Data Variety: Both Ships of Opportunity and Synoptic Ships collect 

 rather limited types of data; a few measurennents can be taken 

 on a continuous basis. On our Survey Ship, of course, we have 

 the very extensive collection of measurements of a great number 

 of variables . 



Portability: Ships of Opportunity carry very portable devices which 

 can be put on any ship at any time. This is less so for the Synoptic 

 Vessels. On the Survey Ship, of course, we have fixed installations. 



Telemetry: On the Ships of Opportunity telemetry is really optional 

 but when this ship serves as a part of the Synoptic net, telemetry 

 should be aboard. However, on many occasions this is not necessary. 

 In the Synoptic Ship, we must have telemetry to get the information 

 back, and the Surve y Ship must have equipment for telemetering 

 back to base stations to carry out its mission. 



Depth Requirements: The Ships of Opportunity and Synoptic Ships 

 make observations at moderate depths; the Survey Ship, at these 

 and at greater depths. 



A critical factor in the success of our oceanographic program 

 would be the number of ships which can be instrumented; this 

 depends on how difficult it is to operate and maintain these instru- 

 ments. Since the shortage of qualified technicians is acute in the 

 oceanographic field, it is very important that the operation and 

 maintenance of instruments for this purpose be simplified to the 

 greatest extent possible. This is especially true of our Synoptic 

 Ships and their instrument suits. 



Another important engineering area is the design of self- 

 calibration and/or calibrating circuitry, which allows shipboard 

 checks from sensor to recorder. There is, by and large, a ten- 

 dency on the part of engineers at sea to take the measurements 

 of the operating instruments at face value. The quantity of data 

 flowing in and out of our National Oceanographic Data Center 

 demands upgrading our quality control. This can be done through 

 instrument calibration. 



Along with calibration, we have the test and evaluation prob- 

 lem, and we find that most of our oceanographic instruments are 

 reluctant to go to sea. We have seen many instruments perform 

 beautifully in the laboratory, only to fail miserably under actual 

 sea conditions. There is the need for field testing and evaluation 



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