Skip to content
โ† Back to Guides

๐ŸŒŠ Hydrographic Survey

0/5 steps
STEP 1

Tide Gauge Setup

STEP 1 โ€” SET UP TIDE GAUGE
Install and operate tide gauge.

Why we do this:
Water levels change constantly.
Soundings must be corrected to a
common datum (chart datum).

Setup:
โ€ข Install tide gauge at fixed location
โ€ข Record readings every hour
โ€ข Note time of each reading
โ€ข Mark gauge zero elevation
STEP 2

Positioning System

STEP 2 โ€” SET UP POSITIONING
Configure GPS for boat positioning.

Options:
โ€ข RTK GPS on boat
โ€ข Total station shore setup
โ€ข Acoustic positioning

Requirements:
โ€ข Position accuracy < 1m
โ€ข Time sync with sounder
โ€ข Record fix numbers
STEP 3

Sounding Lines

STEP 3 โ€” RUN SOUNDING LINES
Collect depth data along planned lines.

Planning:
โ€ข Parallel lines across survey area
โ€ข Line spacing based on requirements
โ€ข Run lines perpendicular to shore

For each fix:
โ€ข Record time
โ€ข Record position
โ€ข Record raw depth
STEP 4

Data Reduction

STEP 4 โ€” REDUCE SOUNDINGS
Apply tidal corrections.

In METARDU Hydro Tools:
โ†’ Enter tide gauge readings
โ†’ Enter sounding data
โ†’ Apply tidal correction

Formula:
Corrected Depth = Raw Depth - Tide Height

Chart Datum depth = Corrected Depth - Datum Offset
STEP 5

Generate Chart

STEP 5 โ€” OUTPUT RESULTS
Create bathymetric chart.

In METARDU:
โ†’ View cross sections
โ†’ Generate contours
โ†’ Export to CAD/DXF

Deliverables:
โ€ข Depth soundings table
โ€ข Bathymetric contours
โ€ข Survey report

Quick Compute