earth science

Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service

Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service rather than just read about it. In short: The Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (French: Service hydrographique et océanographique de la Marine or SHOM) is a French public establishment of an administrative nature (French: établissement public à caractère administratif) administered by the Ministry of Armed Forces. It is the successor to the Dépôt des cartes et plans de la Marine, founded in 1720 which became the Naval Hydrographic Service in 188…

Key takeaways

Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (French: Service hydrographique et océanographique de la Marine or SHOM) is a French public establishment of an administrative nature (French: établissement public à caractère administratif) administered by the Ministry of Armed Forces. It is the successor to the Dépôt des cartes et plans de la Marine, founded in 1720 which became the Naval Hydrographic Service in 1886 and the Naval and Oceanographic Service in 1971. Its present form was set up by decree number 2007-800 on 11 May 2007. Its board is presided over by the Chief of Staff of the French Navy (French: Chef d'État-Major de la Marine) and the body is directed by a director-general.

Aims This public body has several aims, including the provision of :

a public service in hydrography and maritime cartography, including the collection, elaboration, confirmation and spread of nautical information useful to civil or naval navigators and to all who sail for professional or pleasure, as well as those responsible for care of the coast to support the navy's hydrographers, oceanographers and meteorologists concerning specific information on maritime matters to ensure the optimal running of the navy's weapons systems (radar, sonar, infra-red sensors, carrier-borne aircraft etc.). SHOM is made up of oceanographic and hydrographic groups, as well as a school, and employs 500 naval and civil personnel. Its fleet, which is placed at its disposal by the French navy, consists of 5 boats: the Beautemps-Beaupré, the Borda, the La Pérouse, the Laplace and the Pourquoi-Pas ?. SHOM works in cooperation with many other national organisations, including IFREMER (with whom it shares the Pourquoi-Pas ?), Météo-France, the CNRS, the University of Western Brittany and the IGN. It participates in international hydrographic projects and programmes co-ordinated by the International Hydrographic Organization, of which France is a member.

Publications Among the SHOM's nautical publications are

maritime charts in paper or electronic form ("cartes électroniques de navigation" or ENC) signal books, containing audio and visual signals for ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore use, as well as details of French lighthouses Radio signal-books, for radio-electric navigation aids and radio-communications nautical instructions and nautical instructions for those who sail for pleasure tidal almanacks and atlas of currents Guides and works on navigation : navigator's guides a guide to the symbols and abbreviations on maritime charts (1D) International rules for preventing maritime accidents (Réglement international pour prévenir les abordages en mer, or RIPAM) (2A and 2B) Maritime signals (3C) the "Groupe d'avis aux navigateurs", a weekly bulletin with corrections to the above works the journal Annales hydrographiques

Directors

Notes

External links SHOM - official site

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service

In research: Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1720 establishments in France, French naval components, Government agencies of France, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service in simple terms?

Why does Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service.