SUPPORT OF OTHER NATIONAL OBJECTIVES 85 



effective operation depend on a knowledge of the seas, particu- 

 larly the motions and forces at or near the surface. 



The Navy sponsors a program of research on ocean-wave 

 mechanics and the prediction of sea states. The results of efforts 

 to date have produced the forecasting capability now used to 

 provide routinely least-time tracks for the Military Sea Trans- 

 portation Service. Such forecasts could assist the Merchant 

 Mau'ine as well. 



The Navy's detailed investigation of ocean-current systems, 

 particularly in the North Atlantic Ocean, should aid all mariners. 

 A towed thermistor technique used initially by scientists in the 

 Navy's program to track the meandering of the Gulf Stream, is 

 being used by merchant ships to reduce passage times, in a 

 modern version of the contribution Benjamin Franklin made to 

 the Merchant Marine by issuing charts of the Gulf Stream. 



MINERAL AND ENERGY RESOURCES 



A significant part of the Navy Ocean Science Program concerns 

 itself with the ocean floor. Techniques and programs have been 

 developed for precision depth measurement, and measurement 

 of roughness, slopes, sediment, and rock below the sea floor. 

 Programs are also concerned with the collection and analysis of 

 cores, and the rapid and accurate measurement of bottom mag- 

 netic and gravimetric properties. While this knowledge is 

 essential for certain Navy developments, these techniques 

 and the information derived from them are precisely those 

 needed for subsurface mineral-resources location. Industry 

 has already adopted some of the Navy technology developed for 

 this purpose. 



In the exploitation of mineral resources, industry has access to 

 the information developed by the Navy Ocean Science Program 

 on such items as currents, bottom characteristics, underwater 

 sensors, underwater manipulators, underwater photography, 

 underwater vehicles, underwater structure technology, wave- 

 forecasting techniques, and advanced diving techniques. In turn, 



