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



In addition, certain private industries have operations that are synergistic with the 

 education of students in the oceanographic community. Oceanographers from academia could 

 benefit from opportunities to work in industry, to be exposed to the needs of industry, and to 

 apply data being generated in the research environment. Programs could be set up to support 

 such cooperative efforts. 



Mechanisms, in addition to the traditional Intergovernmental Personnel Act, must be 

 developed to encourage cross-fertilization as described above. Examples include: 



• visiting senior scientists to operators and to policy making organizations, 



• participation of industry and other user-community representatives across agency 

 plarming and policy lines, 



• graduate education, research sabbatical and industry/laboratory appointments for 

 military, government, and policy employees. 



These mechanisms should span from short term exchanges to long term appointments. In 

 view of the Information Highway/World Wide Web, it may be feasible to create "virtual 

 appointments" that may also include "video conferencing and meetings." 



Better understanding of both common and unique issues as well as a basis for improved 

 communications between participants will result from such exchanges. For the oceanographic 

 research community in government and academia, there will be opportunities for some to 

 experience industry, its operations and the application of oceanographic data, thereby enhancing 

 the value of the data being collected by applying it in new way. For industry, the resource of an 

 experienced individual (an expert at times) in an application where such "short term" expertise is 

 necessary would be a valuable asset to the operation at hand. 



Platforms 



The oceanographic community is a research-resource intensive group. Unlike many other 

 scientific arenas, the oceanographic field critically depends on efficient community management 

 of surface ships, manned submersibles, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), scientific 

 buoys, and research satellites. Plans for future field work will add capabilities to this list (e.g. 

 ocean sampling networks, global observation systems) making the management of these research 

 platforms an even more challenging endeavor. Partnerships are critical for successful application 

 of these facilities. 



Innovative materials which are becoming available now make new structures and vehicles 

 possible. Carbon fiber and composite plastics could be utilized for strength, light weight, low 

 manufacturing costs, and resistance to corrosion and biofouling. Other construction methods 

 include re-use and re-combination of existing offshore structures from the oil industry, and 

 recycling of dredged materials from the ocean and solid waste materials from the land (fly ash, 

 sanitized sludge, etc.) to form artificial islands offshore. 



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