| Summary: | The Hydrographic Service of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is responsible for charting of the area extending from the middle of Indian Ocean to the equatorial waters of Papua New Guinea to the Antarctic, with tidal regimes varying from fully diumal to fully semi-diurnal and from less than lm to over 12m. Accurate tidal information is vital in surveying and charting, and to provide it, three years ago, Hydrographic Service RAN with assistance from InterOcean developed the then largest network of unattended INMARSAT-C telemetry units in the world by using an array of digital tide gauges linked to the INMARSAT-C satellite telemetry by a remote data acquisition system. This application of modern technology was a major step from the previous practice of manned tide camps. During the last three years, the equipment has been further improved and modified to rectify minor problems encountered during that period. In general, the introduction of modern technology to tidal data acquisition and telemetry has been a success for the RAN hydrographers. Tide gauges, telemetry equipment and ancillary gear have proved their value, giving reliable service with low maintenance and operational costs.
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