Charting a Course into the Digital Era: Guidance for NOAA's Nautical Charting Mission (1994)

Although the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has the primary responsibility for charting the nation's waters, other federal agencies conduct activities that intersect with NOAA in this area. Following is a brief description of these other federal activities and roles.

In 1972, the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) was established to consolidate the various unique mapping organizations in each of the nation's military departments. DMA provides mapping, charting, and geodetic information to all elements of the Department of Defense to ensure the highest state of operational readiness of the U.S military forces and their navigation, weapon, and command and control systems. DMA also has statutory responsibilities to support the civilian sector, particularly with respect to nautical information.

DMA maintains a worldwide nautical chart portfolio for defense use and produces nautical charts of waters other than those of the United States or its territories, which are the responsibility of the National Ocean Service. DMA contributes to the maintenance of the NOAA chart data base and is the largest single customer for NOAA charts.

Nautical charts require frequent correction in order to support safe navigation, and DMA has assumed the responsibility on behalf of both agencies for disseminating corrections for both sets of charts through weekly Notices to Mariners. In addition, DMA as part of an international radio warnings service is responsible for preparing coastal and high seas navigational radio warnings, and is the coordinator of two of the sixteen Navigational Warning areas that cover the world.

Although DMA's charting mission is to respond to Department of Defense requirements, DMA's statutory responsibility to the civil sector requires that it make available to the mariner in general products such as nautical charts and Notices to Mariners that enhance maritime safety. DMA provides these services through the commercial sales agent network managed by NOAA.

The production of nautical charts involves collection of data from many sources. Because DMA's charting focus is on non-U.S. waters, the majority of its charts are based on information received from the national hydrographic authorities of other nations. To facilitate this, DMA shares with NOAA the role of National Representative to the International Hydrographic Organization, which allows the United States to benefit from the free exchange of hydrographic information with 57 other countries. Further, all member

states of the International Hydrographic Organization collect data and produce charts to agreed-upon international standards, which provide quality control.

When surveys of foreign waters are required, DMA normally relies on the Navy for data collection, or may contract with NOAA, if necessary. When surveys of U.S. waters are needed, DMA will always request that NOAA take this action. If civilian priorities or a lack of resources prevent timely response, DMA takes action to satisfy the requirement, either by contracting with NOAA to put some of its reserve assets into service or by tasking the Navy to carry out the survey.

The Navy's interest in nautical charts is linked to concerns about national security, effectiveness of weapons, and the safety of its ships and crews. Since the end of the Cold War, the focus of Navy interest has shifted from deep water to the littoral and coastal waters, where requirements for accuracy are more rigorous—particularly for driving submarines.

The Navy prefers not to use its resources to survey U.S. waters and seeks to meet its needs through NOAA. However, the Navy has a number of data collection platforms. In the future, the emphasis will be on multipurpose platforms that can collect a variety of data (e.g., geophysics, geodesy) in various locales (e.g., shallow water, deep water).

In 1991, DMA, the Navy, and NOAA entered into a cooperative agreement known as the Defense Hydrographic Initiative to provide formal coordination among these agencies for collection, processing, archiving, analysis, integration, production, and distribution of hydrographic and bathymetric data. The Defense Hydrographic Initiative is also intended to serve as a link among these agencies in making and supporting the transition to digital nautical products by ensuring cooperation and continuity in research, development, production, and distribution of digital hydrographic and bathymetric products. DMA and the Navy foresee the advent of a "paperless" bridge on naval ships by the end of the century.

Each member agency agrees to participate in cooperative efforts to the extent of its respective resource availability. A Master Seafloor Digital Data Base is being developed to provide the Navy with the information necessary for advanced warfare in the future. It is hoped that this data base will be compatible with the civilian data base. However, there are different constraints involved in defense data that will require an interface to the civilian system.

The Army Corps of Engineers' (the Corps) primary activity relating to nautical charting is that of a developer and provider of hydrographic data associated with engineering

surveys. To a lesser extent, the Corps' dredging, project operations and maintenance, and survey fleet are users of nautical chart products.

The Corps deploys approximately 90 hydrographic survey teams (both in-house and contract), disbursed nationally, for an effort of approximately $40-50 million annually. This survey capability is located at most of the nation's major rivers and harbors, including coastal, intracoastal, and inland waterways. Survey data products and format are more engineering in nature than NOAA nautical charts, typically large-scale (1:1,200 or 1:2,400) detail drawings of project depths and limits, and include details of significant berthing or embankment structures, navigational aids, river stabilization structures, and applicable hydraulic/hydrologic data.

Corps of Engineers' products are routinely distributed to local project (e.g., dredging) sponsors, port authorities, pilots, the U.S. Coast Guard, and NOAA's Coast and Geodetic Survey. The Corps also surveys many areas not covered by NOAA charts, such as the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers, and other inland waterway systems. The Corps relies heavily on private surveying and mapping firms to supplement its in-house hydrographic survey capability. Dredging contracts and other marine construction contractors also maintain an extensive hydrographic survey capability when working on Corps of Engineers' contracts.

The Ports and Waterways Safety Act (33 USC 1221) tasks the Coast Guard with the responsibility for ensuring navigation safety. In carrying out this task, the Coast Guard is responsible for aids to navigation, overseeing the nationwide dissemination of navigation safety information, and waterway management issues such as shipping safety fairways, traffic separation schemes, and Vessel Traffic Services (VTS).

The nationwide dissemination of navigation safety information is primarily in the form of Notices to Mariners, which provide mariners with specific hazard or marine safety information that is newly discovered and that normally has not previously been indicated on the charts. This requires coordination among the Coast Guard, NOAA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and occasionally the Defense Mapping Agency. Notices to Mariners issued by the Coast Guard differ from the Notices to Mariners issued by DMA. DMA's mandate is directed toward defense, and the DMA weekly Notice to Mariners contains only information affecting deep draft waters and vessels. In contrast, the Coast Guard Notices to Mariners cover all U.S. waters, regardless of water depth or vessel draft.

On a weekly basis, each Coast Guard district publishes a Local Notice to Mariners that contains information concerning aids to navigation, obstructions, channel depths, and other important safety information. The information is received from Coast Guard units, NOAA and its survey vessels, the Corps of Engineers, other federal and state agencies, and the general public. These notices are essential to all mariners to keep their nautical charts and publications up-to-date.

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) has, as part of its mission, the identification, development, and assessment of innovative technology for improvements in efficiency, productivity, safety, competitiveness, and environmental protection of the U.S. flag merchant marine. In pursuing these concerns, MARAD is particularly interested in the progress of the electronic chart technology, which is an essential part of automated integrated navigation systems that are now under development. Of special concern are the reliability and accuracy of the underlying digital chart data base in order to provide the knowledge for these automated systems.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has broad interests in ocean mapping both in relation to its overall mission of mapping the U.S land and through other interests, such as the surveys of the seabed in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The USGS and NOAA have operated a Joint Office of Mapping and Research in the EEZ under a memorandum of understanding since 1984.

Among the issues of interest to the USGS are the modernization of spatial mapping and data systems and the development of digital geographic information systems. The USGS is particularly interested in ensuring that standards are established regarding classification, format, and data transfer, and is involved in establishing a national spatial data infrastructure that will include a clearinghouse, metadata (to define standards and describe data heritage), and classification issues (e.g., achieving consistency in naming locales and geographic attributes) that have been resolved.