NOAA, National Ocean Service, Office of Coast Survey, Marine Chart Division is responsible to build and maintain a suite of more than 1000 nautical charts that are used by commercial and recreational mariners to navigate the United States and U. S. territory waters safely.A Nautical Chart is a graphic portrayal of the marine environment. They are used to lay out courses and navigate ships by the shortest and most economically safe route. They can also serve as base maps for resource management and shoreline development planning by state and local government.Charts depict the location of the shoreline, minimum water depths, aids to navigation, hazards to navigation, the nature and form of the coast, water depths, the general character and configuration of the sea bottom, the rise and fall of the tides, protected areas, and the characteristics of the Earth's magnetism.The suite of charts is compiled and maintained with data provided by federal, state, and private partners such as the National Ocean Service elements, United States Coast Guard, United States Army Corps of Engineers, United States Power Squadron Auxiliary, Port Authorities.The charts are currently available as Lithographically printed paper charts, Electronic Raster Nautical Charts (RNCs), up-to-date paper charts (printed with print on demand technology), and are now offered as Digital Vector Electronic Nautical Charts (ENC).The NOAA RNCs are electronic images of the NOAA paper charts. The NOAA RNCs were productized with a successful Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with private sector partner BSB Electronic Charts, a subsidiary of Maptech, Inc. Andover, Massachusetts. As of November 1, 2005 the NOAA RNC's are available for free download via the NOAA website.

The Historical Map and Chart Collection of the Office of Coast Survey contains over 35000 historical maps and charts from the mid 1700s up through the 2020s, including the final cancelled editions of NOAA's raster charts. These images are available for viewing or download through the image catalog at https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/. The Collection includes some of the nation's earliest nautical charts, hydrographic surveys, topographic surveys, bathymetric maps, annual reports, coast pilots, geodetic surveys, city plans, and Civil War battle maps. The Collection is a rich primary historical archive and a testament to the artistry of copper plate engraving technology of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Notable offerings include maps of Vancouver's explorations, the "Wilkes Atlas" of the U.S. Whistler's Anacapa Island chart, an extensive Civil War collection, a large scale topographic series of Washington, D.C., city plans, the reengraving of the famous 1792 L'Enfant and Ellicott plan for Washington D.C., and many artistic perspective sketches that were once an integral part of hydrographic surveys and published charts.

The NOAA Chart Display Service (NCDS) renders NOAA electronic navigational chart (NOAA ENC®) data with “traditional paper chart” symbology in online and offline applications for which a basemap of nautical chart data is desired, including GIS, web-based, and mobile mapping applications.The service uses symbols, labels, and color schemes familiar to those who have used NOAA paper nautical charts or the NOAA Custom Chart application. NCDS is available as Esri REST Map Service, OGC Web Map Service (WMS), and MBTiles formats.The ENC data in the service are updated weekly and include all of the latest Notice to Mariners corrections.

Several different government offices have published the Daily weather maps over its history. The publication has also gone by different names over time. The U.S. Signal Office began publication of the maps as the War Department maps on Jan. 1, 1871. When the government transferred control of the weather service to the newly-created Weather Bureau in 1891 the title changed to the Department of Agriculture weather map. In 1913 the title became simply Daily weather map. Eventually, in 1969, the Weather Bureau began publishing a weekly compilation of the daily maps with the title Daily weather maps (Weekly series). The the principal charts are the Surface Weather Map, the 500 Millibar Height Contours Chart, the Highest and Lowest Temperatures chart and the Precipitation Areas and Amounts chart. This library contains a very small subset of this series: 11Sep1928-31Dec1928, 01Jan1959-30Jun1959, and 06Jan1997-04Jan1998.

Spatial coverage index compiled by East View Geospatial of set "NOAA Nautical Charts (All Scales)". Source data from NOAA (publisher). Type: Nautical. Scale: Varies. Region: North America.

The Office of Coast Survey (OCS) has been involved in the development of a NOAA Electronic Navigational Chart (NOAA ENC) suite to support the marine transportation infrastructure and coastal management for a number of years. The NOAA ENC will support all types of marine navigation by providing the official database for electronic charting systems (ECS), including the Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). NOAA ENCs support real-time navigation as well as collision and grounding avoidance needs of the mariner, and accommodate a real-time tide and current display capability that is essential for large vessel navigation. NOAA ENCs will also provide fully integrated vector base maps for use in geographic information systems (GIS) that are used for coastal management or other purposes. The NOAA ENCs are in the International Hydrographic Office (IHO) S-57 international exchange format and comply with the ENC Product Specification.

