United States Coast and Geodetic Survey: Difference between revisions

Hassler submitted a plan for the survey work involving the use of [[triangulation]] to ensure scientific accuracy of surveys, but [[international relations]] prevented the new Survey of the Coast from beginning its work; the [[Embargo Act of 1807]] brought American overseas trade virtually to a halt only a month after Hassler{{'}}s appointment and remained in effect until Jefferson left office in March 1809. It was not until 1811 that Jefferson{{'}}s successor, President [[James Madison]], sent Hassler to [[Europe]] to purchase the instruments necessary to conduct the planned survey, as well as standardized weights and measures. Hassler departed on August 29, 1811, but eight months later, while he was in [[England]], the [[War of 1812]] broke out, forcing him to remain in Europe until its conclusion in 1815. Hassler did not return to the United States until August 16, 1815.<ref name="theberge1" /> The Survey finally began surveying operations in 1816, when Hassler started work in the vicinity of [[New York City]].<ref name="theberge1" /><ref name=orglawp97/> The first [[Baseline (surveying)|baseline]] was measured and verified in 1817.<ref name="theberge1" />

In 1838, U.S. Navy Lieutenant [[George M. Bache]], while attached to the Survey, suggested standardizing the markings of [[buoy]]s and navigational markers ashore by painting those on the right when entering a harbor red and those on the left black; instituted by Lieutenant Commander [[John R. Goldsborough]] in 1847, the "red right return" system of markings has been in use in the United States ever since. In the early 1840s, the Survey began work in [[Delaware Bay]] to chart the approaches to [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]].<ref name="theberge3"/>

Professor [[Alexander Dallas Bache]] became superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey after Hassler{{'}}s death in 1843.<ref name="timeline18071899"/> During his years as superintendent, he reorganized the Coast Survey in accordance with the plan President Tyler approved and expanded the Survey's work southward along the [[East Coast of the United States|United States East Coast]] into the [[Florida Keys]]. In 1846 the Survey began to operate a ship, [[USCS Phoenix|''Phoenix'']], on the [[Gulf Coast of the United States|United States Gulf Coast]] for the first time. By 1847, Bache had expanded the Survey{{'}}s operations from nine [[U.S. state]]s to seventeen, and by 1849 it also operated along the [[West Coast of the United States|United States West Coast]], giving it a presence along all coasts of the United States.<ref>[http://www.lib.noaa.gov/noaainfo/heritage/coastsurveyvol1/BACHE1.html#CHANGING Theberge, Captain Albert E., ''The Coast Survey 1807–1867: Volume I of the History of the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration'', "THE BACHE YEARS: CHANGING THE GUARD", no publisher listed, NOAA History, 1998.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209235310/http://www.lib.noaa.gov/noaainfo/heritage/coastsurveyvol1/BACHE1.html |date=February 9, 2012}}</ref> In 1845, he instituted the world{{'}}s first systematic oceanographic project for studying a specific phenomenon when he directed the Coast Survey to begin systematic studies of the [[Gulf Stream]] and its environs, including physical oceanography, [[Geology|geological]] oceanography, [[Biology|biological]] oceanography, and [[Chemistry|chemical]] oceanography. Bache{{'}}s initial orders for the Gulf Stream study served as a model for all subsequent integrated oceanographic cruises.<ref name="timeline18071899" /> Bache also instituted regular and systematic observations of the [[tide]]s and investigated [[Magnetism|magnetic]] forces and directions, making the Survey the center of U.S. government expertise in geophysics for the following century. In the late 1840s, the Survey pioneered the use of the [[Telegraphy|telegraph]] to provide highly accurate determinations of [[longitude]]; known as the "[[History of longitude#AmericanMethod|American Method]]," it soon was emulated worldwide.<ref name="bache2">[http://www.lib.noaa.gov/noaainfo/heritage/coastsurveyvol1/BACHE2.html#EARLY Theberge, Captain Albert E., ''The Coast Survey 1807–1867: Volume I of the History of the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration'', "BACHE's EARLY YEARS", no publisher listed, NOAA History, 1998.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014180304/http://www.lib.noaa.gov/noaainfo/heritage/coastsurveyvol1/BACHE2.html |date=October 14, 2013}}</ref>

