923 HYDROGRAPHIC MANUAL PaGE 844 



Washington Office. The practice of retaining survey records, especially topographic 

 survey sheets, long after they have been completed cannot be tolerated. 



923. Preliminary Office Work by Field Parties 



The function of a Processing Office is to complete such office work on the field 

 records as the regular personnel of the survey party is not able to complete, owing to 

 lack of time or personnel. In geaeral, all preliminary work of a nature requiring 

 special experience or special familiarity with the particular field operations shall be 

 performed by the field party. Maximum efficiency will be obtained if the work 

 transferred to the Processing Office is of a general routine nature. To this end Chiefs 

 of Party shall make every eflort to complete at least the following office work before 

 transmitting field records to a Processing Office. These requirements, however, 

 should not be considered as preventing a Chief of Party from completing as much 

 more of the office work as time and personnel permit. 



9231. Hydrographic Surveys 



a. Sounding Records. — The Sounding, Kecords shall be examined thoroughly to 

 ensure that the record of the field work is clear and complete (see 3257 and 818). All 

 corrections to soundings, such as tide reducers, velocity corrections to echo soundings, 

 and corrections to compensate for an error in the apparatus, shall be entered and 

 checked (see 822) ; but the soundings need not be reduced. 



b. Boat sheet.— The boat sheet shall be examined thoroughly to ensure that it is 

 complete, that all essential notations are clear and that nonessential notations have been 

 deleted (see 3257). 



c. Bovfib Records.— The velocity of sound for each R.A.R. distance shall be entered 

 and checked. The R.A.R. distances need not be reduced to plotting distances. (See 

 8311.) 



d. Buoy positions. — All traverses, astronomic sights, and other data to locate buoys 

 shall be computed, adjusted, and checked, and a list of final buoy positions shall be 

 furnished, except for buoys located solely by cuts, whose positions are to be determined 

 by plotting on the smooth sheet. (See 832 and 8435.) 



e. Special reports. — All reports on special subjects, such as echo soundings, velocity 

 of sound, buoy control, Radio Acoustic Ranging, and taut-wire sun-azimuth traverses, 

 shall be prepared. (See 832 and 833.) 



/. Miscellaneous. — Each survey shall be accompanied by notes for Descriptive 

 Report (385), mcluding statistics (8431), and a memorandum listing office work that 

 has been done on the survey by the field party and the work remaining to be done at 

 the Processing Office. In this memorandum attention should be directed to phases of 

 the office work that are not of a routme nature, or in which special difficulty may be 

 expected, and all available information should be included that may be of value in 

 processing the records. 



9232. Topographic Surveys 



a. Inking.- — The shoreline, station symbols, and all off-lying features shall be inked. 

 Appropriate notations shall be added lightly in pencil to guide in inking any features 

 that require special care, or to explain any features that might be misinterpreted. 



b. Descriptive Report.- — The Descriptive Report shall be prepared and submitted in 

 final form and approved. 



