582 



34 EXPANDING THE USES OF NA VAL OCEAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



investment in equipment and want to maximize the return on that investment. 

 They are reluctant to buy new equipment unless there is a need that cannot be 

 satisfied any other way. 



The technology needs of these industries are driven by (1) increasing work 

 depths, (2) more stringent inspection requirements, (3) new environmental moni- 

 toring requirements, and (4) the need for increased operating efficiency (i.e., 

 greater submerged endurance, better sensor resolution, increased operating speed, 

 and an ability to operate in a wider range of sea conditions). 



FUTURE AREAS OF RESEARCH 



The majority of the marine industrial sector faces challenges similar to those 

 of the offshore oil and gas industry, fisheries, environmental companies, and 

 equipment and service providers. Ocean science research and technology devel- 

 opment that lead to reduced environmental impact of offshore activities, in- 

 creased efficiency in the workplace, and improved data collection, assimilation, 

 and dissemination would be of value to a wide range of nonmilitary marine users. 

 ONR is a leader in the development of marine technology and could play an 

 important role in providing technology that would produce such benefits. Re- 

 search and technology development sponsored by ONR could be applied to a 

 broad range of marine industry needs besides the four areas mentioned earlier in 

 this chapter. 



For example, an important emerging need in the marine industry, both for the 

 near-term and increasingly for the long-term, is the ability to operate systems 

 remotely at water depths to 3,000 m, for extended periods in a cost-effective 

 manner. Undersea power sources with greater energy and power densities are a 

 major component of these operating systems. The need for remotely operated 

 systems will grow with the increasing depths and costs of oil exploration; its 

 development will greatly affect work vehicles used at depth and the vehicles used 

 to monitor and survey pipelines. ONR 33 directs some of its research toward 

 increasing the energy density of undersea power systems. Increased emphasis on 

 technology transfer in this area could provide large benefits to the commercial 

 sector. 



Additional areas of future research with wide applicability outside the Navy 

 may include (1) physics of seismic and acoustic energy interaction with seafloor 

 topography and subsea floor; (2) analysis and modeling of atmospheric processes 

 at a variety of spatial and temporal scales; (3) enhanced systems for shipboard 

 environmental monitoring; (4) improved satellite image analysis; (5) improved 

 modeling of a variety of oceanic processes (e.g., contaminant transport, air-sea 

 interaction); (6) enhanced techniques for waste disposal; (7) corrosion- and 

 biofouling-resistant materials; and (8) improved marine construction designs and 

 techniques. 



