THE NAVY'S ROLE IN THE FIELD 

 OF OCEANOGRAPHY 



Rear Admiral E. C. Stephan 

 Hydrographer , United States Navy- 

 Washington, D. C. 



Because the ocean is the primary environment within which 

 the Navy and its weapons must operate, it warrants special con- 

 sideration in the Navy's program. Further, the propagation of 

 energy within the ocean is more complicated and less understood 

 than it is within the atmosphere. In submarine warfare, surface 

 ship operations, and in the employment of weapons, the oceans and 

 natural phenomena occurring in and over them introduce certain 

 factors which must be considered. These factors are often criti- 

 cal in operations which involve: 



1. Detection and location of objects below the sea surface; 



2. Subsurface communications; 



3. Maneuvering or nnaintaining a vessel or an object in a 

 prescribed position and attitude on the surface or 

 bottom or within the ocean; and 



4. Habitability, as determined by temperatures, pressure, 

 etc., for men and sensitive devices. 



These oceanographic and geophysical factors and phenomena in- 

 clude: 



1. Waves and the related water motion and pressxires; 



2. Variations in the earth's magnetic field; 



3. Tides; 



4. Sound propagation; 



5. Currents; 



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