Hi Reddit! We’re Rear Admiral Shep Smith, Director of NOAA Coast Survey and the U.S. National Hydrographer, and Lt. Cmdr. Sam Greenaway, chief of NOAA Coast Survey’s Hydrographic Systems and Technology Branch, and we are experts in mapping the seafloor. Ask us anything!

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Today is World Hydrography Day! Hydrography is the science that measures and describes the physical features of bodies of water and the land areas adjacent to those bodies of water. Here at NOAA, we are experts in hydrography and are responsible for mapping 3.4 million square nautical miles of the U.S. seafloor and 95,000 miles of coastline.

NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey conducts hydrographic surveys to measure the water depths to ensure the coastal regions of the United States are safe for boats and ships to navigate. We use the data to update nautical charts and develop hydrographic models; increasingly, we use hydrographic data for multiple purposes including habitat mapping. NOAA hydrographic ships are equipped with sophisticated multibeam echo sounders that survey large swaths of the ocean floor, collecting a tremendous volume of bathymetry (or depth) data. We also look to emerging technologies and methods to map the seafloor including the use of satellites and crowdsourced data.

We’re here today from 1:00-3:00 ET. Ask us anything about how NOAA maps the U.S. seafloor!

">Hi Reddit! We’re Rear Admiral Shep Smith, Director of NOAA Coast Survey and the U.S. National Hydrographer, and Lt. Cmdr. Sam Greenaway, chief of NOAA Coast Survey’s Hydrographic Systems and Technology Branch, and we are experts in mapping the seafloor. Ask us anything!