Hydrographic surveys and Canada’s shipping economy
On this page
- Canada’s shipping economy
- Helping through science
- Promoting safety, sustainability and innovation in Canadian waters
- Related links
CHS hydrographers are actively engaged in surveying and measuring Canada’s inland navigable waterways including the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and other inland waters, as well as the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic coasts out to the edge of the continental shelf and beyond. The data collected by hydrographers is used to produce authoritative nautical charts and publications and to provide related services to support a broad range of marine activities.
Hydrographic surveys measure water depths, hazards to navigation, man-made and natural features, tides, currents and water levels, and seafloor topography. We follow rigorous international standards and guidelines when we conduct hydrographic surveys.
To learn more about our guidelines and standards:
- Hydrographic Survey Management Guidelines
- Standards for Hydrographic Surveys (See IHO S-44)
- CUBE Bathymetric data Processing and Analysis
- Special Requirements for Bathymetric Data - Marine Scientific Research Requests
- Horizontal Control Point data – NRCan Geodetic tools and data
CHS plays a vital role in determining Canada's maritime limits and boundaries. CHS's charts delineate Canada’s territorial sea, contiguous zone, and exclusive economic zone.
For more information email us at chsinfo@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
Canada’s shipping economy
The Canadian Hydrographic Service helps support Canada’s shipping economy in a range of ways, by minimizing environmental and safety risks while maximizing navigational efficiencies, towards supporting a range of industries and maritime uses.
Helping through science
The maritime territory plays a major role in our economic prosperity in terms of:
- jobs and food
- transportation
- energy and other natural resources
The CHS helps Canada's marine resources through strong science that:
- minimizes environmental and safety risks
- maximizes navigational efficiencies in Canada's marine regions
We do this through:
- seabed mapping
- locating natural hazards
- hydrographic surveys of:
- water depths
- tides and currents
Promoting safety, sustainability and innovation in Canadian waters
While we serve the marine community through accurate nautical charts and other navigation products and services, we also:
- contribute to vessel management
- monitor marine changes that can impact fish habitat
- pinpoint navigational hazards to reduce marine accidents
- map seabeds for renewable energy from tidal currents and waves
- assist in geoscience technology and the exploration of offshore gas and oil sites
- test new technology like autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in the frozen Arctic Ocean
- promote development and new opportunities for Canada's northern communities with seabed mapping under ice in the Canadian Arctic
We've also developed a:
- National Integrated Water Level System for:
- shipping information and navigation charts
- monitoring storm surge and tsunami activity
- research into tidal current energy and ice hazard reduction
- web-based water level prediction service that provides accurate, real-time estimates of water levels, which is valuable information for shipping companies
- the service is called SPINE, which is a French acronym for 'Service de prévision et d'interpolation des niveaux d'eau'
- SPINE operates:
- downstream from Québec City
- in all parts of the navigable St. Lawrence waterway between Montréal and Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive
In addition, CHS:
- helps Canada determine the extension of the Maritime Zones
- this is guided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
- expands navigation routes like with the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project
- provides data for harbours to accommodate deep-draft tankers and other large vessels on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts
Related links
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