Generating depth areas (Maritime Charting)

Depth areas are S-57 objects used to depict depth ranges between contours in Electronic Navigation Charts (ENC). The Generate Depth Areas (Selected Feature) tool is used to create these depth areas in a desktop or enterprise production environment. It updates depth areas that exist, creates depth areas as needed, and deletes areas that are no longer relevant based on a given extent and compilation scale. Boundaries of the extent are defined by selecting a polygon feature.

Note:

Depth contours, closing lines, and group 1 features must exist prior to using the Generate Depth Area (Selected Feature) tool.

Steps:

1. Start ArcMap.
2. If necessary, load data in the map.

The following layers are required:

• SoundingP
• DepthsL
• PortsAndServicesA
• NaturalFeaturesA
• DepthsA

ClosingLinesL is optional and can be used to close boundaries.

Tip:

When editing the NIS database, consider setting definition queries on the layers in the table of contents to match the scale band you want to edit.

3. On the main menu, click Customize > Toolbars > Nautical.
4. Type the compilation scale in the Compilation Scale text box and press ENTER.

   You cannot use 0 (zero), negative values, or nonnumeric characters.

5. On the main menu, click Customize > Toolbars > Production Editing.
6. Click the Production Start Editing button on the Production Editing toolbar.
   Note:

   The Manage Features and Create Attributes, Update Attributes, or Metadata Attributes windows automatically appear when you start an edit session using the Production Start Editing tool.

   Tip:

   If the Create Attributes, Update Attributes, or Metadata Attributes window does not appear when you start an edit session, click the Show/Hide Attributes button on the Manage Features window.

7. If necessary, select the workspace you want to edit and click OK.
8. Click the Select Features button on the Tools toolbar.
9. Select the polygon you want to define as the extent you want to edit.

   For example, select the boundary of a hydrographic survey or create a new polygon.

   Note:

   It is recommended that when defining the extent, you do not go outside the area that contains data. If you go beyond the area containing data, the tool may interpret the depth contours as open. The extent of the area of interest contributes to the forming of closed areas so depth information is available to attribute the depth area (DEPARE_DepthArea) feature output.

10. On the Nautical toolbar, click Nautical > Generate Depth Areas (Selected Feature).

    The Generate Depth Areas dialog box appears and is prepopulated with values from your data.

11. Accept the default value or type a value that is the highest contour in the Shallowest Depth Band or Drying Height text box.
12. Accept the default value or type a value that is the deepest contour in the Deepest Depth Band text box.
13. Leave the Merge Depth Areas check box checked if you want to merge the newly created depth areas with those that preexisted.

    For this to occur, the values for DRVAL1 and DRVAL2 attributes must match.

14. Click OK.

New depth areas are created and existing depth areas are updated or deleted as needed.