The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) is the UK's agency for providing hydrographic and marine geospatial data to mariners and maritime organisations across the world. The UKHO is a trading fund of the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

(MoD) and is located in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

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, with a workforce of approximately 900 staff. The UKHO is responsible for operational support to the Royal Navy and other defence customers. Supplying defence and the commercial shipping industry, they help ensure Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), protect the marine environment and support the efficiency of global trade. Together with other national hydrographic offices and the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), the UKHO works to set and raise global standards of hydrography, cartography and navigation. The UKHO also produces a commercial portfolio of ADMIRALTY Maritime Data Solutions, providing SOLAS-compliant charts, publications and digital services for ships trading internationally.

History

Establishment and early operation

The

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's first

Hydrographer Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary p ...

was Alexander Dalrymple, appointed in 1795 on the order of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

and the existing charts were brought together and catalogued. The first chart Dalrymple published as Hydrographer to the Admiralty (of

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Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

) did not appear until 1800. He also issued Sailing Directions and Notices to Mariners (NMs). Dalrymple was succeeded on his death in 1808 by Captain Thomas Hurd, under whose stewardship the department was given permission to sell charts to the public in 1821. In 1819 Captain Hurd entered into a bi-lateral agreement with

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to exchange charts and publications covering areas of mutual interest. This is thought to be the earliest formal arrangement for the mutual supply of information between the British and any foreign Hydrographic Office. Hurd developed the specialism of Royal Navy hydrographic surveyors. Rear-Admiral Sir W. Edward Parry was appointed Hydrographer in 1823 after his second expedition to discover a

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the ...

. In 1825 some 736 charts and coastal views were being offered for sale by the Hydrographic Office.

Explorations

HMS challenger William Frederick Mitchell

In 1828 Captain Parry and the Royal Society organised a scientific voyage to the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe a ...

, in collaboration with the Hydrographers of France and Spain, using . In 1829, at the age of 55, Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort became Hydrographer. During his time as Hydrographer, he developed the eponymous Scale, saw the introduction of official tide tables in 1833 and instigated various surveys and expeditions. Several of these were by , including one to

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla ...

and Patagonia in 1826. In 1831 Captain Beaufort informed Captain FitzRoy that he had found a

savant Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calc ...

for the latter's surveying voyage to South America,

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

. After completing extensive surveys in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

he returned to Falmouth, Cornwall via

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

in 1836. By the time of Beaufort's retirement in 1855, the Chart Catalogue listed 1,981 charts and 64,000 copies of them had been issued to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

. In the 1870s, the Royal Naval Surveying Service supported the Challenger expedition, a scientific exercise that made many discoveries, laying the foundation of

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynami ...

. The cruise was named after the mother vessel, . On her circumnavigation of the globe, 492 deep sea soundings, 133 bottom dredges, 151 open water trawls and 263 serial water temperature observations were taken. The Challenger crew used a method of observation developed in earlier small-scale expeditions. To measure depth, the crew would lower a line with a weight attached to it until it reached the sea floor. The line was marked in 25 fathom intervals with flags denoting depth. Because of this, the depth measurements from the Challenger were at best accurate to 25 fathoms (150 feet), or about 46 metres. As the first true oceanographic cruise, the Challenger expedition established an entire academic and research discipline. During the late 19th century, the UKHO took part in several international conferences, including the International Meridian Conference to determine a

prime meridian A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great ...

for international use and other conferences working towards the establishment of a permanent international commission concerning hydrographic matters. Hydrographers to the Admiralty Board during this period included: Rear-Admiral John Washington, Rear-Admiral George Henry Richards, Captain Sir Frederick J. O. Evans and Rear-Admiral Sir William J. L. Wharton.

20th century

During Rear-Admiral A. Mostyn Field's term as Hydrographer to the Admiralty Board, the Hydrographic Office lent instruments to the Nimrod Expedition of the British Antarctic Expedition led by

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age o ...

in 1907. Following the in 1912, the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention was established, as well as the introduction of ice reporting and forecasting. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, while Rear-Admiral Sir John F. Parry was Hydrographer of the Navy, the Hydrographic Office produced numerous new charts and products to support the Royal Navy. Following the war, the First International Hydrographic Conference was held in London. It led to the establishment in 1921 of the

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters ...

