B. Pillich, SATELLITE TELEMETRY OF TIDAL DATA IN THE HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICE OF THE ROYAL-AUSTRALIAN-NAVY, The International hydrographic review, 72(2), 1995, pp. 29-35
zThe Hydrographic Service of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is respon
sible for charting of the area extending from the middle of Indian Oce
an to the equatorial waters of Papua New Guinea to the Antarctic, with
tidal regimes varying from fully diurnal to fully semi-diurnal and fr
om less than Im to over 12m. Accurate tidal information is vital in su
rveying and charting, and to provide it, three years ago, Hydrographic
Service RAN with assistance from InterOcean developed the then larges
t network of unattended INMARSAT-C telemetry units in the world by usi
ng an array of digital tide gauges linked to the INMARSAT-C satellite
telemetry by a remote data acquisition system. This application of mod
ern technology was a major step from the previous practice of manned t
ide camps.During the last three years, the equipment has been further
improved and modified to rectify minor problems encountered during tha
t period. In general, the introduction of modern technology to tidal d
ata acquisition and telemetry has been a success for the RAN hydrograp
hers. Tide gauges, telemetry equipment and ancillary gear have proved
their value, giving reliable service with low maintenance and operatio
nal costs.