Welcome to John Chance Land Surveys, Inc.

International survey leader John E. Chance & Associates, Inc. (Chance) has recently returned from a three-week survey stint in New Zealand working for the government agency responsible for mapping and hydrography.

The New Zealand government agency known as LINZ (Land Information) contracted Hydrolink Ltd. to carry out a hydrographic survey to update nautical charts of the Snares and Solander Island.

Chance was subcontracted through a sister company, Fugro Survey of Australia to provide airbrone laser surveys using a highly sophisticated government-developed laser system called SHOALS (Scanning Hydrographic Operational Airbrone LIDAR Survey.

The survey team surveyed the two sub-antarctic islands, which because of their remoteness presented a particularly difficult survey challenge. A major advantage of using the SHOALS system is its ability to quickly and accurately map shallow water areas close to rocky coasts whereas conventional ship methods can prove difficult and dangerous.

The system was flown on a Twin Otter aircraft. The multi-million dollar SHOALS system is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and administered by the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX) at the Mobile, Alabama District Office.

John E. Chance & Associates, Inc. started operations in 1957 in Lafayette, LA. It is one of the world’s largest survey companies and has received numerous awards for its pioneering of new technology. Chance is a member of the multi-national Fugro group of companies with 200 offices in 45 countries.