The Development of Continuous Hydrographic Datum Using Geodetic Based Approaches: A Review

Abstract

The development of a continuous hydrographic datum along the coastal region for a precise datum determination for any hydrographic survey works is very important. The development started in 2005 by France that developed the first phase of Bathymetry with reference to the Ellipsoid (BATHYELLI) and its second phase in 2011. Then in 2009, the United Kingdom with collaboration with Ireland developed the Vertical Offshore Reference Frame (VORF), followed by the Continuous Chart Datum for Canadian Water (CCDCW) in 2010 by the Canadian Hydrographic Services (CHS) and Canadian Geodetic Survey (CGS). Then in 2018, Netherlands and Belgium collaborate to develop Vertical Reference Frame for the Netherlands (NEVREF) that consist of two elements which are Netherlands Quasi-Geoid 2018 (NLGEO2018) model and also Netherlands Lowest Astronomical Tide 2018 (NLLAT2018) model. Finally, the latest development of continuous hydrographic datum was conducted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in 2019, a system known as Saudi Continuous Chart Datum (SCCD). Therefore, this paper provides a review of the approaches in creating a continuous hydrographic datum which encompasses the usage of tide gauge station, satellite altimetry, and interpolation algorithm, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), Digital Elevation Model (DEM), Geoid Model and Hydrodynamic Ocean Tide Models. The findings show that the integration of tidal station, satellite altimetry, GNSS levelling and geoid model is the most appropriate solution for a continuous and accurate hydrographic datum along the coastal line. Finally, the future research direction is also discussed in this review paper.