The Southern Florida Shallow-water Coral Ecosystem Mapping Implementation Plan (MIP) discusses the need to produce shallow-water (~0-40 m; 0-22 fm) benthic habitat and bathymetric maps of critical areas in southern Florida and moderate-depth (~40-200 m; 22 -109 fm) bathymetric maps for all of Florida. The ~0-40 m depth regime generally represents where most hermatypic coral species are found and where most direct impacts from pollution and coastal development occur. The plan was developed with extensive input from over 90 representatives of state regulatory and management agencies, federal agencies, universities, and non-governmental organizations involved in the conservation and management of Florida’s coral ecosystems. Southern Florida’s coral ecosystems are extensive. They extend from the Dry Tortugas in the Florida Keys as far north as St Lucie Inlet on the Atlantic Ocean coast and Tarpon Springs on the Gulf of Mexico coast. Using 10 fm (18 m) depth curves on nautical charts as a guide, southern Florida has as much as 84 percent (30,801 sq km) of 36,812 sq km of potential shallow-water (<10 fm; <18 m) coral ecosystems the tropical and subtropical U.S. Moreover, southern Florida’s coral ecosystems contribute greatly to the regional economy. Coral ecosystem-related expenditures generated $4.4 billion in sales, income, and employment and created over 70,000 full-time and part-time jobs in the region during the recent 12-month periods when surveys were conducted.

Mapping southern Florida's shallow-water coral ecosystems : an implementation plan

With the development of hydrographic work and information techniques, the traditional work mode is not suitable for the Chinese Marine Safety Administration Bureau (CMSAB). Aiming at the separation of charts production and management, a new idea that is the integration of production, management, and quality control is presented. Geographic Information System (GIS), Management Information System (MIS), Office Automation (OA) and Spatial Database Management (SDM) advanced techniques are introduced into the workflows in CMSAB. To realize information sharing, a mixed mode with Browser/Server (B/S) mode and Client/Serve (C/S) mode are adopted. Based on the above ideas and strategies, an integrated system named Hydrographic Production And Management Information System (HYPAMIS) was developed. The whole workflow and three subworkflows including survey management workflow, production workflow, and quality control workflow of are outlined after re-engineering the CMSAB organization. Some design principles and key ...

Design and Implementation of the Hydrographic Production and Management Information System (HYPAMIS)

........................................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................................................... v CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................................ vi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................. x LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................... xvi LIST OF ACRONYMS ....................................................................................................................... xvi

Novel real-time adaptive control of multiple co-located acoustic sensors for ocean mapping and other hydrographical applications

In meeting the demands for surveying and updating nautical charts for much of the coastal waters of the United States of America, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has increased their use of industry-provided (out-sourced) services in recent years. In meeting the requirements for the acquisition of Multibeam and Sidescan Sonar Data to NOAA hydrographic standards, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has demonstrated that industry can respond as a "partner" to NOAA. SAIC was the first company to conduct out-sourced multibeam hydrographic surveys for NOAA in 1995, in Long Island Sound. In 1998, work began on the Approaches to Galveston, in the Gulf of Mexico. Work in the Gulf was successfully completed early 2000, and work began on the Northeast United States program in the spring of 2000. The shallow water multibeam and sidescan sonar systems were integrated into the SAIC-developed data acquisition and processing system known as the Integrated Survey System 2000 (ISS-2000). The ISS-2000 and SAIC's operational procedures were modified specifically to meet stringent International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) standards and NOAA requirements for sounding traceability. Since 1995, SAIC has applied lessons learned from the first survey, and emphasized the introduction of newer forms of technology to increase efficiency end reduce the cost to NOAA. This paper discusses the rationale for the decisions in designing the field survey procedures and methodology, and presents results from the surveys. The paper concludes that SAIC believe that a mutually beneficial relationship has been created between government and industry, which may serve as a viable model beyond the United States of America.

R.E. Evans

Papers

The outsourcing of hydrographic survey by NOAA: an industry perspective of a partnership in the making for the new millennium