656 



c. Scientific Utility 



If researchers are afforded access to the data, the near realtime 

 view afforded by GOODS would open important new 

 applications to the ocean science community. 



• Ship observations and other sampling schemes could be 

 adapted to conform to the state of the ocean. Such adaptive 

 sampling would greatly increase the efficiency of limited 

 sampling resources, much as access to near realtime satellite 

 imagery has done in the past decade. 



• Many satellite algorithms make use of in situ observations 

 for either sensor calibration or validation. Access to GOODS 

 would allow researchers to test the performance of such 

 algorithms and assess their quality based on comparisons 

 between the satellite-derived observations and the data located 



in GOODS. Reducing the delay between the comparison of 

 //! situ and satellite observations would greatly improve the 

 utility of remote sensing data. 



Numerical models of ocean processes are evolving toward 

 the use of data assimilation techniques and nowcasting of the 

 current state of the ocean. Similar to procedures used in 

 weather forecasting, ocean models could incorporate GOODS 

 data directly into the novvcast system. 



The techniques used in GOODS could eventually migrate 

 into operational systems to support commercial and regulatory 

 needs. For example, near real-time observations could be 

 used to forecast warming events that imght be critical for 

 near shore aquaculture activities. 



r,, 



Shown here are the locations at which "restricted" GOODS data were collected during the period June-October in 1994. 



Even over the span of a few months the GOODS data are spatially diverse and contain frequent samples. The actual data include temperature profiles 



and may include salinity profiles and other measurements depending on the collection platform and its instrumentation. 



The total volume of GOODS data, including the public c 



s and classified data, is significantly greater than that shown here. 



u 



