192 



designs and to obtain data which will de- 

 scribe the spectrum of motions in the ocean. 

 Any special requirements of military buoys 

 must also be considered. 



Based on experience gained through the 

 proposed project, the Nation will be in a po- 

 sition to determine the role which moored 

 buoys should play in the global system, the 

 types of buoys which should be used, and the 

 system's optimum configuration. 



The Commission recommends that the Na- 

 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency 

 (CG) launch a National Project to develop 

 a pilot buoy network. It should provide for 

 tests of alternative buoy configurations, 

 advanced sensors and equipment, different 

 network spacings, and logistic support 

 methods. The pilot network should be 



tested and evaluated fully before a com- 

 mitment is made to a major operational 

 system; many of these tests could be con- 

 ducted in coordination with other oceano- 

 graphic research efforts. 



Aircraft 



The instrumented aircraft, operated as a 

 test bed for satellite instruments and in sup- 

 port of specific research and development 

 projects, has demonstrated its usefulness as 

 an oceanographic data collection platform 

 and in the reconnaissance programs of the 

 U.S. Department of Defense and other agen- 

 cies. Field accuracies of approximately one- 

 half degree centigrade have been reported 

 in sensing sea surface temperatures under 

 ideal conditions. Devices are being developed 

 or are available that can be placed on air- 



Initial Data Requirements for Forecasts of Given Lengths 



Estimated initial data requirements to 

 forecast for a point at the 500-millihar 

 surface (about 6 kilometers} at lati- 

 tude i5°N. For a forecast period of 

 up to SO hours, initial data are re- 

 quired from a strip at the same altitude 

 over the Northern Hemisphere ; 30 

 hours-2 days, a thin layer of atmos- 

 phere over part of the Northern Hemis- 

 phere ; ]f—5 days, a deep layer of 

 atmosphere over the entire Northern 

 and part of the Southern Hemisphere 

 plus sea-surface data; 5—10 days, same 

 part of atomshpere as for J,-S days plus 

 the ocean to i meters; and 10 days-2 

 months, atmosphere over entire globe 

 plus the ocean to 100 meters. 



UP TO 10 DAYS 



SODRCE : Adapted from R. E. Hallgren, "World Weather Program," TRW Space Log, spring-summer 1968. 



