tion on the predictive system at i)iesent is the inadequacy of the environ- 

 mental data input. As improved instrumentation is installed on ships, air- 

 craft, and buoys, the quality and quantity of synoptic oceanographic ob- 

 servations will be greatly enhanced and the data base improved. New and 

 revised forecasting models will be further exploited through the more ex- 

 tensive use of computers, and their ])erformance checked both by fleet use 

 and research experiments. 



Although this prediction program is designed and used jDrimarily for 

 ASW purposes, several side benefits are being derived from the program. 

 The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, for example, is making use of the 

 Navy's sea surface temperature predictions to guide fishermen into those 

 areas where thermal conditions are most favorable. An agreement between 

 the Department of the Navy and the Department of the Interior provides 

 for joint cooperative efTorts to study aspects of the ocean that are of mutual 

 concern. One such cooperative effort is a study of "false targets" related 

 to biological activity. From this study, the Navy will derive means to predict 

 false targets, while the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries will gain information 

 on potential fish resources. In another side benefit, ESSA's Weather Bureau 

 has adapted numerical sea and swell prediction methods developed under 

 this program to produce a standard product available to the general public. 



To improve the capability in gathering and processing data, the pro- 

 gram has also sponsored the development of new equipment such as ship- 

 board and airborne expendable bathythermographs, the airborne radiation 

 thermometer, airborne and shipboard wave meters, an automated ship- 

 board forecasting system, and the 40-foot-diameter "monster buoy" as 

 well as smaller buoy platforms. 



As predictive techniques, instruments, and systems reach advanced de- 

 velopment and successful evaluation, they are made available for fleet use. 

 Through the process of testing and evaluation by the users, improvements 

 are effected to assure that forecasts are reliable and presented as useful 

 tactical indices for the on-scene commander. 



The Sccpe of the Navy's Program 



The Navy's oceanographic effort includes virtually every area of marine 

 endeavor, and it has pioneered in many sectors of ocean science, engineering 

 and operations. To further enhance the management of these efforts by 

 providing strengthened organizational relationships, three major administra- 

 tive actions were accomplished in the past year. In one, the Commander, 

 Naval Weather Service Command, who is responsible for operational fore- 

 casting of the ocean environment for Navy needs, was designated as the 

 Assistant Oceanographer for Environmental Prediction Services. He co- 

 ordinates the collection and processing of synoptic data for short-term fore- 

 casting of ocean variables such as theiTnal structure, sea, swell, surf, and 

 sea ice, and provides to the fleet the special analyses and forecasts necessary 

 to support specific operations such as tactical ASW, amphibious landings, 

 sea lift transits, and search and rescue. 



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