hydrography

American  

[hahy-drog-ruh-fee] / haɪˈdrɒg rə fi /

noun

1. the science of the measurement, description, and mapping of the surface waters of the earth, with special reference to their use for navigation.

2. those parts of a map, collectively, that represent surface waters.

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hydrography British  

/ haɪˈdrɒɡrəfɪ /

noun

1. the study, surveying, and mapping of the oceans, seas, and rivers Compare hydrology

2. the oceans, seas, and rivers as represented on a chart

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hydrography Scientific  

/ hī-drŏg′rə-fē /

1. The scientific description and analysis of the physical characteristics of Earth's surface waters, including temperature, salinity, oxygen saturation, and the chemical content of water. Oceanography (the study of saltwater bodies) and limnology (the study of freshwater bodies) are subsets of hydrography.

2. The mapping of bodies of water.

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Other Word Forms

• hydrographer noun
• hydrographic adjective
• hydrographical adjective
• hydrographically adverb

Etymology

Origin of hydrography

First recorded in 1550–60; hydro- ¹ + -graphy

Example Sentences

“Information on long-term past changes in Arctic Ocean hydrography are needed, and long overdue,” Dr. Ezat wrote in an email.

From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2021

This contained instructions for observation in a dizzying range of new disciplines — a scientific A–Z from astronomy to zoology, by way of botany, geology, hydrography, magnetism, mineralogy, statistics and tides.

From Nature • Dec. 18, 2018

As the planet teems with more and more humanity, his work, with its multiple disciplines—including history, sociology, engineering, botany, geology, hydrography and, above all, architecture—is becoming more and more a pressing necessity.

From Time Magazine Archive

Schmidl has spent years in studying the subterranean geography and hydrography of this singular district, and his discoveries, and those of earlier cave-hunters, have led to various proposals of physical improvement of a novel character.

From Man and Nature or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action by Marsh, George P.

In 1793 he became professor of hydrography at Collioure and Port-Vendre.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 7 "Gyantse" to "Hallel" by Various