. In the 1930s, the systematic and regular collection of oceanographic and naval meteorological data started. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, while led by Vice-Admiral Sir John A. Edgell, chart printing moved to Creechbarrow House in

in June 1941. This was the first purpose-built chart making factory, and was designed by the Chief Draughtsman, Mr Jowsey. In 1968, compilation staff were transferred from Cricklewood to Taunton, thus bringing together the main elements of the Hydrographic Office. A purpose-built office, named after Alexander Dalrymple, was opened. Metrication and computerisation of charts began in the later 1960s and early 1970s under the leadership of Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund G. Irving (1960–1966), Rear-Admiral George Stephen Ritchie (1966–1971), Rear-Admiral Geoffrey P. D. Hall (1971–1975) and Rear-Admiral Sir David W. Haslam (1975–1985). For centuries, data was mainly collected using ordinary Royal Navy ships. In 1953, the first purpose-built survey vessel was launched: . With the use of the echo sounder and other electronic equipment in the 20th century, there was a big increase in the quantity and quality of the data collected. The technology used to collect data also improved with the first commercial use of multibeam survey technology in 1977; undertook the first

side-scan sonar Side-scan sonar (also sometimes called side scan sonar, sidescan sonar, side imaging sonar, side-imaging sonar and bottom classification sonar) is a category of sonar system that is used to efficiently create an image of large areas of the se ...

of Mount's Bay, Cornwall, in 1987. The work has since been continued by the Bulldog-class survey vessels which form the "Hydrographic Squadron". In 1994, the Hydrographer of the Navy also became the Chief Executive of UKHO and the post was held by Rear-Admiral Nigel R. Essenhigh (1994–1996) and Rear-Admiral John P. Clarke (1996–2001).

Publications

The UKHO continues to serve the

as its prime customer by supplying hydrographic and geospatial data. The UKHO's products and services are sold to merchant mariners and leisure users through its commercial portfolio of ADMIRALTY Maritime Data Solutions. In addition to traditional paper nautical charts and publications, the ADMIRALTY Maritime Data Solutions range has expanded to include a number of digital products and services. In 1996, the UKHO developed ADMIRALTY Raster Chart Service, a raster navigational chart service for Electronic Chart Display and Information System. This was followed in 2008 by ADMIRALTY Vector Chart Service, offering 15,750 fully vectorised Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs). The UKHO produces over 200 nautical publications, which are available as e-Nautical Publications or in the Digital Publications suite. Notable publications include ''Sailing directions (Pilots)'', ''Tide tables'', ''List of Radio Signals'', ''List of Lights and Fog Signals'' and the ''Mariner’s Handbook''. The UKHO also offers astronomical publications from HM Nautical Almanac Office, including '' The Nautical Almanac'' and ''

The Astronomical Almanac ''The Astronomical Almanac''The ''Astronomical Almanac'' for the Year 2015, (United States Naval Observatory/Nautical Almanac Office, 2014) . is an almanac published by the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) and His Majesty's Nautical Alman ...

'', among others. Today, the UKHO has expertise in areas such as bathymetry, oceanography, geodesy and data science. It provides advice on technical aspects of Law of the Sea, specialising in maritime limits and boundaries. It also delivers a range of cartographic and ENC training programmes delivered internationally to develop the core skills of marine cartography. Since 2015, the UKHO has supported the delivery of the Commonwealth Marine Economies (CME) Programme in partnership Cefas and

NOC A network on a chip or network-on-chip (NoC or )This article uses the convention that "NoC" is pronounced . Therefore, it uses the convention "a" for the indefinite article corresponding to NoC ("a NoC"). Other sources may pronounce it as an ...

, a programme enabling Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to sustainably develop their marine economies.

Admiralty List of Lights and Fog Signals

The UKHO publishes the ''Admiralty List of Lights and Fog Signals'' covering the whole world in 12 volumes. The information is also available in digital form.

Access to data

The UKHO is the government department responsible for charting the seas. It is part of the Ministry Of Defence, and operates as a trading fund, enabling it to be self-funding through sale of products and licensing of data. The UKHO sources much of its information from foreign governments to whom it pays royalty fees funded by the profits it makes. The UKHO grants six different licences, according to the use of the product. Whilst it generally allows use for non-navigational, non-commercial or low value purposes free of charge (over 80% of licences), where licensing is for use in a commercial product, a licence fee is charged. The UKHO is committed to the Information Fair Traders Scheme and makes available for reuse those data that are collected as part of its Public Task, which do not include third party Intellectual Property Rights. In the Information Fair Trader Scheme Report on the UKHO in April 2011 it states that the UKHO data will not be included in the Public Data Corporation to make government owned data more freely available, but it does recommend that the "UKHO should consider the introduction of a Free Navigational Licence" for non-commercial or low value use, consistent with its treatment of non-navigational use.

List of chief executives

* 1994–1996: Rear-Admiral Nigel Essenhigh * 1996–2001: Rear-Admiral John P. Clarke *2001-2006: Wyn Williams * 2006–2011: Mike Robinson * 2011–2015: Rear Admiral Ian Moncrieff * 2015–2019: John Humphrey * 2019–2020: Rear Admiral Tim Lowe * 2020–present: Rear Admiral Peter Sparkes (acting)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hydrographic Office, United Kingdom 1795 establishments in Great Britain Executive agencies of the United Kingdom government Maritime organizations Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) National hydrographic offices Organisations based in Taunton Trading funds of the United Kingdom government Geographic data and information organisations in the United Kingdom