<p>NOAA Ship Fairweather in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. The Fairweather is designed and outfitted primarily for conducting hydrographic surveys in support of nautical charting, but the ship is capable of many other missions in support of NOAA programs. The Fairweather is equipped with the latest in hydrographic survey technology –- multi-beam survey systems; high-speed, high-resolution side-scan sonar; position and orientation systems; hydrographic survey launches; and an on-board data-processing server. The Fairweather is named for Mt. Fairweather in southeast Alaska, which is the highest peak in the Fairweather Range -- the tallest coastal range on Earth.
</p><p>To learn more about hydrography, visit:
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/">Office of Coast Survey</a>
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast/july09/dd071509.mp3">What Is Hydrography?</a> (<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast.html#dd">Diving Deeper audio podcast</a>)
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/seafloor-mapping/welcome.html">Sea Floor Mapping</a> (<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/">National Ocean Service Education</a>)
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(Original source: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/images.html">National Ocean Service Image Gallery</a>)
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/people/40322276@N04">NOAA's National Ocean Service</a>
CC BY 2.0
<p><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usoceangov/3749301261/">NOAA Ship Fairweather</a>
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