Welcome to the latest edition of the International Hydrographic Review. I am honored to take on the responsibility as Editor of our community’s oldest scientific publication. All of us owe Alberto Costa Neves our appreciation for his efforts as Acting Editor of IHR – he stepped in and took on a difficult position while still finding time for his Assistant Director duties. I especially want to thank him for his patience during our extended, and remote, turnover.
When I agreed to take on the Editor’s role last year, I certainly wasn’t expecting t e situation we find ourselves in right now. Like many of you, I have been adapting my routine to comply with social distancing guidelines, stay at home orders, and a host of other constraints. I have become a pseudo-expert on many different video conferencing platforms, home office design, and methods for remote collaboration. The impact of this pandemic on the hydrographic community has been substantial, but as hydrographers, we adapt, innovate, and do whatever it takes to get the job done. In speaking with many of our colleagues around the world, I have been impressed by their positive response to adversity, creative solutions, and laser focus on providing information to users. In the long term, I believe we will all benefit from the new technology, techniques and processes that are being adopted now, especially in remote operations and data management.
The IHR has served as the IHO’s journal since 1923 and has adapted over the years in format, content, and dissemination methods. It is my goal to continue the evolution of the IHR to best serve the needs of the IHO and the hydrographic community. For example, you can see the IHR appearance has changed to follow the new IHO branding scheme. Not all changes will be cosmetic; it is most important that the IHR maintain the highest standard for published papers. The Editorial Board and I will work aggressively to increase the quality and quantity of articles and notes, however, we need your help to achieve success. Over the years, many papers that could have been published in the IHR have been placed in other scientific and professional journals due to a perception that the IHR was not impactful or had a low readership. We plan to change that perception and make IHR the journal of choice for hydrographic content. So, I encourage all of you to submit your articles and notes to the IHR for consideration.
This edition is comprised of 3 articles and 2 notes addressing a variety of relevant topics. The first article discusses the application of two safety of navigation risk assessment techniques, one from the International Association of Aids to Marine Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) and the other from Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), in Trinidadian waters of the Gulf of Paria. The second article discusses the use of optical satellite imagery of turbid waters to detect vortex structures. These vortices can be used to locate underwater hazards and determine local current properties. The third article takes a comprehensive look at the creation of a Baltic Sea Chart Datum. This effort, started in 2005, has resulted in a common chart datum across the member states of the Baltic Sea Hydrographic Commission (BSHC). The members of the BSHC are to be commended for their perseverance, diligence, and hard work to complete this monumental task.
Our first note continues the discussion from the last IHR edition of “hydrospatial” as a new word to better capture today’s digital hydrographic relationships. The author employed a unique method of interviewing leaders of hydrography at the 2020 Canadian Hydrographic Conference and capturing input from the audience. The second note captures the story of Tropical Cyclone IDAI’s impact on the hydrographic capability of Mozambique. As hydrographers, all of us have responded to natural and man-made disasters, however, this note provides insight into the short- and long-term effects these disasters can have on a hydrographic office.
The hydrographic community mourns the loss of Dr. Salem Masry, who passed away earlier this year. Dr. David Wells, a long-time friend of Dr. Masry, contributed a touching obituary.
I hope you enjoy this edition of IHR!
Brian Connon
Editor