Chapter IX 



SURVEYING AND PREDICTING THE 

 OCEAN ENVIRONMENT 



In practical daily applications of oceanic knowledge, no single factor is 

 more important than a solid foundation of data. The assessment and re- 

 covery of both living and nonliving resources can proceed effectively only 

 when there are adequate base maps from which to work. More efficient 

 sea transportation vitally depends upon portfolios of accurate nautical charts 

 and publications for the open ocean as well as coastal ports and waterways. 

 Efforts to halt pollution and improve the utilization of the coastal zone must 

 start from these factual baselines. International, oceanic, legal, and political 

 questions often require facts available only from precise maps and accurate 

 marine data if they are to be answered. 



In addition to acquiring this comprehensive body of data, it is even more 

 important that the United States be able to extrapolate from the knov/ledge 

 gained — to forecast oceanic phenomena in the future and to predict reliably 

 what conditions will be in areas as yet unexplored. It is particularly important 

 that the Nation improve its capability to predict changes in those factors 

 which are time dependent. A fisherman may be mildly interested in the past 

 history of the Gulf Stream, but he is deeply concerned with where its north- 

 ern edge will be tomorrow, when he will be looking for the fish which 

 concentrate at that boundary. A naval staff can base its general plans for 

 wartime convoys on historical data, but the sonar operator on a destroyer 

 must know what the acoustic conditions will be in his local area during the 

 next few hours. 



The acquisition of information for the data base, its handling and presenta- 

 tion, and its conversion into forecasts of future events, cannot proceed 

 independently. Research and development to improve acquisition techniques, 

 methods of data handling, and predictive ability are dependent upon a fuller 

 understanding of oceanic processes. The development team must include 

 surveyors, forecasters, and researchers working together to provide present 

 and potential users with these critically important building blocks. 



Mapping, Charting, and Geodesy 



Many features of the ocean, fortunately, vary so slowly that surveys can 

 be conducted and prepared which will be valid for many years. While 



115 



The danger and destruction forces of hurricanes — such 



as Hurricane Gladys, here seen from. Apollo 7 — 



point to the need for effective environmental prediction. 



