NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson to Map Gulf of Mexico

NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson, one of the most technologically advanced hydrographic survey vessels in the world, departed from its Norfolk, Va. homeport on April 6 to conduct a five-month long effort to map the seafloor and look for hazards to navigation off the Gulf coast.

Thomas Jefferson's primary mission is to collect and process the data needed to maintain and update the nautical charts along the U.S. East Coast, Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Nautical charts and other navigational products are available on NOAA's Office of Coast Survey's website.

For more information, see: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100407_jefferson.html