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Canada CHS update in the Marine GeoGarage

March 12, 2015, 8:47 am
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As our public viewer is not yet available
(currently under construction, upgrading to a new viewer
as Google Maps API v2 is officially no more supported),
this info is primarily intended to our universal mobile application users
(Weather 4D Android -App-in- on the PlayStore)
and also to our B2B customers which use our nautical charts layers
in their own webmapping applications through our GeoGarage API. 


CHS raster charts coverage

99charts have been updated & 4 charts have been added  (March 5, 2015)
    • 1201 SAINT-FULGENCE À / TO SAGUENAY
    • 1203 TADOUSSAC À/TO CAP ÉTERNITÉ
    • 1209 SAINT-FULGENCE À / TO RIVIÈRE SHIPSHAW
    • 1230 PLANS PÉNINSULE DE LA GASPÉSIE
    • 1235 POINTE AU BOISVERT À/TO CAP DE LA TÊTE AU CHIEN
    • 1236 POINTE DES MONTS AUX/TO ESCOUMINS
    • 1310 PORT DE MONTRÉAL - COMPARTMENT B-C
    • 1311 SOREL-TRACY À / TO VARENNES
    • 1312 LAC SAINT-PIERRE
    • 1313 BATISCAN AU/TO LAC SAINT-PIERRE
    • 1315 QUÉBEC À/TO DONNACONA
    • 1316 PORT DE QUÉBEC
    • 1317 SAULT-AU-COCHON À/TO QUÉBEC
    • 1320ÎLE DU BIC AU/TO CAP DE LA TÊTE AU CHIEN
    • 1350A SOREL - TRACY AU/TO RUISSEAU LAHAISE
    • 1350B RUISSEAU LAHAISE À/TO SAINT-ANTOINE-SUR-RICHELIEU
    • 1351A BASSIN DE CHAMBLY À/TO ÎLE SAINTE-THÉRÈSE
    • 1351B ÎLE SAINTE-THÉRÈSE À/TO POINTE À LA MEULE
    • 1351C POINTE À LA MEUILE À/TO POINTE NAYLOR
    • 1351D POINTE NAYLOR AU LAC/TO LAKE CHAMPLAIN
    • 1430 LAC SAINT-LOUIS
    • 1512A OTTAWA TO / À LONG ISLAND
    • 1512B LONG ISLAND TO / À BECKETTS LANDING
    • 1512C BECKETTS LANDING TO / À SMITHS FALLS
    • 1514A CARILLON À/TO L'ORIGNAL
    • 1514B L'ORIGNAL À/TO PAPINEAUVILLE
    • 1515A PAPINEAUVILLE À/TO OTTAWA
    • 1515B BECKETTS CREEK
    • 2259 JOHN ISLAND TO / À BLIND RIVER
    • 2299 CLAPPERTON ISLAND TO/À MELDRUM BAY
    • 3001 Vancouver Island Île De Vancouver Juan De Fuca Strait To/À Queen Charlot
    • 3052A OKANAGAN LAKE - PENTICTON TO/À KELOWNA A - B
    • 3052B OKANAGAN LAKE - KELOWNA TO/À VERNON B - C
    • 3419 ESQUIMALT HARBOUR
    • 3441 HARO STRAIT BOUNDARY PASS AND/ET SATELLITE CHANNEL
    • 3456 HALIBUT BANK TO/À BALLENAS CHANNEL
    • 3459 APPROACHES TO/APPROCHES À NANOOSE HARBOUR
    • 3475 PLANS - STUART CHANNEL
    • 3493 VANCOUVER HARBOUR WESTERN PORTION/PARTIE OUEST
    • 3512 STRAIT OF GEORGIA CENTRAL PORTION/PARTIE CENTRALE
    • 3534 PLANS - HOWE SOUND
    • 3538 DESOLATION SOUND AND/ET SUTIL CHANNEL
    • 3546 BROUGHTON STRAIT
    • 3548 QUEEN CHARLOTTE STRAIT (CENTRAL PORTION/PARTIE CENTRALE)
    • 3549 QUEEN CHARLOTTE STRAIT WESTERN PORTION/PARTIE QUEST
    • 3555 BEAVER INLET
    • 3598 CAPE SCOTT TO CAPE CALVERT
    • 3602 APPROACHES TO/APPROCHES À JUAN DE FUCA STRAIT
    • 3605 QUATSINO SOUND TO / À QUEEN CHARLOTTE STRAIT
    • 3675 NOOTKA SOUND
    • 3710 CHANNELS EAST OF CHENAUX À L'EST DE MILBANKE SOUND
    • 3711 PLANS VICINITY OF/PROXIMITÉ DE PRINCESS ROYAL ISLAND
    • 3719 INLETS IN CAMPANIA AND PRINCESS ROYAL ISLANDS
    • 3723 BORROWMAN BAY
    • 3729 DEAN CHANNEL SOUTHERN PORTION/PARTIE SUD AND /ET BURKE CHANNEL
    • 3730 DEAN CHANNEL (NORTHERN PORTION) AND NORTH AND SOUTH BENTINCK ARMS
    • 3736 KITIMAT AND / ET KEMANO BAY
    • 3744 QUEEN CHARLOTTE SOUND
    • 3802 DIXON ENTRANCE
    • 3808 JUAN PEREZ SOUND
    • 3921 FISH EGG INLET AND/ET ALLISON HARBOUR
    • 3935 HAKAI PASSAGE AND VICINITY/ET ENVIRONS
    • 3956 MALACCA PASSAGE TO/À BELL PASSAGE
    • 3957 APPROACHES TO/APPROCHES À PRINCE RUPERT HARBOUR
    • 3958 PRINCE RUPERT HARBOUR
    • 4001 GULF OF MAINE TO STRAIT OF BELLE ISLE / AU DÉTROIT DE BELLE ISLE
    • 4002 GOLFE DU SAINT-LAURENT GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE
    • 4003 CAPE BRETON TO / À CAPE COD
    • 4011 APPROACHES TO/APPROCHES À BAY OF FUNDY/BAIE DE FUNDY
    • 4013 HALIFAX TO / À SYDNEY
    • 4015 SYDNEY TO/À SAINT-PIERRE
    • 4016 SAINT-PIERRE TO/À ST JOHN'S
    • 4022 CABOT STRAIT AND APPROACHES / DÉTROIT DE CABOT ET LES APPROCHES
    • 4025 CAP WHITTLE À/TO HAVRE SAINT PIERRE ET/AND ÎLE D'ANTICOSTI
    • 4045 SABLE ISLAND BANK/BANC DE L'ÎLE DE SABLE TO/AU ST. PIERRE BANK/BANC DE S
    • 4098 SABLE ISLAND / ÎLE DE SABLE
    • 4116 APPROACHES TO/APPROCHES À SAINT JOHN
    • 4241 LOCKEPORT TO / À CAPE SABLE
    • 4277 GREAT BRAS D'OR / ST. ANDREWS AND / ET ST. ANNS BAY
    • 4306 STRAIT OF CANSO AND/ET SOUTHERN APPROACHES/LES APPROCHES SUD
    • 4328 LUNENBURG BAY
    • 4367 FLINT ISLAND TO/À CAPE SMOKEY
    • 4375 GUYON ISLAND TO/À FLINT ISLAND
    • 4384 PEARL ISLAND TO/À CAPE LA HAVE
    • 4396 ANNAPOLIS BASIN
    • 4403 EAST POINT TO/À CAPE BEAR
    • 4421 BOUGHTON RIVER
    • 4448 PORT HOOD
    • 4469ÎLE PLATE À/TO ÎLE DU PETIT MÉCATINA
    • 4474ÎLES BUN À/TO BAIE DES MOUTONS
    • 4617 RED ISLAND TO/À PINCHGUT POINT
    • 4641 PORT AUX BASQUES
    • 4679 HAWKES BAY \ PORT SAUNDERS\ BACK ARM
    • 4827 HARE BAY TO / À FORTUNE HEAD
    • 4839 HEAD OF/FOND DE PLACENTIA BAY
    • 4845 RENEWS HARBOUR TO/À MOTION BAY
    • 4865 APPROACHES TO/ APPROCHES À LEWISPORTE AND/ET LOON BAY
    • 4921 PLANS-BAIE DES CHALEURS / CHALEUR BAY - CÔTE NORD / NORTH SHORE
    • 4957 HAVRE-AUBERT
    • 5351 PAYNE BAY AND APPROACHES   NEW
    • 5457 DECEPTION BAY   NEW (2 charts)
    • 7181  DURBAN HARBOR   NEW
      So 796charts (1685 including sub-charts) are available in the Canada CHS layer. (see coverage)