Another significant moment in the Survey{{'}}s history that occurred in 1858 was the first publication of what would later become the ''United States Coast Pilot'', when Survey employee [[George Davidson (geographer)|George Davidson]] adapted an article from a [[San Francisco]], California, newspaper into an addendum to that year{{'}}s ''Annual Report of the Superintendent of the Coast Survey''. Although the Survey had previously published its work indirectly via the Blunts{{'}} ''American Coast Pilot'', it was the first time that the Survey had published its sailing directions directly in any way other than through local newspapers.<ref name="coastpilot"/>

[[Image:Reconnaissance of the Mississippi River.jpg|thumb|right|A survey of the [[Mississippi River]] in [[Louisiana]] below [[Fort Jackson, Louisiana|Fort Jackson]] and [[Fort St. Philip]] made by the U.S. Coast Survey to prepare for the [[Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip|bombardment of the forts]] by [[David Dixon Porter]]'s [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] fleet in April 1862 during the [[American Civil War]].<ref>''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies'', Series I, Volume 18, p. 362.</ref>]]

The outbreak of the [[American Civil War]] in April 1861 caused a dramatic shift in direction for the Coast Survey. All U.S. Army officers were withdrawn from the Survey, as were all but two U.S. Navy officers. Since most men of the Survey had [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] sympathies, all but seven of them stayed on with the Survey rather than resigning to serve the [[Confederate States of America]], and their work shifted in emphasis to support of the [[Union Navy]] and [[Union Army]]. Civilian Coast Surveyors were called upon to serve in the field and provide mapping, hydrographic, and engineering expertise for Union forces. One of the individuals who excelled at this work was [[Joseph Smith Harris]], who supported [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[David Farragut|David G. Farragut]] and his [[Union blockade|Western Gulf Blockading Squadron]] in the [[Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip]] in 1862; this survey work was particularly valuable to [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[David Dixon Porter]] and his [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] bombardment fleet. Coast Surveyors served in virtually all theaters of the war and were often in the front lines or in advance of the front lines carrying out mapping duties, and Coast Survey officers produced many of the coastal charts and interior maps used by Union forces throughout the war. Coast Surveyors supporting the Union Army were given assimilated military rank while attached to a specific command, but those supporting the U.S. Navy operated as civilians and ran the risk of being executed as [[Espionage|spies]] if captured by the Confederates while working in support of Union forces.<ref name="timeline18071899"/><ref name="noaahistoryuscgs">[http://www.history.noaa.gov/legacy/corps.html NOAA History: NOAA Corps and the Coast and Geodetic Survey]</ref>

With the outbreak of the [[Spanish–American War]] in April 1898, the U.S. Navy again withdrew its officers from Coast and Geodetic Survey duty. As a result of the war, which ended in August 1898, the United States took control of the [[The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898|Philippine Islands]] and [[Puerto Rico]], and surveying their waters became part of the Coast and Geodetic Survey's duties.<ref name="noaahistoryuscgs" /> The Survey opened a field office in [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]] in 1899, to support survey ships operating in the [[Pacific Ocean]] as well as survey field expeditions in the [[western United States]]; this office eventually would become the modern [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] Pacific Marine Center.<ref name="timeline18071899" />

In 1903, the Coast and Geodetic Survey was transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the newly created [[United States Department of Commerce and Labor]].<ref name=archivescatalog/> By the time of its transfer, the Survey had established suboffices at [[San Francisco]], [[California]], and at [[Manila]] in the [[Philippines]] and had expanded the scope of its operations to include [[Lake Champlain]], the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] coast of [[North America]] from [[San Diego]], California, to [[Panama]], a transcontinental triangulation between the United States [[East Coast of the United States|East]] and [[West Coast of the United States|West]] Coasts, the [[Hawaiian Islands]], [[Alaska]], and "other coasts under the jurisdiction of the United States," which by then included also included the Philippines, [[Guam]], [[American Samoa]], and Puerto Rico.<ref>''Organization and Law of the Department of Commerce and Labor'', pp. 98–99.</ref> In 1903, the ''Organization and Law of the Department of Commerce and Labor'' stated that from the time the Survey began scientific activities in the early 19th century it had produced "a stimulus to all educational and scientific work. The methods used by the Survey have been the standard for similar undertakings in the United States, and many commendations of their excellence have been received from abroad. The influence of the Survey in the various operations resulting from the advancing scientific activity of the country can hardly be overestimated."<ref>''Organization and Law of the Department of Commerce and Labor'', pp. 97–98.</ref>

