Abstract: NOAA nautical charts are a graphic representation of a maritime area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land (topographic map), natural features of the seabed, details of the coastline, navigational hazards, locations man-made aids to navigation, information on tides and currents, local details of the Earth's magnetic field, and man-made structures such as harbors, buildings and bridges. Taken from http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/mcd/Raster/index.htm. OVERVIEW: In the United States, all official nautical paper charts produced by NOAA's Office of Coast Survey (OCS) are available in raster format. A fundamental tool of marine navigation, NOAA's Raster Navigational Charts (NOAA RNCs TM) are produced by scanning at high resolution the original color separates, which are used to print the paper charts. NOAA adds to the digital raster file such features as data describing the chart, its datum, projection, and its geo-reference. Geo-referencing enables a computer-based navigation system that is connected to a GPS to locate and display on the chart image on screen the vessel's exact position.
Purpose: Taken from http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/mcd/Raster/download.htm. The NOAA RNCs TM are intended for navigational use. They may be used to meet federal chart carriage regulations published in the Code of Federal Regulations. These regulations may change, and mariners are advised to check the Code of Federal Regulations for their current status.
Supplemental Information: Taken from http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/mcd/Raster/download.htm USER AGREEMENT: By using this website and the NOAA Raster Navigational Charts (NOAA RNCs TM) distributed here, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and accepted the terms and conditions stated in this User Agreement. NOAA reserves the right to change this Agreement at any time and without notice. Your use of this website and/or the Raster Navigational Charts available here shall constitute your agreement to be bound by this Agreement and any changes. 1. Description of NOAA Raster Navigational Charts (NOAA RNCs TM) The NOAA RNCs TM distributed here are geo-referenced, full-color images of NOAA?s paper nautical charts, published by NOAA in the .BSB format. NOAA updates the RNCs for Notices to Mariners on a weekly basis. They are an official product of NOAA, and meet the S-61 Standard, "Raster Navigational Charts", of the International Hydrographic Organization. In the future, NOAA plans to distribute the same images in a geoTIF format from this website. These images will not be considered as NOAA RNCs TM, are not updated for Notices to Mariners, and do not conform to the S-61 Standard. 2. Permitted Use NOAA RNCs TM, and their geoTIF version (future), are intended to be used in their electronic form only. You may download, use, and redistribute them without restriction, and without payment to NOAA, except as noted herein. The NOAA RNCs TM are intended for navigational use. They may be used to meet federal chart carriage regulations published in the Code of Federal Regulations. On November 15, 2005, the regulations were as stated below. These regulations may change, and mariners are advised to check the Code of Federal Regulations for their current status. 1) In December 1998, the IMO's Maritime Safety Committee approved amendments to Resolution A.817(19) stating that some ECDIS equipment may operate in Raster Chart Display System (RCDS) mode when the relevant chart information is not available in vector mode (e.g., NOAA ENC). The amendments state that when used in RCDS mode, ECDIS equipment should be used together with an appropriate folio of up-to-date paper charts to meet chart carriage requirements. 2) On May 2, 2001, the United States Coast Guard amended the United States chart carriage regulations to permit government vessels to use electronic charting and navigation systems in lieu of paper charts. 3) On August 15, 2002, the United States Coast Guard issued a statement of policy to bring its regulations into agreement with SOLAS Chapter V (as amended by the changes taking effect July 1, 2002). The policy statement said that, if a ship has an approved ECDIS installed according to SOLAS, Chapter V, the ECDIS will be considered as meeting the ship's nautical chart carriage regulations. The ships that are affected are: a. U.S.-flagged ships of 150 or more gross tons that engage on international voyages. b. U.S.-flagged ships certificated solely for service on the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. c. Foreign-flag ships to which SOLAS, Chapter V, applies that are operating on the navigable waters of the United States. This policy is not applicable to U.S.-flag ships engaged only on domestic voyages. These ships must continue to comply with existing navigation equipment requirements until the chart carriage regulations are formally amended. 3. Limitations on Use NOAA RNCs TM may be redistributed, but redistributed NOAA RNCs TM are NOT considered official NOAA RNCs TM, and do not meet federal chart carriage regulations for regulated vessels. This official status attends only to the original downloaded files. At a future date, NOAA intends to establish a program under which distributors may be certified to redistribute NOAA RNCs TM such that they will retain their official status and meet chart carriage regulations. NOAA RNCs TM and their geoTIF versions (future) may not be used to print commercial products. Individuals may print the NOAA RNCs TM or their geoTIF versions for personal use, but the result is not a NOAA chart, and may not be used to meet federal chart carriage regulations. Copying of the NOAA RNCs TM to any other server or location for further distribution is discouraged unless the following guidelines are followed: 1) this User Agreement is displayed and accepted by anyone accessing the NOAA RNCs TM, and 2) a reference to this Web site is included so that anyone accessing the NOAA RNCs TM is advised of their origin. If these NOAA RNCs TM are incorporated into any other product in a form other than as provided by NOAA, the producer of that product assumes full liability and must adhere to conditions described in the paragraph above concerning copying. 4. Warnings Weekly updates to the RNCs are done on a "best efforts" basis. The timing of their availability is not guaranteed. You are responsible for ensuring that your RNCs are the most current edition and that the most recent updates have been applied. NOAA RNCs TM were made by scanning the NOAA paper chart printing materials. Any inaccuracies due to old methods of collecting, processing and displaying data on the paper chart were transferred to the RNCs. As a result, the accuracy of modern positioning systems such as GPS may exceed the positional accuracy of the RNC. The impact of positioning accuracies can be minimized by not zooming an RNC beyond the scale of the original NOAA chart. While NOAA has accuracy standards for each step in the data collection and chart production process, much of the depth information found on NOAA charts is based on surveys conducted before 1940, the shoreline is more than 20 years old, and paper charts used to be compiled manually. For more information regarding the accuracy of electronic charts, click here. 5. Trademarks and Copyright The BSB file format is the sole property of Maptech, Inc. and as such is protected by U.S. and International foreign copyright and patent laws. "NOAA ¿¿¿¿¿¿" and the NOAA ¿¿¿¿¿¿ emblem are registered trademarks of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA RNC TM is a trademark of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Maptech" and the Maptech emblem are registered trademarks of Maptech, Inc. "BSB File Format" is a trademark of Maptech, Inc.

Progress: Complete
Update Frequency: None planned

Theme Keywords: none, chart, navigational chart, NOAA, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administion, OCS, Office of Coast Survey, navigation, National Park Service Theme Category Thesaurus, ISO 19115 Topic Category
Place Keywords: Massachusetts, Gulf of Maine

Access Constraints: None. These data are in the public domain. GIS files are freely available for download.
Usage Constraints: Public domain data from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please recognize the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management as the source of these data. You are not permitted to use CZM's name or to suggest that CZM endorses your project or product, without its express written consent. While efforts have been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the state of the art, CZM cannot assume liability for any damages or misrepresentation caused by any inaccuracies in the data or as a result of changes to the data caused by system transfers. The user must be aware of data conditions and bear responsibility for the appropriate use of these data with respect to possible errors, original map scale, collection methodology, currency of data, and other conditions specific to these data.