270 • Marine Minerals: Exploring Our New Ocean Frontier 



Photo credit: Jane's FIgtttIng Sttlps, 1985-86 



A Typhoon class submarine can operate in any ocean of the world and still have her main targets within range. 



concluded that NOAA should acquire geophysical 

 data that would not hinder the timely acquisition 

 of the bathymetric data.*^ Classification stymied 

 NOAA's effort to form a cooperative arrangement 

 with industry and academia. Thus, to date, NOAA 

 has not acquired gravity or magnetic data. 



While the capability to identify subsurface ter- 

 rain features and accurately determine their posi- 

 tion is a boon to scientists seeking to locate and ex- 

 plore geological features on the seafloor, it presents 

 a potentially serious security risk if used by hostile 

 forces. Because of the security implications, the 

 U.S. Navy, with the concurrence of the National 

 Security Council's National Operations Security 

 Advisory Committee, initiated actions to classify 

 multi-beam data and restrict its use and distri- 

 bution. 



"The OTA Workshop on Data Classification was held Jan. 27, 

 1987, at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, under the auspices of 

 the Marine Policy suid Ocean Management Center. 



Modern undersea warfare requires that sub- 

 marines, once submerged, remain submerged to 

 avoid detection. When submarines operate globally, 

 this long-terrn submergence presents significant 

 navigational problems. Inertial guidance systems 

 and other navigational gear must be occasionally 

 updated with precise locational information if the 

 submarine's position is to be determined accurately. 

 One means for doing this is by fixing terrain fea- 

 tures on the ocean bottom and triangulating within 

 them to determine the vessel's position. With 

 detailed bathymetric maps and precise geodesy, 

 modem acoustical detectors and onboard computers 

 are capable of precisely fixing a submarine's posi- 

 tion without having to surface and risk detection. 

 Litde imagination is needed to understand the secu- 

 rity implications of high-resolution bathymetry. 

 Bathymetric data may also affect other aspects of 

 undersea warfare, including acoustical propogation 

 and mine warfare countermeasures. 



In 1984, NOAA centered its bathymetric data 

 collection in the NOAA ships Surveyor (equipped 



