European Directory of Marine Organisations (EDMO)

details

Name

Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency, Dept. Oceanography

Native name

Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie, Ref. Physik des Meeres

Address

Bernhard-Nocht-Str. 78

Zipcode

20359

City

Hamburg

Country

Germany

Phone

+49 40 3190 3200

Fax

+49 40 3190 5000

Email

dod@bsh.de

Centre Website

http://www.bsh.de/

organisation profile

We are the maritime partner to industry, science, and environmental organisations. Over 900 dedicated employees, a budget of some 60 million Euro, and unique competence form a solid basis for our wide range of services: * Services to maritime shipping, including tonnage measurement, law of the flag, International Shipping Register * Promotion of the German commercial fleet * Issue and registration of mariners' certificates * Type-testing and approval of radiocommunications and navigation equipment * Surveys in the North and Baltic Seas performed by BSH vessels * Publication of nautical charts and small-craft charts * Approval of offshore activities, e.g. wind farms, pipelines, submarine cables * Prediction of tides, water levels, and storm surges * Monitoring of the marine environment * Prosecution of environmental offences * Improvement of knowledge of the oceans With its historical roots in the "Norddeutsche Seewarte" (North German Maritime Observatory) which issued detailed sailing directions based on nautical and meteorological observations as early as 1868, the BSH has long ceased to be only a provider of the traditional services to shipping but has focused on additional maritime target groups and applications - e.g. the offshore wind industry and marine environmental protection. The statutory tasks of the BSH include the monitoring of physical parameters in the North Sea and Baltic Sea. These data are collected during monitoring cruises and by means of permanently installed monitoring platforms. A variety of different parameters have to be measured to characterise the ocean entirely. These include - among other properties - temperature, salinity, and current speed and direction. A compilation of the most recent data is given in the annual oceanographic status reports for the North Sea and German Bight. The applied measurement techniques are as diverse as the physical parameters that have to be monitored. But all methods have one thing in common: highest demands for accuracy and reliability for the operation of instruments in rough seas. Numerical models create a genuine flood of numbers, which are an important counterpart to the in-situ measurements . The model simulations support the maritime services provided by the BSH for the safety of shipping and for the marine environment.

results in other services

edmo metadata

EDMO record id

117

Collating centre

German Oceanographic Datacentre (DOD)

Latest update

22 October 2009 11:01:23 AM