The following is the text of a news release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:
(WASHINGTON) — NOAA's Hydrographic Services Review Panel, which advises the NOAA administrator on marine transportation, will meet Feb. 25 and 26 in New York to receive updates on the agency's navigation services and activities, and provide recommendations on agenda topics. The public is invited to attend the meeting personally or by webcast, and may provide comments during scheduled times in the afternoon.
To register for the webcast, contact Ashley Chappell (ashley.chappell@noaa.gov).
The panel will discuss hydrographic surveying, nautical charting, tide, current and water levels, and geodetic and geospatial measurements for the New York/New Jersey harbor region. Coastal planners and emergency responders will also brief the panel on opportunities to integrate navigation data into coastal resiliency efforts and post-storm damage assessments.
On Feb. 26, the panel will also hold focused breakout sessions with regional and local stakeholders, and members of the public who are attending in person are encouraged to register for their selected session.
WHAT
Meeting topics include:
• keynote address by Rear Admiral Richard Larrabee, director of the Port Commerce Department, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, on future of the port;
• post-Sandy lessons for immediate navigation response and long-term recharting;
• discussion on navigation for commercial shipping and recreational boating;
• assessments of NOAA navigation products;
• discussions of land elevation data for coastal management;
• natural hazard warning and response within the New York and New Jersey harbor region.
The meeting agenda is at http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/ocs/hsrp/hsrp.htm.
WHEN
Tuesday, Feb. 25, 8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 26, 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE
Grand Hyatt New York, 109 East 42nd Street (between Park and Lexington avenues, near Grand Central Terminal), New York
WHO
• Rear Admiral Richard Larrabee, director of the Port Commerce Department, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
• Matthew Wellslager, chair, NOAA's Hydrographic Services Review Panel
• Dr. Holly Bamford, assistant NOAA administrator for the National Ocean Service
• Rear Admiral Gerd F. Glang, director, NOAA's Office of Coast Survey
• Members of the Hydrographic Services Review Panel
Obtain additional information from Kathy Watson, Hydrographic Services Review Panel coordinator, at NOAA's Office of Coast Survey, 301-713-2770 ext. 158.
NOAA's Hydrographic Services Review Panel is a federal advisory committee that advises the NOAA administrator on carrying out the agency's navigation services mission — to ensure the safe, efficient, and environmentally sound movement of commerce along America's marine transportation system.
NOAA Office of Coast Survey is the nation's nautical chartmaker. Originally formed by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807, Coast Survey updates charts, surveys the coastal seafloor, responds to maritime emergencies, and searches for underwater obstructions that pose a danger to navigation.
