The Oceanographic Operations 

 Program of the U. S. Navy 



Accomplishments and Prospects 



INTRODUCTION 



The ocean is the traditional operating environment of the Navy. 

 Over 70 percent of the earth's surface is covered by water, and, 

 therefore, the role of the Navy in upholding the United States' 

 interest throughout the world and in providing impenetrable 

 defenses against attack by alien forces is massive. Modem 

 evolution of science and technology has added the airplane, the 

 missile, and the submarine to the Navy's stock of weapons and 

 has extended its operating medium to include the air above the 

 ocean and the entire ocean, including the abyssal depths. The 

 bottom of the ocean and the sediments and geological structure 

 beneath the bottom are important to a variety of Navy instal- 

 lations, equipments, and applications. Effective use of the tools 

 of modern warfare, wherein the ocean is a significant if not the 

 dominant factor, has dictated that the Navy assume positive 

 leadership in oceanography. The Oceanographic Program of the 

 Navy, currently budgeted at about a quarter of a billion dollars, 

 is directed toward these responsibilities. 



The program has three separate but related divisions. First, 

 the Ocean Science portion includes the study of physical, biological, 

 and geological characteristics in order to advance our under- 

 standing of the nature of the world oceans and their boundaries. 

 These studies range from fundamental research, through 

 investigations of specific environmental conditions which affect 

 equipment and systems, to tests which prove the scientific and 

 technical feasibility of new system concepts. 



