81 



primarily comprised of a set of acoustic arrays on the seafloor 

 known as the SOSUS system. Initial investigations of civil 

 applications, coordinated closely with NOAA, proved remarkably 

 fruitful. A short demonstration project provided more 

 information on marine mammal movements than all the previous data 

 collected in history. SOSUS also proved to be the most effective 

 monitoring system for underwater seismic events, indicating the 

 possibility of better earthquake and tsunami (or "tidal wave") 

 predictions. NOAA even demonstrated the SOSUS system could aid 

 in fisheries enforcement by detecting illegal deployments of 

 fishing nets. Researchers propose to use the system for acoustic 

 monitoring of the ocean itself, since sound travels at different 

 speeds through water depending on density and temperature. To 

 assist the scientific community with their research activities, 

 Navy has established procedures both for allowing cleared 

 scientists access to some parts of the SOSUS system and to the 

 original acoustic data from SOSUS. Mechanisms are also in place 

 to review and tailor the data for public release. 



Navy's closest Federal partner in operational meteorology 

 and oceanography has long been NOAA. Navy and NOAA have more 

 than a dozen formal agreements that govern cooperation in a wide 

 range of technology development, modeling research, data 

 processing, and product exchange activities. 



For example, Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology and 

 Oceanography Center is directly linked to NOAA's National Weather 

 Service for routine exchange of weather and ocean forecast 

 products. Not only do NOAA and Navy share information to improve 

 a variety of dual -use products on a daily basis, but they provide 

 a mutual backup capability should a catastrophe render either 

 center's supercomputer or communications systems inoperative. 

 This keeps the nation's public and commerce moving safely and 

 efficiently while ensuring the military gets the information 

 needed to exploit the environment. Navy also has an 

 oceanographic data distribution system that provides digital 

 METOC products to remotely operating military units. Through an 

 agreement •A'ith NOAA, most of the products are transferred in 

 real-time for dissemination to civil users. The public gets 

 information with many commercial and research uses. 



The national data centers, operated by NOAA, are relied upon 

 to archive Navy data and disseminate it to the civil community. 

 In addition to serving the needs of the general public, these 



8 