The Historical Map and Chart Collection of the Office of Coast Survey contains over 20000 historical maps and charts from the mid 1700s through the late 1900s. These images are available for viewing or download through the image catalog at http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/csdl/ctp/abstract.htmThe Collection includes some of the nation's earliest nautical charts, hydrographic surveys, topographic surveys, geodetic surveys, city plans and Civil War battle maps. The Collection is a rich primary historical archive and a testament to the artistry of copper plate engraving technology of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Notable offerings include maps of Vancouver's explorations, the "Wilkes Atlas" of the U.S. Whistler's Anacapa Island chart, an extensive Civil War collection, a large scale topographic series of Washington, D.C., city plans, the reengraving of the famous 1792 L'Enfant and Ellicott plan for Washington D.C., and many artistic perspective sketches that were once an integral part of hydrographic surveys and published charts.

The NOAA Coastal Mapping Shoreline Products from the Remote Sensing Division are primarily for application to the nautical charts produced by NOAA's Office of Coast Survey. NOAA Coastal Mapping Shoreline Products includes National Shoreline, Continually Updated Shoreline Product, and Raster T- and TP-Series Maps (T-Sheets). The National Geodetic Survey's coastal mapping shoreline products geospatially depict the coastal realm of the United States and its territories including the Great Lakes and their connecting navigable waterways.

This collection comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for various regions in U.S. coastal waters. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources. This atlas was developed to be utilized within desktop GIS systems and contains GIS files and related D-base files. Associated files include MOSS (Multiple Overlay Statistical System) export files, .PDF maps, and detailed user guides and metadata.

Two ENC display services provide simple HTTP interfaces for user applications to request geo-registered nautical chart images from NOAA databases for display in online and offline applications for which a basemap of nautical chart data is desired, including GIS, web-based, and mobile mapping applications.

The chart images are rendered from the latest NOAA electronic navigational chart (NOAA ENC®) data. The ENC data and the chart images derived from it are updated weekly. Each display service portrays the ENC data with a different symbology set.

The ECDIS Display Service uses symbology developed by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) for the display of ENC data on Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) that large ocean- going vessels and many smaller commercial ships use for navigation. This symbol set is commonly referred to by its IHO specification number, "S-52," or as "ECDIS symbology."

The ENC Viewer portrays ENC data using this ECDIS symbology.

ECDIS Display Service ECDIS Display Service rendering of ENC along the Columbia River with symbology specified by the IHO. https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/data/gis-data-and-services.html#enc-display-services

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Raster Nautical Charts (RNC), found in the A-16 National Geospatial Data Asset Portfolio, provides a seamless mosaic of the NOAA RNC. This map layer portrays NOAA RNC which are full-color, geo-referenced, digital images of NOAA navigational charts. Source charts are updated once per month.

This map layer is not to be used for navigation. NOAA is responsible for building and maintaining a suite of more than 1000 nautical charts that are used by commercial and recreational mariners to navigate the U.S. and its territorial waters safely. A nautical chart is a graphic portrayal of the marine environment. They are used to lay out courses and navigate ships by the shortest and most economically safe route.Thumbnail image courtesy of: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

NOAA's Electronic Navigational Charts (NOAA ENCs) have been developed to support the marine transportation infrastructure and coastal management. The NOAA ENCs are in S-57, a data standard developed by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) to be used for the exchange of digital hydrographic data. NOAA ENCs can be used in Geographic Information Systems, (GIS) allowing for broader public access. Many GIS's, however cannot read an ENC's native S-57 format to address this problem. NOAA's ENC Direct to GIS web portal provides comprehensive access to display, query, and download all available large scale NOAA ENC data in a variety of GIS/CAD formats for non-navigational purposes using Internet mapping service technology. Nautical chart features contained within an NOAA ENC provide a detailed representation of the U.S. coastal and marine environment. This data includes coastal topography, bathymetry, landmarks, geographic place names and marine boundaries. Features in an NOAA ENC are limited in that they only represent the geographic region that is depicted in that particular NOAA ENC. By aggregating nautical features from all NOAA ENCs in the creation of GIS data, a contiguous depiction of the U.S coastal and marine environment is achieved.

