LOVJ-FREQUENCY PROPAGATION AND NOISE VJORKSHOP 



INTRODUCTION 



Dr. J. B. Hersey 

 Office of Naval Research 



It is a great pleasure to welcome members of the Low-Frequency 

 Propagation and Noise Workshop to this, its first meeting. This inter- 

 national workshop is sponsored by the Director of Antisubmarine Warfare 

 of the staff of the U. S. Chief of Naval Operations. It recognizes 

 the growing cooperation among the participating nations in application 

 of low-frequency underwater acoustic systems in ASW. Also, it is 

 closely related to a series of workshops sponsored by various elements 

 of the U. S. Navy oceanography and undersea warfare community. The 

 broad purpose of the U. S. workshops is to support progress toward 

 solving the priority problems of the U. S. Navy in undersea warfare 

 and other concerns of the Navy where the oceans are influential. 



The objective of this workshop is to assess our understanding of 

 low-frequency ocean acoustics and to identify and prioritize what 

 programs of investigation should be emphasized in the next 5 to 10 

 years. It is intended that our final product will be proceedings of 

 this meeting and a planning guide that can be a useful and influential 

 instrument for all nations here convened. 



The general approach is first to hear reviews of as comprehensive 

 a series of topics as possible during the next 4 days. Most of the 

 talks are intended strictly to provide a basis for assessing our under- 

 standing and knowledge of this field. The remaining few talks present 

 viewpoints that are thought to be of special interest because they 

 represent new departures. We have tried to order the program so that 



