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below the water; the land-sea interface; smaller ocean and 

 atmospheric features that change more rapidly --in days to 

 hours, perhaps even minutes. All these have a greater effect on 

 sensors, weapons, and operations than is the case in the deep 

 ocean environm.ent . The littoral environment requires new and 

 better sensors to collect data faster -- sometimes from denied 

 areas. Additionally, more computing power is required to 

 transform the data into useable products, and more efficient 

 communications are needed to rapidly move the information to 

 deployed forces. 



To address these challenges, the CEB endorsed a number of 

 objectives. Navy will: 



• Encourage enhanced cooperation among the Federal agencies, 

 academia, industry, and international organizations in 

 oceanography; 



• Take the lead in organizing an interagency National 

 Oceanographic Facilities Council, to coordinate the best use of 

 the nation's oceanography assets; 



• Preserve a robust "at-sea" research and survey capability, 

 including a Navy survey fleet of no less than eight ships to 

 meet the critical data requirements of the fleet commanders; 



• Exploit new technologies for the rapid collection, processing, 

 and dissemination of weather and ocean data; Pursue state-of- 

 the-art large-scale computer capabilities; 



• Establish deep water and coastal "natural laboratories" where 

 military and civil, operational and research communities can 

 cooperate in testing new theories and products; 



• Maintain the proper balance for ocean research funding between 

 open ocean and coastal; and keep Navy's ocean science and 

 technology investment to at least its current funding level; 



• Establish and fund Navy research Chairs in Oceanography at 

 ma^or oceanographic universities in the country. 



There are two primary components within Naval Oceanography: 

 science and technology management and the operational oceanography 

 program. 



In ocean science and technology, Navy now represents about a 

 quarter of the national investment. Under the Chief of Naval 