In 1981, NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS) implemented the Automated Wreck and Obstruction Information System (AWOIS) to assist in planning hydrographic survey operations and to catalog and store a substantial volume of reported wrecks and obstructions that are considered navigational hazards within U.S. coastal waters. As part of the hydrographic survey planning process, these records are reviewed and those records which require additional field investigation are assigned to specific field units for verification. The results of these investigations eventually become part of the AWOIS record so that a permanent history of a wreck or obstruction is always available.

AWOIS is not a comprehensive record of wrecks in any particular area. There are wrecks in AWOIS that do not appear on the nautical chart and there are wrecks on the nautical chart that do not appear in AWOIS. Updates to AWOIS are ongoing; however, it will never completely address every known or reported wreck.

For more information regarding this data and the definitions of the symbols please reference the publication link under additional information.

© NOAA Office of Coast Survey This layer is a component of Navigation and Marine Transportation.

Marine Cadastre themed service for public consumption featuring layers associated with navigation and marine transportation.

This map service presents spatial information about MarineCadastre.gov services across the United States and Territories in the Web Mercator projection. The service was developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), but may contain data and information from a variety of data sources, including non-NOAA data. NOAA provides the information “as-is” and shall incur no responsibility or liability as to the completeness or accuracy of this information. NOAA assumes no responsibility arising from the use of this information. The NOAA Office for Coastal Management will make every effort to provide continual access to this service but it may need to be taken down during routine IT maintenance or in case of an emergency. If you plan to ingest this service into your own application and would like to be informed about planned and unplanned service outages or changes to existing services, please register for our Data Services Newsletter (http://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/publications/subscribe). For additional information, please contact the NOAA Office for Coastal Management (coastal.info@noaa.gov).

