Coast Survey announces surveys by navigation response teams : NRT data will be used to update nautical charts

From NOAA

Coast Survey’s navigation response teams have proven their value, time and again, especially after hurricanes when ports suspend operations, and shipping (or naval movements) cease until Coast Survey’s small boats can locate underwater dangers to navigation.
But what do the six navigation response teams (NRTs) do during those long periods between deployments for maritime emergencies?
They are busy, mostly year-round, collecting hydrographic data for updating nautical charts.

Plans for 2016

Responding to requests from mariners around the country, Coast Survey has set some aggressive projects for the NRTs this year.
Starting from Northeast and working our way around the coasts…

NEW YORK

Beginning in June and throughout the summer, NRT5 will survey the Hudson River, with a focus on the area from Albany to Kingston.
This is a continuation of the project started at the request of the Hudson River Pilots (as reported in NOAA plans multiyear project to update Hudson River charts).
We are planning to have Coast Survey research vessel Bay Hydro II join the NRT for most of the summer, to get as much new charting data as possible.
In October, NRT5 will move to Eastern Long Island Sound, to finish up some shallow survey work adjacent to recent NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson’s extensive survey project.
The officer-in-charge of NRT5 is NOAA Lt. Andrew Clos.
The officer-in-charge of Bay Hydro II will be NOAA Ensign Sarah Chappel.

GEORGIA

In March, NRT2 starts a 16-month survey project in Saint Andrew Sound.
The area, which has significant traffic from small boats, tugs, and barges, is reportedly experiencing small boat groundings, and Coast Survey’s navigation manager in the area has received several requests for a modern survey.
Coast Survey will use the data to update NOAA chart 11504 and ENC US5GA12M, as well as other charts covering portions of the specific surveyed areas.
The existing charted soundings are from partial bottom coverage surveys dating back to the early 1900s.
NRT2 is led by Erik Anderson.

 NRT1 will check out the 18-yr-old reported depths to update chart 11376 inset.

EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO – BILOXI AND MOBILE

NRT1 will spend March and April acquiring data off the coast of Biloxi, Mississippi, to update the Intracoastal Waterway chart 11372.
They will then move to Alabama for some long-overdue “chart clean up” work at the northern end of the Mobile Ship Channel, outside of the area controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Mobile project will investigate charted items, verify reported depths, and update older NOAA bathymetry (vintage 1961) that is depicted in the inset area of NOAA chart 11376.
Since the Mobile survey probably will not take the entire rest of the season, depending on interruptions for hurricane response, we are assessing additional survey needs in the area.
NRT1 is led by Mark McMann.

WEST GULF OF MEXICO – TEXAS

NRT4 will spend all of 2016 surveying in Galveston Bay, including the bay entrance and newly charted barge channels along the Houston Ship Channel.
The team is working with Coast Survey’s navigation manager for Texas to identify additional charted features that require investigation to reduce localized chart clutter and improve chart adequacy.
NRT4 is led by Dan Jacobs.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

NRT6 is slated to survey the Suisun Bay anchorage used by MARAD’s National Defense Reserve Fleet, to acquire updated depths.
Afterwards, NRT6 will move throughout the bay area to address charting concerns reported by the San Francisco Bar Pilot Association near Pittsburg, Antioch, San Joaquin River, and Redwood City. Coast Survey will use the data to generally update NOAA chart 18652 and ENC US5CA43M, as well as larger scale charts of the specific surveyed areas.
NRT6 is led by Laura Pagano.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST

It has been a while since Coast Survey has had an operational NRT presence for Oregon and Washington, but this is the year we are bringing NRT3 back on line.
Team lead Ian Colvert is shaking the dust off NRT3 and preparing to restart survey operations.
He is working with the Coast Survey navigation manager to develop survey priorities for this summer and fall.

Charting the data

Once the navigation response teams process and submit the data acquired during the surveys, the information is further processed in Coast Survey’s Atlantic and Pacific hydrographic branches, and then submitted to our cartographers for application to the charts.
The turnaround time for updating the chart depends on the update calendars for each regional cartographic branch.
If the NRTs find any dangers to navigation, the information will be relayed to mariners through the Local Notice to Mariners postings and will be applied to NOAA’s electronic navigational charts (NOAA ENC®), online products, and print-on-demand paper charts.
Critical updates will be applied to charts more quickly than normal depth adjustments.