Moment 2

Lecture 1: Offshore navigation

Reading:

Chapter 2, pages 18–30 in Marine Geophysics by E.J.W. Jones.

The area of offshore navigation has evolved significantly over the last decade implying that Chapter 2 from several points of view is outdated. Today Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) dominates completely the applied offshore navigation methods.

The lecture “Offshore navigation” of Moment 2 complements Chapter 2 by providing more information on GNSS methods and the various augmentation methods that exist to improve positional accuracy of satellite derived positions. Chapter 2 provides however a valuable insight into the range of methods used for offshore navigation prior to the time of GNSS, that is before the GPS (Global Positioning System) and GLONASS systems begun to dominate from about the mid 1990s. The knowledge about earlier navigational systems are important for a marine geophysicist since it is not at all uncommon that “old” data are being used in various studies.