      Note : don't forget to visit 'Notices to Mariners' published monthly and available from the Canadian Coast Guard both online or through a free hardcopy subscription service.
      This essential publication provides the latest information on changes to the aids to navigation system, as well as updates from CHS regarding CHS charts and publications.
      See also written Notices to Shipping and Navarea warnings : NOTSHIP
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      Take a virtual swim with the dolphins on protected Brazilian islands

      March 17, 2015, 6:54 am
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      Fernando de Noronha with the Marine GeoGarage

      From Mashable by Stan Schroeder

      Days after it added stunning imagery of Mount Everest, Google Street View has been updated with beautiful photos from the other side of the world — the Brazilian islands of Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas.

       Atol das Rocas with the Marine GeoGarage

      The new imagery includes both underwater and land photos of the UNESCO-protected islands, which tourists can only access in limited groups.

      On Fernando de Noronha, a group of islands in the Atlantic some 220 miles offshore form the Brazilian coast, you'll find some of the most beautiful surf spots in the world, as well as some amazing beaches and interesting rock formations.


      The Atol das Rocas is situated around 50 miles to the east of Fernando de Noronha.
      It also offers some spectacular beaches, but the real thrills are located underneath the ocean's surface.
      In the new Street View imagery, you can see dolphins swimming through the Canal de Sela Gineta (below) and sea turtles swimming at Buraco das Cabras.

      Dolphins Swimming through Canal da Sela Gineta

      As usual, besides taking the usual route of exploring through Google Maps' Street View feature, you can also check out the coolest sites from these locations in Google's highlights gallery.

      Links :
      • Google LatLon : Mapping Brazilian islands, above ground and under the sea
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      NOAA plans increased 2015 Arctic nautical charting operations

      March 17, 2015, 5:59 pm
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      NOAA survey ships and the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy are coordinating transits to and from the Arctic, to collect depth measurements along the proposed shipping corridor. 
      (Credit: NOAA)


      From NOAA 

      Coordinating with Coast Guard for safe shipping route from Unimark Pass through Bering Strait

      As commercial shipping traffic increases in the Arctic, NOAA is taking major steps to update nautical charts in the region.

      NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey will use data collected by two of its own ships, Rainier and Fairweather, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy and a private sector hydrographic contractor to cover nearly 12,000 nautical miles in the Arctic for use in updating its navigational charts.

