1998 Year of the Ocean Marine Science, Technology, and Research 



resulting in a de facto establishment of many centers of excellence for the field. By fostering the 

 development of new partnerships, the ocean sciences community can overcome many of these 

 apparent obstacles. Through sharing of resources, data, and knowledge, the ocean sciences 

 community will provide an impressive mechanism for working towards solutions. 



OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE YEAR OF THE OCEAN AND BEYOND 



There is a very broad realm of research opportunities defined by the diversity of issues 

 embedded in the subjects of quality of life, economic development, education/communication, 

 and national security. The pervasive nature of the Year-of-the-Ocean themes lends strong 

 credibility to the partnership approach; there is an implication that a partnership developed to 

 address a problem in one area will provide collateral benefits to other applications. 



What follows is a description of some opportunities for the development of ocean 

 science. The intent is to identify where the key target areas exist and what the specific focus 

 should be to address the most urgent needs of the ocean science community, during this Year-of- 

 the-Ocean and for the decades to follow. 



Data Accessibility 



The currency of oceanographic progress is data. The ocean environment is largely 

 undersampled or unsampled. There exist data which might serve multiple needs and full and 

 open access to these data by investigators is critical. 



A national, virtual, and common oceanographic data system is needed to provide remote 

 and transparent access to valuable unclassified data sets using state-of-the-networking-art on-line 

 connectivity and linked to existing civilian databases — federal, state and academic institution 

 based. Further development of a national, virtual oceanographic data system will provide on-line 

 connectivity linking Naval oceanographic and civilian oceanographic government, industry, and 

 academic organizations for the purpose of quality data transfer. In addition, the ocean sciences 

 community must provide for the rescue, archiving, and quality assurance of historical and "shoe- 

 box" data sets. 



Long Term Observations 



For the same reasons that land-based weather forecasters depend on distributed networks 

 of observational systems, the oceanographic community similarly needs such capabilities. In 

 fact, one of the most dramatic demonstrations of the value of long-term observations is the 

 payoff from the TOGA (Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere) buoys in the central Pacific ocean. 

 This system has served as the primary early warning system for the El Nino onset in the last few 

 years. The coincidental occurrence of what is shaping up as the century's strongest El Nino 

 event, during this International Year-of-the-Ocean, highlights the opportunities and payoffs for 

 ocean observational systems and strategies. As a result, the ocean sciences community will need 



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