Day 4: Science meets the Australian Hydrographic Service
By: Thomas Coad
Today I had the privilege of working alongside Lieutenant Scott Lytton of the Australian Hydrographic Service (AHS).
Scott’s primary role aboard RV Investigator is as a hydrographic surveyor. He is one of two AHS representatives on board whose duty is to observe the operation of the ship’s multi-beam swath bathymetric mapping system as well as the quality control of the high-resolution data collected. Scott’s role also extends to liaison between science personnel and the AHS and additionally includes elements of personal professional development. Currently classified as a category B surveyor, on Investigator, Scott is under the mentorship of fellow voyager and chief scientist, Lieutenant Commander Nigel Townsend. Through Nigel’s mentorship, Scott aims to develop some of the skills required to lead hydrographic surveying missions in the future.
Scott attributes his career in hydrographic surveying as being inspired by his high school interest in geography and coastal geomorphology. It was these high school interests that prompted Scott to investigate oceanography-related career paths. This pursuit eventually led Scott to the successful completion of a Bachelor of Geography and Oceanography at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra and later, the accreditation of his Category B, hydrographic surveying qualification, attained through the Australian Hydrographic Service.
Among Scott’s many fascinating experiences as a hydrographic surveyor, he considers the most memorable to be associated with his Australian Hydrographic Service deployments. Through these deployments, Scott has been granted the opportunity to travel to a range of remote locations around the globe and has experienced an array of diverse cultures. From a surveying perspective, Scott reflects fondly on surveying the remote waters of Papua New Guinea. Here, Scott was part of a team that successfully charted the seafloor and submerged features of interest. The features included regions of underwater volcanism and spanned areas that had not been thoroughly explored since World War II. Discoveries achieved through missions of this nature are only made possible through engagement with specialised and sophisticated technology, unique to science and the defence forces.
Having spent a great deal of time at sea, Scott accredits success on board seagoing vessels to a number of qualities, at the forefront of which is resilience. It is Scott’s belief that to truly thrive at sea, you must be willing to embrace the many exciting opportunities that isolation presents. He also stresses the value of teamwork, along with the ability to be flexible and react positively to change. Whilst at sea, one may be required to engage in unfamiliar tasks to achieve common goals. Individuals should strive to step beyond their comfort zones and in doing so, embrace any obstacle as a learning opportunity and the chance to try something new.