       Unimak island with the Marine GeoGarage
      The NOAA-led Arctic marine corridor project will work with the Coast Guard to asses the safety of a potential Arctic shipping route from Unimak Island, the largest of the Aleutian Islands, through the Bering Strait to the Chukchi Sea, as proposed in the USCG Port Access Route Study for the region. The Coast Guard will continue to take public comments prior to making a final decision on the proposed route.
      “Much of our charting data in this corridor is from surveys conducted a hundred years ago,” said Rear Admiral Gerd Glang, director of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey.
      “So right now, we need to conduct reconnaissance of the seafloor in high traffic areas to make sure they are safe for navigation.”
      Over the past several years, Healy has been collecting multibeam echo sounder depth data while travelling to and from its Arctic research projects.
      NOAA has reviewed the data, archived at NOAA’s National Geophysical Data Center, and has found they are reliable and can support nautical charting.
      Last year, Healy worked with Coast Survey to take depth measurements as  “tracklines”-- straight paths of transit -- while at sea.
      The survey is basing its new work on Healy’s 2014 trackline, along with data collected from 16 transits by the three ships and contractor vessel in 2015, using multibeam sonar.
      The ships will survey depths in lines that are about a thousand meters apart and a thousand meters wide, as they travel back and forth to major project areas around the Bering Strait and the Arctic.


      Altogether, the ships will collect about 12,000 nautical miles of data along the four nautical mile wide corridor.
      In addition to measuring depths, they will search for seamounts and other underwater dangers to navigation.
      Although Healy’s primary mission is not hydrography, Coast Survey can use Healy’s data to identify significant differences from current nautical charts, and prioritize future NOAA hydrographic surveying efforts.
      Other work planned for this summer includes joint hydrographic surveys by Rainier and Fairweather in the largely uncharted areas of Kotzebue Sound.
      In addition, Rainier will survey off Point Hope, Alaska, to evaluate a potential shoal area discovered by NOAA cartographers and researchers using commercial satellite imagery.
      Fairweather is scheduled to survey Port Clarence, a key Bering Strait location that is of potential interest as an Arctic deepwater port.
      NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, originally formed by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807, maintains the nation’s nautical charts, surveys the coastal seafloor, responds to national maritime emergencies, and searches for underwater obstructions and wreckage.
      NOAA ships Fairweather and Rainier are part of the NOAA fleet of research ships operated, managed, and maintained by NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, which includes commissioned officers of the NOAA Corps, one of the seven uniformed services of the United States, and civilian wage mariners.

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      US NOAA update with the Marine GeoGarage

      March 24, 2015, 7:20 am
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      As our public viewer is not yet available
      (currently under construction, upgrading to a new viewer
      as Google Maps API v2 is officially no more supported),
      this info is primarily intended to our universal mobile application users
      (Marine USiPhone-iPad on the Apple Store&
      Weather 4D Android -App-in- on the PlayStore)
      and also to our B2B customers which use our nautical charts layers
      in their own webmapping applications through our GeoGarage API. 

       NOAA raster chart coverage

      16 charts have been updated in the Marine GeoGarage
      (NOAA update March 2015, released March 18, 2015)

      • 12243 ed15 York River Yorktown to West Point
      • 12244 ed15 Pamunkey And Mattaponi Rivers
      • 16206 ed9 Nome Hbr. and approaches. Norton Sound;Nome Harbor
      • 16430 ed7 Attu Island Theodore Pt. to Cape Wrangell
      • 16474 ed9 Bay of Islands;Aranne Channel;Hell Gate
      • 16476 ed11 Sweeper Cove. Finger and Scabbard Bays
      • 16484 ed8 Atka Island to Chugul Island Atka Island
      • 16487 ed7 Korovin Bay to Wall Bay-Atka Island;Martin Harbor
      • 16516 ed8 Chernofski Harbor
      • 16521 ed7 Unalaska Island Protection Bay to Eagle Bay
      • 16603 ed9 Kukak Bay. Alaska Peninsula
      • 16706 ed11 Passage Canal incl. Port of Whittier;Port of Whittier
      • 16711 ed3 Port Wells. including College Fiord and Harriman Fiord
      • 17323 ed13 Salisbury Sound. Peril Strait and Hoonah Sound
      • 17330 ed10 West Coast of Baranof Island Cape Ommaney to Byron Bay
      • 17381 ed11 Reb Bay. Prince of Wales Island
      • 17384 ed10 Wrangell Harbor and approaches;Wrangell Harbor
      • 17422 ed10 Behm Canal-western part;Yes Bay
      • 11489 ed40 Intracoastal Waterway St. Simons Sound to Tolmato River
      • 11490 ed21 Approaches to St. Johns River;St. Johns River Entrance
      • 11491 ed39 St. Johns River-Atlantic Ocean to Jacksonville
      Today 1026 NOAA raster charts (2236 including sub-charts) are included in the Marine GeoGarage viewer (see PDFs files)


      How do you know if you need a new nautical chart?
      See the changes in new chart editions.
      NOAA chart dates of recent Print on Demand editions

      Note : NOAA updates their nautical charts with corrections published in:
      • U.S. Coast Guard Local Notices to Mariners (LNMs),
      • National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Notices to Mariners (NMs), and
      • Canadian Coast Guard Notices to Mariners (CNMs)
      While information provided by this Web site is intended to provide updated nautical charts, it must not be used as a substitute for the United States Coast Guard, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or Canadian Coast Guard Notice to Mariner publications

      Please visit the       NOAA's chart update service for more info or the online chart catalog
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      Where is Point Nemo?

      March 24, 2015, 5:34 pm
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      Point Nemo is the location in the ocean that is farthest from land.
      You can't get farther away from land than 'Point Nemo.' 

      From NOAA

      Want to get away from it all?
      You can't do better than a point in the Pacific Ocean popularly known as 'Point Nemo,' named after the famous submarine sailor from Jules Verne's Captain Nemo(Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea).

