Marine Science Affairs 



— tide and tidal current predictions; 



— breaker and surf forecasts for the beaches of southern California ; 



— tsunami warnings. 



ESSA is establishing an estuarine flushing and non-tidal prediction serv- 

 ice which provides monthly advisory bulletins on variations in renewal rates 

 for the rivers and harbors of large urban communities, with initial efforts in 

 the Penobscot Bay area in New England. The service is intended for use by 

 municipal and port authorities, water and sanitation departments. Fed- 

 eral Water Pollution Control Administration, Atomic Energy Commission, 

 Public Health Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service. It will assist agencies 

 in industrial effluent discharge control, industrial and potable water intake 

 regulation, determination of sewage and industrial waste treatment require- 

 ments, recreation planning, and protection of public health and fisheries. 



An advanced forecasting model simulating the effects of exchange of 

 heat and momentum between the oceans and atmosphere is now employed 

 at the ESSA National Meteorological Center. This has resulted in improve- 

 ment in forty-eight hour forecasts of continental and marine weather 

 conditions. 



Diverse ocean observation and prediction programs in polar, subpolar, and 

 other regions are supported by the Coast Guard, employing ships, aircraft, 

 towers, and buoys. Ships and aircraft of the International Ice Patrol and ice 

 breakers make ice and ocean current observations for the protection of North 

 Atlantic shipping. Ships enroute to and from ocean stations and on station 

 make physical measurements to monitor the changing nature of major ocean 

 currents. Ships from a number of agencies also participate in international 

 studies, such as the cooperative study of the Kuroshio current and the 

 oceanographic and fisheries investigation of the Eastern Tropical Pacific. 



NASA, as part of its Earth Resources Survey Program, supports a space- 

 craft oceanography project to assess and develop the application of space 

 research and technology to marine sciences. During 1967, two NASA air- 

 craft equipped with radiometers, scatterometers, spectrometers and cameras 

 flew 14 missions to determine the response and effectiveness of these instru- 

 ments in remotely sensing sea ice, land-water boundaries, sea state, school- 

 ing fish, fresh-salt water interfaces, and sedimentation patterns. Thermal 

 contrasts at the boundaries of several major ocean currents were identified 

 by high resolution infrared radiometry in the NIMBUS spacecraft. Video 

 photographs of the Pacific Ocean obtained by Applications Technology 

 Satellite 1 illustrated the relationship between cloud patterns and major 

 ocean currents and upwelling zones characteristic of high fisheries pro- 

 duction. (See Figure VIII.l) . 



The Atomic Energy Commission supports a program directed toward 

 developing accurate prediction models for assessing the potential hazards 

 of long-period water waves that might result from large yield detonations 



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