579 



INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGY NEEDS FOR THE FUTURE 31 



• Physics of seismic and acoustic energy interaction with seafloor topogra- 

 phy and subsea floor 



• Advanced electro-optic, electromagnetic, and acoustic techniques for 

 mapping and imaging the seafloor and sub-seafloor and its variabihty 



• Analysis and modeling of atmospheric processes on coastal, regional, and 

 global scales 



• Systems for shipboard tactical environmental data acquisition, manage- 

 ment, and display 



• Satellite data image analysis 



• Simulation of atmospherics 



ONR 33 addresses technology needs in environmental and materials sci- 

 ence. Areas of R&D within ONR 33 that are directly applicable to oil and gas 

 industry needs include the following: 



• Separation of oily wastewater at sea 



• Subsea construction technologies 



• Monitoring methods for structures and coatings 



• Environmental monitoring and modeling methods 



Recent declassification of remote sensing data from defense satellites such 

 the Navy's geodetic satellite GEOSAT has generated tremendous interest in both 

 the petroleum and fisheries industry, as these new data allow greater accuracy in 

 determining seafloor structure from observations of sea surface elevations. The 

 offshore petroleum industry needs surface meteorologic data as well as bathy- 

 metric data and oceanographic data for many specific areas (e.g., the Malacca 

 Straits, the South China Sea, the Gulf of Thailand, Scotland's northwest ap- 

 proaches, Ireland's western approaches, the Gulf of Mexico, coastal West Africa 

 [Angola], and Sahkalin Island). If this type of meteorological and oceanographic 

 data is made available to the industry, enormous amounts of proprietary data 

 might be made available to ONTl in exchange. The petroleum industry has spent 

 milhons of dollars, over several decades, to acquire detailed sub-bottom profiles 

 (including subseafloor data to 500 feet), as well as data on seafloor structures, 

 moorings, and relevant modeling technology (David M. Clementz, Chevron Pe- 

 troleum Technology Corporation, personal communication, 1995). 



FISHERIES 



Fisheries enterprises can be divided into two major elements: (1) commer- 

 cial and sport fishing; and (2) government agencies, such as the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service, that monitor and regulate fish stocks. These two segments of 

 fisheries have similar technology needs both in terms of environmental data and 

 modeUng as well as remote sensing. 



Successful conmiercial and sport fishing operations and accurate fish popu- 