       Map of distance to the nearest coastline (including oceanic islands, but not lakes) with red spots marking the poles of inaccessibility of main landmasses, Great Britain, and the Iberian Peninsula. Thin isolines are 250 km (160 mi) apart; thick lines 1,000 km (620 mi).

       Nemo point with the Marine GeoGarage
      (-48.958812, -123.434678)

      The oceanic pole of inaccessibility (48°52.6′S123°23.6′W) is the place in the ocean that is farthest from land.


      It lies in the South Pacific Ocean, 2,688 km (1,670 mi) from the nearest lands: Ducie Island (part of the Pitcairn Islands) in the north, Motu Nui (part of the Easter Islands) in the northeast, and Maher Island (near the larger Siple Island, off the coast of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica) in the south. Chatham Island lies farther west, and Southern Chile in the east.
      - see Wikipedia Pole of inaccessibility -

       zoom on Nemo Point watermarked on Google Earth
      On Google Earth, a circle with the text "NEMO" printed next to it,
      slightly darkened on the actual map itself, can be seen at this point.

      By the way, in the The Mysterious Island (L'Île mystérieuse in French) another novel by Jules Verne, there is a reference to a "Lincoln Island", unknown (and fictitious) island also located in the Pacific no and so far (about 1500 Nm) NW from the Nemo Point at 34°57′S150°30′W


       Map of the fictional Lincoln Island (The Mysterious Island).
      This image originally drawn by Jules-Descartes Férat (1819–1889?) was originally featured
      in the Hetzel edition of Mysterious Island, and has also been featured in more recent editions 
      (this particular instance was scanned from a recent edition).

      Links :
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      France SHOM update with the Marine GeoGarage

      March 26, 2015, 10:44 am
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      new update (17/03/2015) in the France (SHOM) layer

      2 charts has been substituted since the last update (October 2014) :

      7705  Abords de Mohammadia (replacing chart 6142 Abords de Mohammadia)
        7800   Golfe d'Aden et approches (replacing chart 6947 Abords et Partie Est du golfe d'Aden)

            All the other charts have been updated according to the new editions :

            voir GAN Groupe d'Avis aux Navigateurs en ligne

            Today 750 charts including sub-charts from SHOM material are displayed in the Marine GeoGarage.

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            About the Null island at 0°0'0" N 0°0'0" E

            April 1, 2015, 1:17 am
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            From GoogleMaps Mania by Keir Clarke

            A new island has been formed in the Atlantic after the eruption of an underwater volcano.
            Scientists say that the new island is likely to be highly unstable, and dangerous to visitors.
            Despite the instability of the island Google Maps has already been updated with a map of the world's newest landmass.

            I assume that Google mapped the new island using the latest Landsat satellite imagery.
            On Google Maps the island is called Null Island.
            I'm not sure where the name originates, and it seems that the UN has yet to officially recognize the island's name as 'Null Island'.

             Null Island from the Air :
            This photo of the uninhabited side of the Island shows both Boundary Ridge and Settlement Lake.
            The crater of Mayor Island (Tūhua) shows up clearly in this view from the north, with the Bay of Plenty coastline in the distance.
            The last eruption, around 7,000 years ago, left the crater with a rim breached nearly to sea level on the north side of the island (foreground).

            Despite being the world's newest country the island (inevitably) already has its own website, The Republic of Null Island.
            The Republic of Null Island website refers to the 'long history' of the inhabitants (referred to on the site as Null Islanders).
            It would be safe to assume that The Republic of Null Island website is not meant to be taken entirely seriously.
            Actually, the picture of Null Island from the Air used by the website is a real picture of the Mayor Island (Tūhua) in New Zealand,  an emergent summit of a caldera volcano roughly 750 m high and 15 km across.

             Mayor island with the Marine GeoGarage

            Null Island also already has its own entry on Wikipedia.
            Null Island is a fictional island in the Gulf of Guinea added to the Natural Earth public domain map dataset,located where the equator crosses the prime meridian, at coordinates 0°N0°E.
            A troubleshooting country has been added with an Indeterminate sovereignty class called Null Island.

            www.aaronland.info/null-island/#20.00/-0.00000/-0.00005

            It is a fictional, 1 meter square island located off Africa where the equator and prime meridian cross. Being centered at 0,0 (zero latitude, zero longitude) it is useful for flagging geocode failures which are routed to 0,0 by most mapping services.
            Aside: “Null Islands” exist for all local coordinate reference systems besides WGS84 like State Plane (and global if not using modern Greenwich prime meridian).
            Null Island in Natural Earth is scaleRank 100, indicating it should never be shown in mapping.
            Side note: Rank 30 (zoom 29 in Google speak) is 1:1 scale and would require over 288 billion million tiles with a total storage requirement of more than 3.5 billion million megabytes which verges on Borges’ essay On Exactitude in Science, A Map the Size of the World).
            Null Island should only be used during analysis and will keep errant points off your maps.
            Although intended humorously, the fiction has a serious purpose and is used by mapping systems to trap errors.

            Atlas Buoy 13010, 0.000 N 0.000 E (0°0'0" N 0°0'0" E)

            In reality, a weather observation buoy (13010) part of the PIRATA system, is moored at the supposed location of the island.

             Today water temperature at Null island point : 29.3 °C (84.7°F)
            source : PIRATA
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            Coast Survey announces plans for 2015 NOAA survey projects

            April 2, 2015, 6:23 am
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            From NOAA

            In 2015, NOAA survey ships Thomas Jefferson and Ferdinand R. Hassler are scheduled to survey nearly 1,800 square nautical miles in the U.S. coastal waters of the lower 48 states, collecting data that will update nautical charts for navigation and other uses.

