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One of the major data collection programs takes place on the four 

 Atlantic and two Pacific ocean weather stations manned by Coast 

 Guard cutters. The oceanographic data obtained is particularly valu- 

 able in that it is collected repetitively both in time and location. 



This data is used in ice patrol research, weather, and antisubmarine 

 warfare prediction, and by the Bureau of Cormnercial Fisheries for 

 marine life studies. 



A similar program carried out by cutters en route to ocean stations 

 obtains time-series data from tracks selected because they cross ocean 

 features of significance. 



Our international ice patrol program has developed survey methods 

 which quickly produce synoptic-current charts for ice drift prediction. 

 The conductivity bridge for salinity determinations and shipboard 

 computers for rapid data processing at sea were first used aboard the 

 ice patrol oceanographic ship. 



Our many years of experience in the Grand Banks area has permitted 

 the construction of charts of standard dynamic topography. These 

 charts permit more rapid synoptic surveys and better operational 

 information during each ice season. 



Improved operating methods have paralleled technological advances. 

 As a result, ice patrol operations which were first carried out by a 

 force of cutters are now conducted by a single oceanographic ship 

 and a long-range aircraft equipped with advanced detection equip- 

 ment for discriminating ice from other targets through the fog and 

 undercast so prevalent in the Grand Banks. 



During the past year the transfer of polar icebreakers from the 

 Navy was completed. The Coast Guard now operates the entire fleet 

 of eight ships. Seven of these ship)S, the Wind class, were built in the 

 mid-1940's. Glacier was completed in 1955. 



In conjunction with their other duties, the ships carry out ocean- 

 ographic programs for the National Science Foundation, the Na\'y, 

 and academic institutions. They also support national transportation 

 needs in the coastal United States when their icebreaking services are 

 required in support of domestic commerce. 



On the Continental Shelf of the United States, lightships are being 

 replaced with fixed towers. These towers, the only Federal network in 

 the coastal area, are excellent platforms for the description of the 

 environment and conduct of air-sea interaction research. 



The present facilities include a laboratory, and we are proceeding 

 with a plan to install automatic sensor systems on each tower. A proto- 

 type system was installed last winter at Buzzards Bay Entrance Light 

 Station. Follow-on systems are under consideration. 



Coast Guard aircraft make regular flights over the continental 

 shelves of both U.S. coasts measuring sea surface temperatures by 

 infrared radiation thermometers, in a project conceived by the Bureau 

 of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. The data is used in predicting marine 

 life migrations. 



Several international cooperative oceanographic investigations have 

 been aided by the Coast Guard. Currently, cutters are participating in 

 the study of the eastern tropical Pacific, the cooperative study of 

 the Kuroshio, and investigations on Georges Banks (off Cape Cod) for 

 the International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries. 



In addition to the large programs described, the Coast Guard co- 

 operates with other agencies in over 40 projects. These involve many 



