As the new year approaches, NOAA ships and independent contractors are preparing for the nation’s 177th hydrographic surveying season, aiming to collect critically needed ocean and coastal mapping data for 2,525 square nautical miles in high-traffic coastal waters of the continental United States and Alaska. The 2011 surveys will acquire data to update the country’s nautical charts, especially where marine transportation dynamics are changing rapidly. For instance, NOAA Ships Fairweather and Rainier will survey the coasts of Alaska in areas increasingly transited by the offshore oil and gas industry, cruise liners, ferries, military craft, tugs and barges, fishing vessels and factory trawlers. Read More