            In Alaska, NOAA ships Fairweather and Rainier will increase their Arctic operations, planning to acquire 12,000 nautical miles of “trackline” depth measurements of the U.S. Coast Guard’s proposed shipping route. (See this GeoGarage article.)

            The ships will also conduct several “full bottom” hydrographic survey projects, acquiring data from over 2,800 square nautical miles in survey areas along the Alaskan coastline.
            We are also planning several projects for our contractual private sector survey partners, and those projects will be announced after work orders are finalized.
            The Office of Coast Survey will manage the surveys that measure water depths and collect ocean floor data for charting, identifying navigational hazards, informing wind farm decisions, mapping fish habitats, and assisting with coastal resilience.

            Check the useful story map, 2015 Hydrographic Survey projects, for the survey outlines and more information.
            Coast Survey will update the map as weather and operational constraints dictate.

            Briefly, this year’s NOAA survey projects include:

            1. Gulf of Maine, where chart soundings in heavily trafficked and fished areas are decades old and need updating for navigational safety
            2. Buzzards Bay (Massachusetts and Rhode Island), where increased use of deeper-draft double-hull barges – and possible installation of marine transmission cable routes and wind energy development — requires updated soundings
            3. Rhode Island Sound, where the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has identified a wind energy lease area
            4. Approaches to Chesapeake (North Carolina), where charts of critical navigational areas need updating for navigation and to assist the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management manage windfarm activity.
            5. Approaches to Charleston (South Carolina), where updated soundings will provide the correct under-keel clearance information for the expected transit of larger and deeper-draft ships
            6. Approaches to Savannah (Georgia), where the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project will increase the authorized depth of the harbor from 42 to 47 feet and updated soundings will provide the correct under-keel clearance information for the expected transit of larger and deeper-draft ships
            7. Chatham Strait (Alaska), where charts need to be updated for cruise liners, ferries, Coast Guard cutters, Navy vessels, tugs, and barges that use this waterway on a regular basis or when avoiding storms in the Gulf of Alaska
            8. Approaches to Kotzebue (Alaska), where deep-draft vessels have their cargo lightered to shore by shallow draft barges
            9. Point Hope (Alaska), where shipping traffic is increasing due to receding ice but charted soundings are sparse and date back to the 1960s
            10. West Prince of Wales Island (Alaska), where updated charts are needed by smaller vessels that use Televak Narrows as an alternate passage during foul weather
            11. Shumagin Islands (Alaska), where Coast Survey needs data to create a new, larger scale, nautical chart
            12. Port Clarence (Alaska), where Coast Survey needs data to create a new, larger scale, nautical chart
            13. South Arctic Reconnaissance Route, where trackline data will assist consideration of the U.S. Coast Guard’s proposed Bering Strait Port Access Route Study
            14. North Coast of Kodiak Island (Alaska), where we need to update charts for Kodiak’s large fishing fleet and increasing levels of passenger vessel traffic
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            NZ Linz update in the Marine GeoGarage

            April 7, 2015, 5:56 am
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            Coverage NZ Linz Marine GeoGarage layer

            As our public viewer is not yet available
            (currently under construction, upgrading to a new webmapping technology as Google Maps v2 is officially no more supported),
            this info is primarily intended to             our universal mobile application users
            (Marine NZ iPhone-iPad on the Apple Store/ Weather 4D Android -App-in- on the PlayStore)
            and our B2B customers which use our nautical charts layers
            in their own webmapping applications through our GeoGarage API.  


            2 charts has been updated in the Marine GeoGarage
            Linz March update published April 3, 2015 (Updated to NTM Edition 6)

            • NZ46 Cook Strait
            • NZ14638 INT 638 Fiji to Kermadec Islands including Tongatapu
            Today NZ Linz charts (183 charts / 323including sub-charts) are displayed in the Marine GeoGarage.

            Note :  LINZ produces official nautical charts to aid safe navigation in New Zealand waters and certain areas of Antarctica and the South-WestPacific.


            Using charts safely involves keeping them up-to-date using Notices to Mariners
            Reporting a Hazard to Navigation - H Note :
            Mariners are requested to advise the New Zealand Hydrographic Authority at LINZ of the discovery of new or suspected dangers to navigation, or shortcomings in charts or publications.
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            Brazil DHN update in the Marine GeoGarage

            April 8, 2015, 6:20 am
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            As our public viewer is not yet available
            (currently under construction, upgrading to a new webmapping technology
            as Google Maps v2 is officially no more supported),
            this info is primarily intended to our universal mobile application users
            (Marine Brazil iPhone-iPad on the Apple Store / Weather 4D Android -App-in- on the PlayStore)
            and also to our B2B customers which use our nautical charts layers 
            in their own webmapping applications through our GeoGarage API.

