Northern Hemisphere, including analyses and fore- 

 casts of sea-surface temperature, and near-surface 

 temperature structure. Upon request FNWC will 

 also provide bathythermograph (temperature vs. 

 depth) profiles from thermal structure analyses/ 

 forecasts for any location in the Northern Hemi- 

 sphere, as required, and classified sonar analyses/ 

 predictions for fleet operating areas. 



Figure 6. Portion of sea surface temperature 

 analysis prepared by computer installation at 

 Navy's Fleet Numerical Weather Central, 

 Monterey, California. Chart is for 0000 GMT,, 

 June 25, 1 968; contour lines are marked in 

 degrees centigrade. 



Wave forecasting programs for the Northern 

 Hemisphere conducted by the FNWC include 

 twice-daily sea and swell analyses and 12-hour 

 forecasts of height, period, and direction for sea 

 and swell. 



Surface current programs conducted by the 

 FNWC include daily forecasts and twice-daily 

 analyses of surface currents, together with twice- 

 daily computations of the locations of major 

 current boundaries. 



2. Navy Communications 



The Naval Communications System transmits 

 meteorological information in the same manner as 

 other communications traffic. A Naval Environ- 



mental Data Network has been established for the 

 exchange of meteorological and oceanographic 

 computer products between the FNWC and the 

 Integrated Fleet Weather Central System activities. 

 This network is composed of high speed digital 

 circuits, which also serve certain Naval Operations 

 Control Centers, and selected ASWEPS units. 



Meteorological information, prepared by the 

 Fleet Weather Centrals and Facilities, is trans- 

 mitted to operating Naval forces by means of 

 Navy radio (continuous wave, teletypewriter, 

 facsimile, and voice) broadcasts. The centrals and 

 facilities use their own specialized products, and 

 those of the FNWC as well as products of the Basic 

 Meteorological Service and other data from the 

 Federal Aviation Administration's weather tele- 

 typewriter networks, the Department of Com- 

 merce's National and High Altitude Facsimile 

 Networks, and the Air Force's Automated Weather 

 Network and teletypewriter systems. 



The primary purpose of the Navy's Integrated 

 Fleet Weather Central System is to support opera- 

 tional decisions. Weather service offices at all 

 major naval conmiands and aboard many larger 

 ships use the products of the Integrated Fleet 

 Weather Central System. They interpret these 

 products for local use and prepare local area and 

 route forecasts. 



3. Naval Oceanographic Office (NOO) 



The Naval Oceanographic Office is responsible 

 for developing oceanographic prediction tech- 

 niques and applying them to Naval operations on 

 an experimental basis. As methods reach opera- 

 tional utiUty, they are transferred to the Com- 

 mander, Naval Weather Service Corrmiand, al- 

 though NOO also conducts some operational 

 activities. 



NOO's ASWEPS program has both operational 

 and research and development facets. A prototype 

 system is in operation in the western North 

 Atlantic Ocean which provides both daily and 

 long-term forecasts of sea-surface temperature, 

 thermal layer depth, and in-layer thermal gra- 

 dients." A dynamic prediction model is being 

 tested to replace the analysis techniques used 

 in the prototype system. 



Forecasting procedures are described in: James, 

 R. W., Ocean Thermal Structure Forecasting. 



11-19 



