Category Archives: Hydro/Marine
Managing Tropical Storm Risk in Florida
Low-lying Gulf Coast communities along the Anclote River in Pasco County, Florida, have a long history of summer flooding. In 2012, after Tropical Storm Debby brought more than 12 inches of rain in a 24-hour period to the Tampa Bay area, the residents of the Thousand Oaks subdivision in the Trinity community experienced widespread, long-lasting...
Digital Coast Act Becomes Law This Week
The Digital Coast Act, now approved by both chambers of Congress, will become law this week, and that is a significant step toward expanding and making accessible geospatial data to support environmental and economic development activities in the coastal regions of the United States. The bill creates a program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric...
The Return of Loran
An obsolete WWII navigation system is making a comeback In the 1980s, I used Loran-C to navigate on sailing trips off the U.S. East Coast. It had an accuracy of a few hundred feet and required interpreting blue, magenta, black, and green lines that were overprinted on nautical charts. The system was a modernized version, launched...
Scans, Soundings, Surve and Sailcargo: Building Ceiba with Surveying
Timeless maritime arts and craftwork mixed with modern technologies—including high-precision surveying—are helping reintroduce wind power to seaborne trade in Ceiba. It was a chance meeting that changed two lives. It may also change the way the world thinks about maritime shipping. It’s Ceiba! An accomplished sailor, Danielle Doggett loves tall ships—the large wind-powered sailing vessels...
Teaching Roots and Research at the University of the Philippines
One of Southeast Asia’s oldest surveying schools is promoting the use of geospatial technologies and thriving in the digital age. When Louie Balicanta walks inside the high-ceilinged corridors of Malcolm Hall on his way to teach land surveying, he knows how much responsibility rests on his shoulders. Not only is he an assistant professor at...
The Many Facets (and Faces) of Surveying
Surveyors have traditionally done a variety of essential and interesting work—and they continue to do so. We’ve asked surveyors from various work disciplines what inspires them. To get an idea of where we are going, it’s important to stop and take a look at where we have been. This rings especially true for those of...