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Glite Dictionary
hydrographer

hydrographer

1 8.4
A person who studies and measures rivers, seas, and lakes for maps and to help ships travel
  • noun
  • /ˌhaɪdrəˈɡræfər/
  • Specialized
: hidrografista
  • The hydrographer used advanced technology to create detailed maps of the ocean floor.

Examples

  • Following his promotion today from captain to rear admiral, Gerd Glang was named director of the NOAA Office of Coast Survey and the nation's chief hydrographer, responsible for mapping and charting all United States coastal waters.

    Blog text (23)

  • Archaeologist Vernon Scarborough has shown how Maya lords were expert hydrographers who made sophisticated use of high water tables and aquifers to provide water to their cities.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Glang succeeds Capt. John E. Lowell, who retired in June after a 29-year career in the NOAA Corps, serving the last three years as director of NOAA's Office of Coast Survey and U.S. national hydrographer.

    Blog text (23)

  • A skilled hydrographer measures water depths to ensure safe navigation for ships.

  • As a hydrographer, she spends her days analyzing data about lakes and rivers.

Surface Forms

hydrographer singular
hydrographers plural

Morphology

hydrographer = hydrography (opaque) = hydro + graph + er

The agent noun is formed regularly from the specialized noun 'hydrography', but that base term is unlikely to be known well enough for an average B1 learner to infer the meaning.

Etymology

Hydrographer comes from hydro- meaning 'water' and -graph meaning 'to write or record', like in photograph. So a hydrographer is a person who 'records' water by measuring and mapping rivers, seas, and coasts to help ships travel and to make maps.