off the ship's stern. Better understanding of 

 surface waves would permit improvements in ship 

 design to make ships cheaper to build and more 

 efficient to operate. Forecasts of sea-ice are 

 important for naval operations and commerce. 



This knowledge is also vital for the operation of 

 fishing vessels. The loss of three British trawlers 

 off Iceland in February 1968, points up the 

 ever-present danger. Ocean knowledge has an 

 additional importance for the fishing industry. 

 Ocean currents, temperatures, and other physical 

 and chemical conditions strongly affect fisheries. 

 The fluctuations in yield of the major ocean 

 fisheries over periods of time are often a reflection 

 of changes in ocean conditions. Certain species of 

 tuna are closely associated with a fixed tempera- 

 ture range in the ocean. Prediction of the location 

 of the appropriate isotherms increases the effi- 

 ciency of this fishery operation. 



These requirements— of those engaged in naval 

 operations, in ensuring the safety of coastal areas, 

 in operating small boats as weD as ocean-going 

 vessels, and in fishing— are operational require- 

 ments. But even if we could now observe the 

 oceans everywhere, we could not satisfy all of 

 these needs because the ability to forecast ocean 

 conditions is limited by incomplete scientific 

 understanding of the motions of the oceans— of 

 their scale, their kinetic energy, and the causes of 

 their fluctuations. In the last analysis, we must 

 observe the oceans to collect the data that will 

 permit the scientist to describe the initial state of 

 the oceans and to establish the laws that govern 

 their dynamic processes. 



The oceans are massive and sluggish and their 

 motions are in large part a response over a long 

 period of time to motions in the atmosphere. In 

 turn, the heat stored up by the oceans helps drive 

 the atmosphere. Increased understanding of the 

 oceans is therefore important not only for the 

 improvement of ocean forecasting but also for the 

 improvement of weather forecasting. Improved 

 understanding is especially needed in the zone 

 where sea and air meet. If the scientist can 

 improve his understanding of the interactions 

 between the atmosphere and the oceans we shall 

 go a long way in improving our ability to predict 

 the weather. 



II. THE NEED FOR A COMMON GLOBAL 

 SYSTEM 



These are some of the Nation's more important 

 needs for ocean knowledge. These needs can only 

 be satisfied if we are able to maintain a continuous 

 watch over the oceans and improve our capabiHty 

 to forecast. But how should we do this? Should 

 each activity— the Department of Defense, the De- 

 partment of Commerce, the Department of In- 

 terior, the shipping industry, the fishing industry- 

 maintain the ocean watch it needs and be responsi- 

 ble for the forecasts it needs? Or should we have a 

 separate system for each geographical area of the 

 marine environment? These are some of the 

 questions addressed by the Panel on Environ- 

 mental Monitoring in this report. 



There must be a single system providing data 

 and forecasts to meet the common needs, for what 

 emerges clearly from the description of the Na- 

 tion's extensive needs for ocean knowledge is that 

 different activities share many needs in common. 

 These activities should be served by a system 

 which meets the common needs in an efficient 

 way. Separate observing and forecasting systems 

 for each major activity would result in needless 

 duplication. However, special classes of ocean 

 "users" require specialized forecasts and/or data, 

 which would be developed from outputs of the 

 system designed to meet most common needs. The 

 military will still require specialized outputs in 

 support of military operations, fully responsive to 

 rapidly-changing military requirements, provided 

 by a system under control of the Defense Depart- 

 ment. The system would provide data and predic- 

 tions describing large-scale characteristics of the 

 environment. In many cases, such as pollution 

 control and marine resource management, smaller 

 scale data are required; these would continue to be 

 collected by local agencies and used in conjunc- 

 tion with larger-scale information. 



A marine environmental monitoring and predic- 

 tion system, if it is to provide all required data and 

 services, must be global. There are two reasons for 

 this conclusion: 



—The Nation is engaged in marine operations, or 

 must be prepared to engage in them, throughout 

 the world— over all the oceans, and along every 

 coast. This is particularly true for the Navy, but 

 commercial vessels also traverse much of the globe 

 and fishing vessels range widely. 



11-10 