             DHN coverage

            1 chart added & 15 charts has been updated since the last update

            DHN update March 2015 (15/03 & 30/03)

            • 1703  PORTO DE CANANÉIA
            • 204  DAS ILHAS PEDREIRA À ILHA DE SANTANA
            • 242  DA ILHA DOS PORCOS À BAÍA DO VIEIRA GRANDE
            • 302  DE SALINÓPOLIS AO CANAL DO ESPADARTE
            • 511  BARRA DOS RIOS TIMONHA E UBATUBA
            • 1410  PROXIMIDADES DOS PORTOS DE VITORIA E TUBARÃO
            • 1513  TERMINAIS DA BAÍA DE GUANABARA
            • 1515  BAÍA DE GUANABARA - ILHA DO MOCANGUÊ E PROXIMIDADES
            • 1531  ILHA DO BOQUEIRÃO E ADJACÊNCIA
            • 1550  BACIA DE CAMPOS
            • 1623  PORTO DE ITAGUAÍ
            • 1701  PORTO DE SANTOS
            • 21050 (INT.2006)  DO RIO ITARIRI AO ARQUIPÉLAGO DOS ABROLHOS
            • 23300 (INT.2126)  DE PARANAGUÁ A IMBITUBA
            • 2792  LAGO DE BRASÍLIA
            • 4106A  DE ITACOATIARA À ILHA DA GRANDE EVA   NEW

            Today 472 charts (513 including sub-charts) from DHN are displayed in the Marine GeoGarage
            Don't forget to visit the NtM Notices to Mariners (Avisos aos Navegantes)
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            Canada CHS update in the Marine GeoGarage

            April 14, 2015, 7:15 am
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            As our public viewer is not yet available
            (currently under construction, upgrading to a new viewer
            as Google Maps API v2 is officially no more supported),
            this info is primarily intended to our universal mobile application users
            (Weather 4D Android -App-in- on the PlayStore)
            and also to our B2B customers which use our nautical charts layers
            in their own webmapping applications through our GeoGarage API. 


            CHS raster charts coverage

            28charts have been updated  (April 10, 2015)
              • 1234 CAP DE LA TÊTE AU CHIEN AU/TO CAP AUX OIES
              • 1310 PORT DE MONTRÉAL - COMPARTMENT B-C
              • 1311 SOREL-TRACY À / TO VARENNES
              • 1509A RIVIÈRES DES PRAIRIES
              • 1509B RIVIÈRES DES PRAIRIES
              • 3462 JUAN DE FUCA STRAIT TO/À STRAIT OF GEORGIA
              • 3475 PLANS - STUART CHANNEL
              • 3478 SANSUM NARROWS
              • 3546 BROUGHTON STRAIT
              • 3909 BRUNDIGE INLET
              • 3957 APPROACHES TO/APPROCHES À PRINCE RUPERT HARBOUR
              • 3960 APPROACHES TO/APPROCHES À PORTLAND INLET
              • 4016 SAINT-PIERRE TO/À ST JOHN'S
              • 4275 ST PETERS BAY
              • 4279 BRAS D'OR LAKE
              • 4302 STRAIT OF CANSO
              • 4335 STRAIT OF CANSO AND APPROACHES/ET LES APPROCHES
              • 4367 FLINT ISLAND TO/À CAPE SMOKEY
              • 4396 ANNAPOLIS BASIN
              • 4416 HAVRE DE GASPÉ
              • 4429 HAVRE SAINT-PIERRE ET LES APPROCHES/AND APPROACHES
              • 4485 CAP DES ROSIERS À/TO CHANDLER
              • 4522 TILT COVE AND/ET LA SCIE HARBOUR (APPROACHES TO/APPROCHES À LA SCIE HARBOUR
              • 4644 BAY D'ESPOIR AND/ET HERMITAGE BAY
              • 4831 FORTUNE BAY NORTHERN PORTION/PARTIE NORD
              • 4906 WEST POINT À/TO BAIE DE TRACADIE
              • 5351 BAIE PAYNE/PAYNE BAY ET LES APPROCHES/AND APPROACHES
              • 5457 DECEPTION BAY
              • 7181 DURBAN HARBOUR
                So 796charts (1685 including sub-charts) are available in the Canada CHS layer. (see coverage)

                Note : don't forget to visit 'Notices to Mariners' published monthly and available from the Canadian Coast Guard both online or through a free hardcopy subscription service.
                This essential publication provides the latest information on changes to the aids to navigation system, as well as updates from CHS regarding CHS charts and publications.
                See also written Notices to Shipping and Navarea warnings : NOTSHIP
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                UKHO publishes new edition of ADMIRALTY Mariners Handbook (NP100)

                April 15, 2015, 10:48 pm
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                The easy-to-use guide for the professional mariner
                containing regularly used maritime information, for example:
                • charts
                • operations and regulations
                • tides, currents and characteristics of thesea
                • basic meteorology
                • navigation in ice, hazards and other restrictions to navigation
                • main elements of the IALA Buoyage system

                In response to user feedback and an improved understanding of how the publication is used, the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has published the Tenth Edition of the ADMIRALTY Mariners Handbook (NP100), which is available in both printed format and as an e-NP.

                First published in 1962, the tenth edition is now easier to use and understand. NP100 has long been acknowledged as an essential, ‘must-have’ publication for all seafarers, maritime training schools and shipping company offices.
                NP100 provides maritime information on charts and their use, the communication of navigational information, the maritime environment, including sea and ice conditions, restrictions to navigation and maritime pollution and conservation (MARPOL).

                The handbook also contains COLREGS information, a comprehensive description of the IALA Maritime Buoyage System and an improved glossary of nautical terminology.

                Key improvements include an improved structure and tabular layout to the handbook, making it quicker and simpler for mariners to locate the exact information that they need and the addition of QR codes throughout the publication to increase usability and ensure that the most current data is available.

                The glossary section of NP100 has been re-written, laid out in tabular format and complemented by additional images and diagrams to provide seafarers with a better understanding of the relevant terminology, as well as improved comprehension for those who don’t speak English as their first language.

                Susie Alder, Product Manager – Publications, UKHO commented:
                “Our new edition of NP100 providers further support for mariners in their use of all ADMIRALTY Nautical Products and Services, as well as covering broader maritime topics. First published in 1962, the latest changes will make it easier and quicker for the mariner to assimilate complex navigation information and to find the exact information that they need. We believe these important updates will further strengthen the wide-ranging use of the Mariners Handbook across the shipping industry and ensure that it continues to serve as an essential tool for the mariner, whether in print or digital.”