© MarineCadastre.gov

Last Revised: February 2016 Map InformationThis nowCOAST™ time-enabled map service provides maps depicting the latest surface weather and marine weather observations at observing sites using the international station model. The station model is a method for representing information collected at an observing station using symbols and numbers. The station model depicts current weather conditions, cloud cover, wind speed, wind direction, visibility, air temperature, dew point temperature, sea surface water temperature, significant wave height, air pressure adjusted to mean sea level, and the change in air pressure over the last 3 hours. The circle in the model is centered over the latitude and longitude coordinates of the station. The total cloud cover is expressed as a fraction of cloud covering the sky and is indicated by the amount of circle filled in; however, all cloud cover values are presently displayed using the "Missing" symbol due to a problem with the source data. Present weather information is also not available for display at this time. Wind speed and direction are represented by a wind barb whose line extends from the cover cloud circle towards the direction from which the wind is blowing. The short lines or flags coming off the end of the long line are called barbs, which indicate wind speed in knots. Each normal barb represents 10 knots, while short barbs indicate 5 knots. A flag represents 50 knots. If there is no wind barb depicted, an outer circle around the cloud cover symbol indicates calm winds.Due to software limitations, the observations included in this map service are organized into three separate group layers: 1) Wind velocity (wind barb) observations, 2) Cloud Cover observations, and 3) All other observations, which are displayed as numerical values (e.g. Air Temperature, Wind Gust, Visibility, Sea Surface Temperature, etc.).Additionally, due to the density of weather/ocean observations in this map service, each of these group data layers has been split into ten individual "Scale Band" layers, with each one visible for a certain range of map scales. Thus, to ensure observations are displayed at any scale, users should make sure to always specify all ten corresponding scale band layers in every map request. This will result in the scale band most appropriate for your present zoom level being shown, resulting in a clean, uncluttered display. As you zoom in, additional observations will appear.The observations in this nowCOAST™ map service are updated approximately every 10 minutes. However, since the reporting frequency varies by network or station, the observations for a particular station may update only once per hour. For more detailed information about layer update frequency and timing, please reference the nowCOAST™ Dataset Update Schedule.Background InformationThe maps of near-real-time surface weather and ocean observations are based on non-restricted data obtained from the NWS Family of Services courtesy of NESDIS/OPSD and also the NWS Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS). The data includes observations from terrestrial and maritime observing stations from the U.S.A. and other countries. For terrestrial networks, the platforms include but are not limited to ASOS, AWOS, RAWS, non-automated stations, U.S. Climate Reference Networks, many U.S. Geological Survey Stations via NWS HADS, several state DOT Road Weather Information Systems, and U.S. Historical Climatology Network-Modernization. For maritime areas, the platforms include NOS/CO-OPS National Water Level Observation Network (NWLON), NOS/CO-OPS Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS), NWS/NDBC Fixed Buoys, NDBC Coastal-Marine Automated Network (C-MAN), drifting buoys, ferries, Regional Ocean Observing System (ROOS) coastal stations and buoys, and ships participating in the Voluntary Ship Observing (VOS) Program. Observations from MADIS are updated approximately every 10 minutes in the map service and those from NESDIS are updated every hour. However, not all stations report that frequently. Many stations only report once per hour sometime between 15 minutes before the hour and 30 minutes past the hour. For these stations, new observations will not appear until approximately 23 minutes past top of the hour for land-based stations and 33 minutes past the top of the hour for maritime stations.Time InformationThis map service is time-enabled, meaning that each individual layer contains time-varying data and can be utilized by clients capable of making map requests that include a time component.In addition to ArcGIS Server REST access, time-enabled OGC WMS 1.3.0 access is also provided by this service.This particular service can be queried with or without the use of a time component. If the time parameter is specified in a request, the data or imagery most relevant to the provided time value, if any, will be returned. If the time parameter is not specified in a request, the latest data or imagery valid for the present system time will be returned to the client. If the time parameter is not specified and no data or imagery is available for the present time, no data will be returned.This service is configured with time coverage support, meaning that the service will always return the most relevant available data, if any, to the specified time value. For example, if the service contains data valid today at 12:00 and 12:10 UTC, but a map request specifies a time value of today at 12:07 UTC, the data valid at 12:10 UTC will be returned to the user. This behavior allows more flexibility for users, especially when displaying multiple time-enabled layers together despite slight differences in temporal resolution or update frequency.When interacting with this time-enabled service, only a single instantaneous time value should be specified in each request. If instead a time range is specified in a request (i.e. separate start time and end time values are given), the data returned may be different than what was intended.Care must be taken to ensure the time value specified in each request falls within the current time coverage of the service. Because this service is frequently updated as new data becomes available, the user must periodically determine the service's time extent. However, due to software limitations, the time extent of the service and map layers as advertised by ArcGIS Server does not always provide the most up-to-date start and end times of available data. Instead, users have three options for determining the latest time extent of the service:Issue a returnUpdates=true request (ArcGIS REST protocol only) for an individual layer or for the service itself, which will return the current start and end times of available data, in epoch time format (milliseconds since 00:00 January 1, 1970). To see an example, click on the "Return Updates" link at the bottom of the REST Service page under "Supported Operations". Refer to the ArcGIS REST API Map Service Documentation for more information.Issue an Identify (ArcGIS REST) or GetFeatureInfo (WMS) request against the proper layer corresponding with the target dataset. For raster data, this would be the "Image Footprints with Time Attributes" layer in the same group as the target "Image" layer being displayed. For vector (point, line, or polygon) data, the target layer can be queried directly. In either case, the attributes returned for the matching raster(s) or vector feature(s) will include the following:validtime: Valid timestamp.starttime: Display start time.endtime: Display end time.reftime: Reference time (sometimes referred to as issuance time, cycle time, or initialization time).projmins: Number of minutes from reference time to valid time.desigreftime: Designated reference time; used as a common reference time for all items when individual reference times do not match.desigprojmins: Number of minutes from designated reference time to valid time.Query the nowCOAST™ LayerInfo web service, which has been created to provide additional information about each data layer in a service, including a list of all available "time stops" (i.e. "valid times"), individual timestamps, or the valid time of a layer's latest available data (i.e. "Product Time"). For more information about the LayerInfo web service, including examples of various types of requests, refer to the nowCOAST™ LayerInfo Help DocumentationReferencesNWS, 2013: Sample Station Plot, NWS/NCEP/WPC, College Park, MD (Available at http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/html/stationplot.shtml).NWS, 2013: Terminology and Weather Symbols, NWS/NCEP/OPC, College Park, MD (Available at http://www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/product_description/keyterm.shtml).NWS, 2013: How to read Surface weather maps, JetStream an Online School for Weather (Available at http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/synoptic/wxmaps.htm).

