Radio frequency equipment must be adapted to 
ocean needs, and frequencies and bandwidths must 
be allocated. 
Recommendations: 
A formal program applying geodetic methods and 
principles at sea should be initiated to achieve the 
following: 
—Establishment of marine geodetic ranges to 
validate and calibrate new systems. 
—Development of improved positioning systems 
for shelf surveys and future extensions seaward. 
—Expansion of geodetic satellite metnods to ma- 
rine applications for singular reference datums and 
establishment of geodetic control points. 
—Establishment of a system of navigation aids 
permitting navigation accurate to 150 feet at a 
distance of 200 miles from shore. 
In addition, a comprehensive broad based devel- 
opment program should be undertaken to: 
—Improve subsurface navigation instrumentation 
accuracy and reliability. 
—Reduce navigation instrumentation size, com- 
plexity, and cost. 
—Seek new media and methods. 
—Develop equipment to establish a local vertical 
reference. 
—Pursue research and development of acoustic 
communications and underwater acoustic links. 
—Develop a network of communication-navigation 
aids. 
—Perform research on communications through 
the benthic layers or the solid earth to determine 
their feasibility for employment in undersea opera- 
tions. 
F. Tools 
Those who work in the oceans agree that most 
existing tools are seriously deficient in reliability, 
333-091 O-69—8 
ease of maintenance, ruggedness, and simplicity of 
operation. Poor underwater visibility intensifies 
the problem. The need to resolve the tool problem 
has resulted largely in using or modifying off-the- 
shelf equipment, but such equipment is not 
satisfactory for the more sophisticated underwater 
tasks. Thus, tools built specifically for underwater 
work should be designed. 
1. Current Situation 
Land tools are designed for an environment of 
low viscosity, high visibility, and negligible buoy- 
ancy. The diver depends upon a vast number of 
these land tools modified for water use, including: 
—Tools for cutting, hammering, torquing, and 
welding. 
—Air tools to provide selected application of 
buoyancy forces. 
—Water jet tools for clearing muds and digging 
trenches. 
—Knives, scrapers, and pry bars. 
The effectiveness of underwater operations is 
vitally dependent upon the adequacy of such 
hardware. 
The basic characteristics—reliability, ease of 
maintenance, ruggedness, endurance, and simplic- 
ity of operation—are more critical for underwater 
hardware than for equipment on land. The petro- 
leum industry has modified land equipment skill- 
fully for offshore use. Government agencies, 
oceanographic institutions, and marine equipment 
firms have developed hardware for many under- 
water tasks. However, most existing ocean hard- 
ware items are seriously deficient in the basic 
characteristics. 
Human underwater activity is greatly restricted 
by extremely reduced light transmission in water 
compared to air. Under ideal conditions, vision is 
little more than 100 feet; by comparison, very 
small objects can be distinguished at 2,000 feet in 
clear air. Typically, vision on the continental 
shelves of the world ranges from 5 to 50 feet. 
Where currents keep mud and organic material in 
suspension, vision may be no more than a few 
inches. 
VI-49 