                This edition supersedes the Ninth Edition (2009), which is cancelled.


                For more information on the NP100, visit the UKHO website or contact any ADMIRALTY Chart Agent.
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                US NOAA update in the Marine GeoGarage

                April 27, 2015, 9:53 am
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                As our public viewer is not yet available
                (currently under construction, upgrading to a new viewer
                as Google Maps API v2 is officially no more supported),
                this info is primarily intended to our universal mobile application users
                (Marine USiPhone-iPad on the Apple Store&
                Weather 4D Android -App-in- on the PlayStore)
                and also to our B2B customers which use our nautical charts layers
                in their own webmapping applications through our GeoGarage API. 

                 NOAA raster chart coverage

                15 charts have been updated in the Marine GeoGarage
                (NOAA update April 2015, released April 13, 2015)

                • 12363 ed42 Long Island Sound Western Part
                • 13303 ed14 Approaches to Penobscot Bay
                • 13323 ed9 Bar Harbor Mount Desert Island
                • 16323 ed10 Bristol Bay-Kvichak Bay and approaches
                • 16343 ed9 Port Heiden
                • 16363 ed13 Port Moller and Herendeen Bay
                • 16450 ed3 Amchitka Island and Approaches (Metric)
                • 16501 ed8 Islands of Four Mountains
                • 16575 ed3 Dakavak Bay to Cape Unalishagvak;Alinchak Bay
                • 16597 ed10 Uganik and Uyak Bays
                • 16598 ed11 Cape Ikolik to Cape Kuliuk
                • 16705 ed21 Prince William Sound-western part
                • 16707 ed14 Prince William Sound-Valdez Arm and Port Valdez;Valdez Narrows;Valdez and Valdez Marine Terminal
                • 17370 ed12 Bay of Pillars and Rowan Bay. Chatham Strait;Washington Bay. Chatham Strait
                • 17382 ed18 Zarembo Island and approaches;Burnett Inlet. Etolin Island;Steamer Bay
                Today 1026 NOAA raster charts (2236 including sub-charts) are included in the Marine GeoGarage viewer (see PDFs files)


                How do you know if you need a new nautical chart?
                See the changes in new chart editions.
                NOAA chart dates of recent Print on Demand editions

                Note : NOAA updates their nautical charts with corrections published in:
                • U.S. Coast Guard Local Notices to Mariners (LNMs),
                • National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Notices to Mariners (NMs), and
                • Canadian Coast Guard Notices to Mariners (CNMs)
                While information provided by this Web site is intended to provide updated nautical charts, it must not be used as a substitute for the United States Coast Guard, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or Canadian Coast Guard Notice to Mariner publications

                Please visit the                 NOAA's chart update service for more info or the online chart catalog
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                The 'Cooke passage' : a new world's longest straight-line sail ?

                May 2, 2015, 4:40 pm
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                David Cooke said he discovered
                the longest land to land 'straight line' ocean route on Earth.
                Over 2000 miles longer than the one from Kamchatka to Pakistan.
                Really ?

                Timothy Whitehead from Google Earth blog recently came across this post on Reddit.
                It references to the above YouTube video from David Cooke, claiming to have discovered the longest straight line that can be sailed without going over land.
                The video creator calls it the "Cooke Passage".
                However, we have attempted to recreate it in Google Earth, and it appears that it is not actually a straight line.

                GoogleMapsMania has in the past discussed what constitutes a straight line in Google Earth.
                In this instance, we are interested in Great Circles, which is what Google Earth uses by default when drawing a path.
                However, Google Earth always draws the shorter arc of a Great Circle, so to draw the longer section of a Great Circle it is necessary to include at least one more point and then adjust it with care.
                You know you have got it right if you can draw another shorter path on any section of it and it still follows the same path.
                Using the above techniques, and locations shown in the video, we have investigated the Cooke Passage and decided that it does not follow a great circle.


                We also confirm this statement and in order to go further in analyzing this route, we propose a more accurate method for drawing the longer section of a Great Circle (orthodromic route) on Google Earth :

                Note : Great-circle navigation is the practice of navigating a ship along a great circle (shortest route).
                A great circle track is the shortest distance between two points on the surface of a sphere; the Earth isn't exactly spherical, but the formulas for a sphere are simpler and are often accurate enough for navigation.

                1/ calculate the Great Circle route from the Start point to the End point :

                    in this Cooke passage case :
                . start : near Port Cartier, Quebec : 49°52'9" N / 67°0'0" W (49.86916667/-67 in decimal)
                . end : Port Renfrew, Victoria BC : 48°35'34,34" N / 124°43'48" W (48.59287222/-124.73 in decimal)

                Minor Arc Great circle on Google Maps (2,214.33 Nm GC / 2,269.52 Nm Rhumb Line)
                initial bearing : 290.9° from East to West

                As the long arc is higher than half of the Earth circumference at the Equator (so higher than 10,819 Nm, actually in this case about 19,401 Nm), the calculation will give the shorter arc of the Great Circle.
                Effectively, points A and B split their great circle in two arcs of which (except for antipodal A and B) one is shorter than the other. The important bit is that the calculation of the shortest distance between two points on a sphere is done for the minor arc of a Great Circle.

                Then how to calculate the major arc ?

                2/ calculating at first the midpoint of this minor arc (the half-way point along a great circle path between the two points) using the ‘Haversine’ formula.



