ocean engineering operation, predictions of environmental para- 

 meters are extremely important. Predictions are only as good as 

 the observations on which they are based. Deficiencies in this area 

 require the development of new and improved instrumentation, pre- 

 diction techniques, and application of the products to planning opera- 

 tions. The general areas of interest are weather, waves, currents, 

 temperature, salinity, pressure, sound velocity, gravity and mag- 

 netic field data. Developments are proceeding on expendable in- 

 struments, multiple sensors, high-speed data collecting platforms, 

 satellite utilization, buoys, and data processing. 



Expendable instruments are desirable to eliminate the costly, 

 time consuming task of stopping a ship and lowering and retrieving 

 oceanographic instrumentation by winch. This is a particularly 

 important factor in determining whether use of "ships of opportunity" 

 will be successful. 



Use of multiple sensors and high-speed vehicles (such as air 

 cushion, captured air bubble, or hydrofoils) from a mother ship, 

 promises to increase data acquisition speed by several times. 



Even more promising for rapid determination of many environ- 

 mental parameters are remote sensing techniques using aircraft 

 or satellites. It appears feasible that satellites may eventually 

 collect virtually all required environmental data. Oceanographic 

 data beyond the theoretical reach of satellites can be relayed to 

 the satellite from a buoy system and be available for readout by 

 users on shore or at sea. 



Test Facilities 



Ocean engineering test facilities, particularly pressure test 

 chambers and undersea test ranges, are necessary to provide the 

 means for developing technology. Requirements for test facilities 

 must be established by projecting RDT&E and operational programs 

 and determining necessary testing. Technical deficiencies in this 

 area are primarily the lack of design and certification criteria for 

 large, high-pressure test facilities. Cost estimates for required 

 future facilities range from $10 to $30 million dollars each, using 

 conventional rhate rials. Fabrication techniques required for these 

 pressure chambers are currently beyond the state-of-the-art. 

 New materials for chamber construction such as concrete or 



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