The Ocean Science Program 

 of the U.S. Navy 



Accomplishments and Prospects 



INTRODUCTION 



The Navy operates above, at, and below the surface of the sea, 

 and must build and maintain facilities on its shores and on its 

 floor. Every phase of the sea— its motion, its chemistry, its 

 physical properties, its life forms, its boundaries, and its energy 

 content— vitally affect the operation of ships, weapons, and 

 specialized equipment of the Navy. Very simply, the ability of 

 the Navy to perform its primary missions is dependent on a 

 comprehensive knowledge of all these facets of the oceans, and 

 as systems become more sophisticated, this dependence will be 

 even more apparent. The Navy, in recognition of this need, has 

 actively supported research in all phases of marine science and 

 technology. The needs, traditions, and natural field of operations 

 of the Navy, as well as its resources, provide both the motivation 

 and opportunity to pursue an aggressive oceanic research and 

 development program. 



In order to explore the oceans and lay the basis for exploiting 

 them to meet naval needs, the Navy has developed a program— 

 the Naval Oceanographic Program— which encompasses ocean 

 science, technology and engineering, and operations. The scope 

 of this quarter-of-a-billion-dollars-a-year program represents 

 more than half of the total marine-science activities of the 

 Federal Government. The ocean-science portion of this Navy 

 program accounts for approximately one-fifth of the total Navy 



