On behalf of the Canadian Hydrographic Association, please allow me to welcome you to CHC2024!

The CHA has a long-standing partnership with The Hydrographic Society of America, and the two organizations take turns hosting this annual international conference series. This year it is Canada’s turn, and we are excited to build upon the great success of US Hydro 2023 by organizing CHC2024 to be held in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

St. John’s is the ideal location for a hydrographic conference; it’s North America’s most easterly city, founded on the very edge of the Atlantic, with a culture built upon more than 500 years of maritime tradition. St. John’s is a wonderful city with a rich history and many interesting sites to visit:  from the amazing views atop Signal Hill, to the colourful homes of Jellybean Row, to the icebergs not far off the coast well into June. But it will be the people that you will remember the most, full of friendliness and fun, with music and humour at their very core.

We have chosen “Unveiling our Blue Planet” as the theme of CHC2024.  With important international initiatives underway, including the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the Nippon Foundation/GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project, the requirement to better understand the ‘blue’ part of our planet is gaining much-needed attention. And while many advances continue to be made in the hydrographic discipline, much remains to be accomplished, as the richness and applications of hydrographic data expand and the artificial boundaries between hydrography and other important disciplines fades.

Under our major theme, we are highlighting five key factors that will steer and facilitate our work to advance hydrography:

–            Understanding Climate Change
–            The Blue Economy
–            Partnering and Collaboration
–            Technological Advances
–            Education and Careers

We look forward to the research papers, presentations, posters, displays, demonstrations, discussions and, above all, the wonderful opportunities to meet with you, our hydrographic colleagues and friends.
See you all in St. John’s!

Dale Nicholson
President, Canadian Hydrographic Association