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vessel to a cable layer in 24 hours. This concq)t can be used for a wide range of 

 oceanogny>hic missions. 



The interaction between Oceanography and the SAIC ocean system business is primarily in 

 the area of data sets relating to bathymetry, current profile and bottom characteristics. 

 During the design of these systems, accurate and complete data would speed the design 

 process and reduce the risk of ^lure during the installation phase. Data is available from a 

 wide range of sources, but it is difficult to assemble and apply under the pressure of tight 

 schedules and limited budgets. A possible solution to this problem could be the availability 

 of "consultants" within the oceanographic community who would be available, along with 

 well organized data bases, to both military and commercial programs. These sources, 

 whether they be government or academic, of design data could be included in DOD 

 procurements. Commercial programs would pay for these services as required. Since both 

 military and commercial programs are driven by cost, these data sources would have to be 

 efficient and directly applicable to the specific design problem. 



The SAIC to Oceanography interaction appears to be some formalization of our data 

 collection for specific programs to make them applicable for other uses. As an example, the 

 collection of bathymetric data for a cable installation could be used by NOAA in the 

 generation of more accurate bathymetric charts and data sets. To be useful, the data would 

 have to meet the quality requirements set up for these uses. This requires the establishment 

 of requirements at the beginning of government sponsored programs or the development of 

 payment schedules for data generated by commercial programs. 



As in all endeavors, the most difficult problem is one of coordinating diverse programs over 

 extended periods of time to meet well established goals. If the requirements of the 

 Oceanographic community could be generalized and made known to the other elements of the 

 ocean community, there is a possibility that a program to share the collection of data could 

 be established. This could reduce the need for specific programs and provide more complete 

 data to the designers of ocean systems. This would provide not only a direct reduction of the 

 cost of collecting data, but provide savings in the cost of systems through the reduction in the 

 risk of failure while working at sea. 



