geostationary satellite relay capability can be used in tsunami detection and 

 warning operations. 



A program is now underway to develop automated techniques for produc- 

 ing marine environmental forecasts. Work is proceeding on an improved 

 method of wind forecasting for application to wave forecasting over oceanic 

 areas. A wave climatology was compiled for the Great Lakes. The numerical 

 model SPLASH (Special Program to List Amplitudes of Surges from Hurri- 

 canes) was developed for forecasting the hurricane storm surges along the 

 U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coasts and entered experimental use at the National 

 Hurricane Center. 



Wind-forecast techniques for Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron, 

 presently under development, will be completed and made operational in 

 1973, and wave-forecasting techniques for the Great Lakes will be developed 

 and implemented. Further improvements are planned for the hurricane 

 storm-surge forecasting model, and studies are being conducted on breaker 

 forecasting and hazardous-wave conditions over bars at the mouth of the 

 Columbia River. 



Increased efforts in satellite observation of large-scale synoptic weather 

 patterns over oceanic areas are adding substantially to the forecaster's in- 

 formation on atmospheric conditions and thus enhance the prediction of 

 oceanic storms. For example, the importance of geostationary satellites for 

 hurricane warnings was proven last year in a number of instances, including 

 the successful forecast of Hurricane Edith which struck the Louisiana coast. 

 Critical data supplied by the satellites were instrumental in drastically 

 reducing loss of life. 



NOAA and NASA are also developing techniques for using satellite ob- 

 servational data in marine monitoring and prediction (see chapter VI). A 

 histogram technique developed to derive sea-surface temperature from satel- 

 lite infrared data was used last year to generate experimental surface-temper- 

 ature maps. The technique has been applied to produce special temperature 

 charts over small areas of particular significance to fishery and oceanographic 

 investigations. Techniques for mapping sea ice, developed for use with satel- 

 lite picture data, are being extended for use with satellite infrared data. 



The expansion of the satellite observation program will include developing 

 applications of very high resolution and multispectral data from new satel- 

 lite sensors planned for orbiting spacecraft in 1972 and 1973. These sensors 

 offer new possibilities for cloud filtering to obtain higher resolution mapping 

 of surface temperatures and ice on seas and lakes. The new data will be 

 applied to the detection and monitoring of oceanographic and coastal phe- 

 nomena such as shoreline changes caused by storm action, shoal areas, sedi- 

 ment and pollution transport, and possibly evidence of marine biological 

 processes of significance to fisheries and water-quality studies. 



The Departments of Commerce, Defense, and Transportation cooperate 

 in the monitoring and prediction of ice coverage and movement in the Great 

 Lakes as well as in the Arctic Ocean off the North Slope, in Cook Inlet, and 

 in other Alaskan waters. An interagency group, established under the lead 

 of the Corps of Engineers, plans to demonstrate the feasibility of extending 

 the navigation season on the Great Lakes (see chapter VI). These efforts 

 should also improve prediction capabilities for snow, ice, and ice fog. 



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