The Coast and Geodetic Survey participated in the [[International Geophysical Year]] (IGY) of July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. During the IGY, 67 countries cooperated in a worldwide effort to collect, share, and study data on eleven [[Earth science]]s – [[aurora]] and [[airglow]], [[cosmic ray]]s, [[Earth's magnetic field|geomagnetism]], [[gravity]], [[ionosphere|ionospheric physics]], [[longitude]] and [[latitude]] determinations for precision mapping, [[meteorology]], [[oceanography]], [[seismology]], and [[Space weather|solar activity]].<ref name="timeline19001969" />

Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps officers, as well as other Coast and Geodetic Survey personnel such as civilian ship's officers and crew members, were eligible for [[United States Department of Commerce]] awards as well as the awards and decorations of other [[Uniformed services of the United States|uniformed services]] with which they served. However, although the Coast and Geodetic Survey traced its history to 1807, it had no awards of its own until 21 July 1945, when [[President of the United States|President]] [[Harry S. Truman]] signed [[Executive order|Executive Order]] 9590, authorizing six awards in recognition of Coast and Geodetic Survey service during [[World War II]], the national emergency preceding it, or its aftermath.<ref name=EO9590>[https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/09590.html Office of the Federal Register (OFR): Executive Orders: Executive Order 9590—Establishing certain awards for the Coast and Geodetic Survey, 21 July 1945 Accessed 13 November 2023]</ref><ref name=NHHC>[https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/artifacts/uniforms-and-personal-equipment/awards/medals/us-coast-and-geodetic-survey-medals/distinguished-service-medal-us-coast-and-geodetic-survey.html Naval History and Heritage Command: Distinguished Service Medal, US Coast and Geodetic Survey date 13 November 20203]</ref><ref name=federalregister>[https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/09590.html National Archives: Federal Register: Executive Order 9590—Establishing certain awards for the Coast and Geodetic Survey]</ref><ref name=JOMSAvol45>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Excerpt from article without identfication of author--> |date=<!--Date not included in excerpt--> |title=Excerpt from article without inclusion of title |url=http://www.omsa.org/files/jomsa_arch/Splits/1994/187197_JOMSA_Vol45_3_19.pdf |magazine=JOMSA: Journal of the Orders and Medals Society of America  |location= |publisher=Orders and Medals Society of America |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=19–20 |access-date=2 February 2024}}</ref><ref>[https://picasaweb.google.com/105861955697485892280/1946CoastGeodeticSurveyAwardsOfWorldWarTwo Coast and Geodetic Survey Awards of World War Two, Page 18.]</ref><ref>[https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/artifacts/uniforms-and-personal-equipment/awards/medals/us-coast-and-geodetic-survey-medals.html Naval History and Heritage Command Medals of the US Coast and Geodetic Survey Access date 13 November 20203]</ref>

During the [[Mexican–American War|Mexican War]] (1846–1848), the [[brig]] {{USRC|Washington|1837|6}}, a [[revenue cutter]] on loan from the U.S. Revenue-Marine, became the first Coast Survey ship to see U.S. Navy service. During the [[American Civil War]] (1861–1865), the [[Spanish–American War]] (1898), World War I (1917–1918), and World War II (1941–1945), some of the Survey{{'}}s ships served in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Revenue-Marine, U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, or [[United States Coast Guard]], while others supported the war effort while remaining part of the Survey{{'}}s fleet.

[[File:USC&GS Oceanographer (OSS O1) off Seattle c1974.jpg|thumb|right|{{nowrap|{{ship|NOAAS|Oceanographer|R 101}}}} off [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], ca.&nbsp;1974. As USC&GS ''Oceanographer'' (OSS 01), she was [[flagship]] of the Coast and Geodetic Survey fleet from her [[Ship commissioning|commissioning]] in 1966 until the creation of [[NOAA]] in 1970.]]