they responded with such enthusiasm that that we were forced by lack of space to publish the interview in two parts. Part 1, which concentrated on the new opportunities offered the surveyor by horizontal and vertical accuracy and the need for differential solutions, appeared in our October issue. We now present the second part of the interview. Can you briefly explain the possibilities/advantages... (read more)

2008-01-01 01:00:00