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TRANSPORTATION - BTS - Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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Maritime safety continues to be a high priority as high-speed or “fast ferries” (ferries withspeeds <strong>of</strong> at least 25 knots) carry more passengers in the United States every year and as thenumber <strong>of</strong> bigger and faster personal watercraft is increasing.Positioning: Highly accurate and affordable GPS make real-time position informationavailable worldwide. Just as early navigators needed charts and astronomical almanacs toderive their position using a sextant and chronometer, GPS and other modern systems operatein concert with high-precision digital charts.The DGPS was developed by the USCG and provides coastal coverage <strong>of</strong> the continentalUnited States, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, portions <strong>of</strong> Alaska and Hawaii, and portions <strong>of</strong>the Mississippi River Basin.The National Geodetic Survey (NGS), an <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> NOAA’s National Ocean Service, managesand coordinates a nationwide network <strong>of</strong> continuously operating reference stations (CORS)that provides GPS carrier phase and code range measurements in support <strong>of</strong> threedimensionalpositioning activities throughout the United States and its territories. Some <strong>of</strong>these stations also provide meteorological data.As <strong>of</strong> 2000, CORS data were available from 191 stations [Weston 2000]. A complete NGSCORS network is not anticipated before 2004, when other CORS-compatible networks such asthe USDOT-sponsored NDGPS network become fully operational. The remainder <strong>of</strong> thestations incorporated into the NGS CORS network will be operated by a large number <strong>of</strong>different cooperating organizations to support diverse applications. Non-USDOTorganizations currently contributing sites to the NGS CORS network include several federal,state, and local agencies, as well as academia and private industry.Keys to the FutureOver the next 25 years, innovative technologies and new operational concepts will revolutionizethe maritime industry and make it safer and more productive. These includedeveloping and implementing computer-assisted vessel and cargo tracking systems;advanced navigation aids; remote pollution-monitoring; and other ship and landside,including port and intermodal system. Effective use <strong>of</strong> these technologies will be critical totaking full advantage <strong>of</strong> the potential <strong>of</strong> faster ships and more efficient ports now beingdeveloped to serve growing global trade. Leveraging emerging technologies will also becritical to ensuring U.S. global competitiveness. Overall, maritime operations will come toresemble a well-coordinated and managed enterprise, akin to aviation, rather than thetraditional image <strong>of</strong> autonomous ships acting independently on the judgment and intuition <strong>of</strong>only their captains.These improvements in operational concepts will enable the system to deal with a muchbroader range <strong>of</strong> maritime vehicles and services. Ferry service will probably become moreprevalent, to compensate for reduced land available in highly developed areas. High-speedhydr<strong>of</strong>oils, catamarans, SWATH (small water area twin-hull) ships and hovercraft willoperate as high-speed ferries in the coastal mega-cities that will have evolved from today’seast and west coast urban complexes.Intelligent vessel traffic services, coupled with differential GPS navigation, electronic charts,and related vessel improvements, will greatly improve the safety and efficiency <strong>of</strong> the marinetransportation system. Marine security information will be readily available to vesseloperators, integrated into the displays <strong>of</strong> data from which control decisions are made. Oceangoingvessels will be responsible for a large proportion <strong>of</strong> international movement <strong>of</strong> bulk6-36

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