HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYING PRESENTATION

VERTICAL DATUMS, SOUNDING DATUMS AND CHART DATUMS

GROUP 3

Derrick S Nkomazana G0212223W

Isheanesu K Karikoga G0211443S
Travis Ncube G0211503W
Nkosilami E Mguni G0209938V
•Vertical datums are reference points used to measure heights or depths.
They provide a consistent baseline for measuring elevations and depths in
relation to mean sea level or another established reference point.

•Sounding datums refer to the vertical reference used to measure water

depths. They ensure that soundings taken during hydrographic surveys are
accurate and consistent.

•Chart datums are specific vertical datums used to create nautical

charts. They provide the reference point for water depths shown on the
charts, allowing mariners to navigate safely.
•Using accurate and standardized vertical, sounding, and
chart datums; hydrographic surveys can provide reliable
and consistent information for navigation and other
purposes in the maritime industry.

•Vertical datums, sounding datums, and chart datums are

essential components in hydrographic surveys.

•They play a crucial role in ensuring accurate and

reliable measurement of water depths, facilitating safe
navigation and the development of maritime
infrastructure.
•Traditionally, tide gauge and sounding datasets have been used to
establish the chart datum through hydrographic surveying(El-Diasty
et al., 2022).

•The height separation between tidal datums and datum references,

obtained through periodic soundings, is used to determine the
vertical control necessary to reduce seafloor depths to estimate the
chart datum.

•This process, while highly accurate, presents challenges in

estimating the chart datum in real time and can be difficult to
integrate with bathymetric surfacing algorithms that rely on
continuous sound observations.
•To address these challenges and improve the efficiency and
accuracy of hydrographic surveys, advancements in surveying
instruments have been made.

•These advancements have allowed surveyors to acquire data more

efficiently and accurately, leading to improved observations in
hydrographic surveys.

•One such advancement is the ability to perform straightforward

data acquisition and observation using high-class instruments.

•These instruments enable surveyors to collect data more effectively

and accurately, resulting in improved observations for hydrographic
surveys.
VERTICAL DATUMS
•The vertical datum is a collection of specific points on the Earth with
known heights either above or below mean sea level.

•Near coastal areas, mean sea level is determined with a tide gauge, whilst
in areas far away from the shore, mean sea level is determined by the shape
of the geoid.

•Similar to the survey markers used to identify known positions in the

horizontal datum, many positions in the vertical datum are marked by steel
rods driven into the ground with a hinged access cover.

•Using a technique called differential leveling, a known elevation at one

location is used to determine the elevation at another location.

•As with horizontal datums, the advanced technology of GPS has almost
completely replaced this classical technique of vertical measurement.
•One of the main uses of the vertical datum is to measure rates of subsidence, or land
sinking. In Louisiana, for example, large areas of land are rapidly sinking.

•This is the result of development, coastal erosion, and groundwater withdrawals. In

many areas, the only way to escape an incoming hurricane is to follow specific
hurricane evacuation routes.

•If state and local officials do not have accurate elevation information about these
routes, residents trying to leave during an emergency might get trapped in fast-rising
water.

•By referencing the vertical datum, officials can determine the true elevation and
position of the hurricane evacuation routes, as well as how much they have sunk over
past decades.

•For example, in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, the main hurricane evacuation

route, Highway 23, and the surrounding levees are subsiding by one-quarter to one-
half inch per year.
SOUNDING DATUMS
•All depths indicated on nautical charts are reckoned from a selected level of the
water called the sounding datum (sometimes referred to as the reference plane).

•For most NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration) charts of the
U.S. in coastal areas, the sounding datum is Mean Lower Low Water. (MLLW).

•In the Great Lakes, the Plane of Reference is the International Great Lakes Datum
(1985).

•Depths shown on charts are the least depths to be expected under average conditions.

•Since the chart datum is generally a computed mean or average height at some state
of the tide, the depth of water at any particular moment may be less than shown on
the chart.

•For example, if the chart datum is MLLW, the depth of water at lower low water will
be less than the charted depth as often as it is greater.
•The datum used on nautical charts to correlated the
values of the soundings with the tide level.

•The charted soundings are the depth of the water when

the tide is zero.

•At higher tide we have more water (sounding + tide)

and at negative tides we have less water (sounding -
tide).

•The water level datum to which the soundings on any

particular survey are referred is known as the 'sounding
datum'.
•The datum to which depths on a chart are referred is known
as the 'chart datum'.

•A water level datum is called a 'tidal datum' when defined in

terms of a certain phase of tide.

•Vertical Datum should reference a datum that is mean sea

level or higher, or a non-tidal datum, e.g. Local datum.

• Sounding Datum should reference a datum that is mean sea

level or lower, or a non-tidal datum.

• Intertidal areas should only be present when Vertical Datum

and Sounding Datum are not equal.
CHART DATUMS
Illustration
•The "hydrographic datum" or "chart datum" is the level of water that
charted depths displayed on a nautical chart are measured from.

•Chart Datum is the plane to which all tidal heights are referred.

•It is also the plane below which all depths are published on a navigational
chart, so that adding the tidal height to the charted depth the true depth of
water is determined.

•By international agreement it is defined as being a level so low that the

tide will not frequently fall below it.

•Chart Datum is also the level to which tidal levels and predictions are
measured and is the same as the zero of the tidal predictions.

•Depths in the Thames throughout the Port of London are measured to chart
datum, which is defined as a level so low that the tide will not frequently
fall below it.
•This level approximates to Lowest Astronomical Tide (L.A.T.) which is the lowest
level that can be predicted to occur under average meteorological conditions and
under any combination of astronomical conditions.

COORDINATE SYSTEMS FOR DEPTH MEASUREMENT AT SEA

•Water depth always needs to be referred to as a reference level, also known as a

chart datum.

•In view of the fact that there are many different datums, each nautical chart states
the datum used.

LOWEST ASTRONOMICAL TIDE

•The standard chart datum for nautical charts is the Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT).

•This is the lowest possible level based on lunar and solar gravity. Yet, water levels
below LAT do occur, due to weather influences, such as high air pressure or a
seaward breeze.
 MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL)

•Other applications, such as in the offshore industry and in

oceanography, also use a different vertical datum: Mean Sea
Level (MSL).

•The separation between MSL and LAT depends on the

location.
 REFERENCES

• El-Diasty, M., Kaloop, M. R., & Alsaaq, F.. (2022, February 15). Chart Datum-to-Ellipsoid Separation
Model Development for Obhur Creek Using Multibeam Hydrographic Surveying. https://
scite.ai/reports/10.3390/jmse10020264.
 THE END

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