                Cook passage (minor arc Great Circle) midpoint :52.9425/-95.72694444
                on Google Maps (Mercator projection)

                3/ then calculating the antipodal of the midpoint for this minor arc which represents the midpoint of the major arc :
                Given a point on a sphere with latitude and longitude, the antipodal point has latitude -Lat and longitude Lon+/-180 degrees (where the sign is taken so that the result is between -180 degrees and  +180 degrees).




                Cook passage (minor arc) antipodal midpoint in the South of the Indian ocean
                Map tunneling tool : -Lat/180+Lon so -52.9425/84.27305556
                illustration : AntipodeMap

                This point will be the necessary intermediate waypoint allowing to draw the major arc Great Circle with Google Earth : see the resulting kml file. and the Cooke passage Great Circle major Arc on Google Earth  showing the line crossing Australia, so not a new world longest GC straight-line sail :


                video realized from GeoGarage kml file
                - see another video created by Liam Nash -

                By the way, to follow a great circle track, the navigator needs to adjust the ship's course continuously because the great circle track is a curve when plotted on a Mercator map (see illustration above).
                Therefore, it is not really practicable to sail on an exact Great Circle route.
                In order to take advantage of the shorter distance given by the Great Circle track, mariners usually divide a Great Circle track between the initial position and the destination into smaller segments (way points) corresponding to some sailing time and make course adjustments at each next waypoint.
                The total distance is therefore the sum of the distances of those rhumb line segments (loxodromic with constant angle route) calculated by means of Napier rules for spherical triangles, allowing to calculate several individual waypoint's WGS84 Latitude and Longitude.

                 In some previous GeoGarage posts regarding longest GC sailing :
                • Pakistan-Siberia: The longest straight line you can sail on Earth ?
                • Norway-Antarctica : Sail all the way around the world to Antarctica without touching land in a straight line ?


                  • we can apply the above method -using the antipodal of the midpoint for this minor arc- and also calculate the Great Circle major Arc waypoints with other intermediates (for example a serie of waypoints at x Nm of distance)

                   Pakistan-Siberia.kml route on Google Maps (straight on the Google Earth globe) :
                  real Great Circle corrected by the GeoGarage team (about 32,105 km/17,335 Nm)
                  not crossing Aldabra and Assumption island in the North West of Madagascar.
                  &Pakistan-Siberia_WPTS.kmzbuilt with 1731 intermediate waypoints every 10 Nm
                  (note some difference with the above Pakistan-Siberia.kml route due to different GC calculations)

                  GoogleMapsMania also came across another interesting, though shorter route that goes from Norway to Antarctica by way of the Bering Strait.

                   GoogleMapsMania : Various routes (kml file)  
                  including Norway-Antarctica route
                   
                  Using an intermediate waypoint as the antipodal of the midpoint for this minor arc between Norway and Antarctica, passing by the Bering straight, we get a different result comparing to the above kml file issued from GoogleMapsMania.


                    & Norway-Antarctica kmzbuilt with 1178 intermediate waypoints every 10 Nm
                  crossing Saint Lawrence island in the Bring Strait 

                  But another factor to take into consideration is the location of the vertex,
                  or the point of greatest latitude through which the circle passes.
                  In this case, the route mainly crosses the North pole area.
                  So this is not a realistic sailing route, by the way some Composite Great Circle
                  with limited Latitude can't be used.
                  Note : when using a Composite Great Circle track, a limiting Latitude is chosen,
                  beyond which the vessel does no go.
                  When the limiting latitude is reached the vessel then sails either due East or West on the limiting Latitude as in parallel sailing.
                  In order to reach the limiting Latitude, the vessel follows an appropriate Great Circle track whose vertex lies on the limiting Latitude.

                  Links :
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                UK & misc. update in the GeoGarage platform

                May 15, 2015, 4:19 pm
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                Search

                Canada CHS update in the GeoGarage platform

                May 16, 2015, 4:22 pm
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                NZ Linz update in the GeoGarage platform

                May 19, 2015, 9:40 am
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                Travel the seas with nautical charts

                May 21, 2015, 8:19 am
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                 From NOAA

                Anyone who’s taken a road trip has probably had to use a map at some point.
                Navigating from point A to point B isn’t always as easy as it seems.
                Imagine what’s its like then to travel the ocean.
                How do you know where you are and what’s around you?

                Well, there are maps for the ocean too.
                These are called nautical charts.

                At first glance, a nautical chart may look overwhelming.
                But once you learn what the various lines, numbers, and symbols mean, reading these charts becomes a lot easier.

                Let’s go over some basics...
                Any location on Earth can be described by two numbers: its latitude and longitude.
                On a chart, lines of latitude are horizontal while longitude are vertical.
                Both are actually angles, measured in degrees.
                If a ship captain wants to find a specific location on a chart, these are the coordinates he would use.

                You’ll notice numbers all over the ocean areas on nautical charts.
                These are actually water depths.
                These numbers are especially important to large commercial vessels that need to protect the bottom of their boats in shallow waters.
                Nautical charts also use a variety of colored lines, shapes, and symbols to show what you will find from the sea surface down to the sea floor.
                Coastlines can often be an underwater obstacle course of sandbars, reefs, and rocks.
                Throughout history, a variety of ships have sunk to the bottom of the ocean.
                The locations of these shipwrecks may be noted on a chart.
                Blue lines are used to distinguish areas of protected habitat, like a marine sanctuary.
                These areas may be home to beautiful islands, corals or marine life, some of which are endangered. Nautical charts are road maps of the ocean – helping sailors, fisherman, explorers, and scientists find their way around the big blue sea.
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                Brazil DHN update in the Marine GeoGarage

                May 22, 2015, 8:46 am
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                US NOAA update in the GeoGarage platform

                May 25, 2015, 12:59 pm
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