Shorthand for the discipline, the activity and the people. Crews say they are doing hydro, ship's officers talk about the hydro department, and a hydro day is a day spent running lines rather than transiting or fixing gear. On mixed marine projects the word separates the depth survey team from geophysics, geotechnical or construction survey crews.
We lost two hydro days to the swell, so the patch test slides to Friday.
Also heard as
- hydrography
- hydrographic surveying
Related terms
Hydrographic survey
A systematic measurement of depths, seabed features and shoreline, made so the results can be charted and trusted by mariners.
Droggy
Royal Navy slang for a hydrographic surveyor, from a clipped form of hydrographer.
Bathy
Clipped form of bathymetry, used for depth data, depth surfaces or the depth-measuring part of a job.
Survey launch
A small survey boat fitted with sonar and positioning gear, often lowered from a mother ship for inshore work.