at Washington issues high seas forecasts and 

 warnings for the North Atlantic (west of 35° W). 

 Similar services are provided by the centers at San 

 Francisco and Honolulu for the eastern and central 

 North Pacific Ocean. High seas service responsibili- 

 ties in the western North Pacific Ocean (between 

 135°E and 160°E) are met by the Department of 

 Defense (see Figure 7). 



The Northern Hemisphere data collection pro- 

 gram which supports this meteorological fore- 

 casting and warning system acquires some ocean- 

 ographic data, such as sea surface temperature and 

 wave heights, on a routine basis. The National 

 Meteorological Center is developing numerical 

 models for predicting monthly-mean ocean 

 temperatures in support of research on extended 

 and long-range weather forecasting. 



ESSA's National Weather Records Center at 

 Asheville, North Carolina, is responsible for 



processing and archiving meteorological records 

 and some oceanographic data including sea state, 

 and sea surface temperatures recorded by naval 

 and merchant vessels. Summaries are included in 

 various Commerce, Coast Guard, Navy, and WMO 

 publications. In addition, data cards are exchanged 

 with other major maritime nations. The Navy 

 provides financial support. Specialized processing 

 of weather observations from naval units, and the 

 preparation of marine climatological studies are 

 performed by NWRC under reimbursable funding 

 arrangements. 



2. ESSA-Communications 



The provision of marine weather services de- 

 pends on the following meteorological communi- 

 cations systems, which also serve many other 

 functions: 



Figure 7. Areas of U.S. shipping forecast and 

 warning responsibilities under the World 

 Meteorological Organization. 



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