E: DATA PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

During 2006–2007 the Ocean Sciences- Canadian Hydrographic Service (OS-CHS) division of DFO Science continued to provide support for a broader and more comprehensive national ocean science and charting authority responsibility. OS-CHS also revised its earlier data management strategy in mid-2006, which included a more detailed implementation plan. Since late March 2007, the CHS, through a negotiated agreement with Nautical Data International, has been wholly responsible for the production, marketing, sales and distribution of its digital charts and data, including the licensing of value-added resellers and dealers.

To continue to support safe and accessible waterways throughout 2006–2007, CHS conducted field survey operations, provided products and services for navigation, and supported maritime safety and security and Canadian sovereignty.

CHS promoted safe navigation to the public and many boating clients through activities in Marketing and Client Liaison (Outreach), Discover Boating events, boat shows, Canal Days, and World Hydrography Day with the Spirit of Canada, and through involvement with the Canadian Safe Boating Council and Canadian Power & Sail Squadron.

GeoPortal

ISDM operates GeoPortal, a web-based application that follows international standards for portraying and combining geographic information from different sites in DFO. In practical terms, as an example, it means that maps of lobster catches, bottom water temperatures and bathymetry can all be overlaid on demand even though such information is served from different regions in DFO. ISDM uses facilities in GeoPortal to support an online, standards-based data inventory to describe all of the diverse DFO Science data that are freely available to anyone. The initial inventory is running in a test mode, with more open access anticipated in the coming year. Visit GeoPortal at: http://public.geoportal-geoportail.gc.ca/

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

The Canadian Hydrographic Service and the Geological Survey of Natural Resources Canada are collaborating with the Danish Geological Survey to acquire bathymetric data about the Lomonosov Ridge, a submarine mountain range located in the Eastern Arctic between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Denmark's Greenland. Canada has until 2013 to submit evidence to the United Nations under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to support the establishment of territories beyond the 200-mile exclusive economic zone, based on the outer limits of the continental shelves.

UNCLOS Survey Camp

UNCLOS Survey Camp
The base camp seen here is at Alert, the Canadian Forces Base on Ellesmere Island. Canada and Denmark are collaborating in order to reduce the costs for both countries and to develop a joint interpretation of the collected information, thereby reducing the possibility of overlapping claims and disputes.

Innovative New Mapping Tool Introduced at CHS

The vision of the Canadian Hydrographic Service is to be a world leader in hydrography and a proactive supplier of hydrographic products. In line with that vision, CHS has introduced a new technology for the production of paper and electronic marine charts that is revolutionizing the work of hydrographers.

This new tool, CARIS HPD software, serves as a single database-sharing source data to be used for various mapping products. The software eliminates task duplication in the production of charts of a given geographic sector at different scales. The digital and paper products are produced using the same data, thereby ensuring greater consistency between the two versions.

Once the database is loaded — a preliminary step that requires a substantial initial effort — task duplication can be eliminated. The source data are analyzed only once, and their representation is applied to the products affected. This new technology allows for increased efficiency in subsequent editions because the data used to produce the charts are managed in a seamless database.

Because the source data and product data are unified, the production of the paper and electronic charts is synchronized within shorter timeframes. For the first time, the electronic and paper charts can be released almost simultaneously.

At the Canadian Hydrographic Conference held in Halifax in June 2006, Canada, Chile and Mexico jointly announced the publication of a marine chart using this Canadian technology. The first Canadian chart produced using CARIS HPD is the Port of Quebec City. The simultaneous production of the paper and electronic versions is a world first and confirms the leadership of CHS among the world's marine chart-producing countries.

CARIS HPD software provides a close-up look at Belle Bay, Newfoundland.

World Hydrography Day

With the endorsement of the United Nations and the International Hydrographic Organization, World Hydrography Day — established in 2006 and celebrated on June 21st — was created to promote hydrography. CHS worked with the Canadian Safe Boating Council and Canadian Power & Sail Squadron to promote safe navigation to the public and many boating clients on this special day.

Ocean Sciences-Canadian Hydrographic Service on the International Scene

OS-CHS, to further support and promote Canada's involvement internationally in the ocean sciences and nautical charting community, is actively involved in the following organizations:

  • the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, which provides United Nations member states with a mechanism for global cooperation in the study of the ocean;
  • the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), a permanent global system for observing, modeling and analyzing marine and ocean variables to support operational ocean services worldwide;
  • the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), an intergovernmental consultative and technical organization established in 1921 to support safety in navigation and protection of the marine environment and its established committees; and
  • the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations agency established to maintain a regulatory framework for shipping. Its mandate includes safety, marine pollution, legal matters, technical cooperation, maritime security and the efficiency of shipping.

Computer-generated Image: CHS/DFO
2006 Beaufort Sea Survey
This 3-D image of pingo-like features in the Beaufort Sea corridor was collected by the Canadian Hydrographic Service in 2006 using a multibeam sonar system aboard CCGS Nahidik. The word “pingo” comes from the Inuit, and usually refers to a low hill or mound. Such pingo mounds are created by hydrostatic pressure forcing up the land in areas underlain by permafrost. The Discovery Channel's Daily Planet program featured the Nahidik voyage on their series about Canada's North.

Strategic Science Outreach

The Strategic Science Outreach (SSO) unit of DFO Science takes a strategic approach to building awareness of Canada's federal aquatic science program. It is a small unit with a major goal: to ensure that aquatic science is valued. Its work is in keeping with the Knowledge Advantage advocated by the federal Science and Technology Strategy, which states that Canadians must be positioned at the leading edge of the important developments that generate health, environmental, societal and economic benefits.

Through the production of science stories, lectures, videos and publications both in print and on the Internet, SSO promotes the importance of aquatic science and the work of DFO researchers to a wide range of audiences. The unit prepares exhibits for use at national science centres and manages outreach activities with non-governmental organizations that contribute to science learning and curricula. SSO assists the Assistant Deputy Minister of Science to implement advice from the external Science Advisory Council, a group of ex-officio science and science communications experts who advise the DFO Science management team during the year. The unit also provides strategic leadership to regional staff on outreach to enhance open houses, major events and anniversary celebrations that engage the community.

The SSO unit produces the popular DFO Science Feature stories series, which are available online at: www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/ science/Publications/article/index-eng.asp. Anyone can subscribe to the stories online by sending an email with “subscribe” in the subject line to: sciencebulletion@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Among recent publications produced by the unit are this report and Science that Matters, a brochure about DFO Science Sector that can be found at: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/Publications/ Science_Brochure/index_e.htm

The Science that Matters brochure