The Office of Water Prediction (OWP) National Water Center provides water information products from version 2.1 of the National Water Model (NWM). Information about NWM products available through the OWP website can be found in this Product Description Document. Advisory: NWM products do not yet incorporate anthropogenic influence and should be used with some caution. The NWM is currently undergoing extensive validation and verification to identify where scientific updates to the model can make the most improvement. The next version of the NWM will be released in the late spring 2020 time frame. For more information about the NWM, go here.

Please note, the mapping interface and NWM products and web services are experimental. In addition to products from the NWM (streamflow, soil saturation), two products from the National Snow Analysis (snow depth, snow water equivalent) are available, as well as several useful reference maps from various sources. The OWP is seeking to improve the availability and quality of its products and services based on user feedback. Comments regarding any of the experimental NWM products and web services should be submitted through the NWM online survey form.

The OWP also provides a range of NWS official water information through the following web sites.

Official river observations and forecast information: https://water.weather.gov/ahps Snow Information: https://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov Precipitation Frequency Estimates: https://www.weather.gov/owp/hdsc Comments? Questions? Please Contact nws.nwc.ops@noaa.gov.

NOAA Electronic Navigational Charts (NOAA ENC®) are in International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) S-57 format, which is the standard used for the exchange of digital hydrographic data. NOAA ENC Online optimizes the viewing of the entire ENC suite, using the display rules defined by the IHO S-52 Specifications for Chart Content and Display Aspects of ECDIS.

The National Bathymetric Source (NBS) project creates and maintains high-resolution bathymetry composed of the best available data. This project enables the creation of next-generation nautical charts while also providing support for modeling, industry, science, regulation, and public curiosity. Primary sources of bathymetry include NOAA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hydrographic surveys and topographic bathymetric (topo-bathy) lidar (light detection and ranging) data. Data submitted through the NOAA Office of Coast Survey’s external source data process are also included, with gaps in deep water filled through Global Multi-Resolution Topography, a merged model of bathymetry. Different vertical datums and file formats are made available to meet various uses. The BlueTopo folder includes multilayer floating point GeoTIFFs with associated Raster Attribute Tables (RAT) containing elevation, vertical uncertainty, with other quality metrics and source information. These files are arranged in a spatial tiling and resolution scheme corresponding to the Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) but are not for navigation due to the inclusion of additional non-navigation data and non-navigation vertical datums. For navigational datasets please see the S-102 distribution portal. "nowCOAST" provides public access to BlueTopo through the nowCOAST viewer, web map tile services (WMTS), and links to individual datasets.

The NOAA Chart Tile Service provides standardized nautical chart tilesets for the public, eliminating the need for application developers to regularly undergo the cumbersome process of transforming NOAA BSB files into tilesets. It provides geo-referenced charts compatible with the Web Map Tile Specifications (WMTS) and Tile Map Service Specification (TMS). All tilesets are published on a weekly basis.

The NOAA Seamless Raster Chart Server provides a seamless collarless mosaic of the NOAA Raster Navigational Charts (RNC). The RNC are a collection of approximately 2,100 charts and inset maps at varying scales and resolutions. Full information on the NOAA RNCs can be found here: http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/mcd/Raster/. The Seamless Raster Chart Server integrates all charts in a single map service and clips the charts to the extent of the chart, removing the map collar. The set of charts displayed automatically change based on the viewer's scale to provide the most useful chart scale within the view. The charts in the Seamless Raster Chart Server are updated once every month at the beginning of the month to provide the latest Notice to Mariners updates.

The NOAA Composite Shoreline is primarily intended for high-resolution cartographic representation of the shoreline. It is a high-resolution vector shoreline based on a multi-temporal collection of NOAA coastal survey maps (T-sheets). Where T-sheets were unavailable, NOAA's extracted vector shoreline (EVS) was used to compile seamless shoreline coverage.