THE PROBLEM 



Investigate oceanographic factors pertinent to the behavior 

 of underwater sound and to surface and subsurface navigation. 

 Specifically, study the thermal structure of the upper sea layers 

 by use of a towed thermistor chain. 



RESULTS 



1. The slopes, autocorrelation, and power spectra of isotherms 

 obtained with the U. S. Navy Electronics Laboratory (NEL) therm- 

 istor chain in sections of detailed sea temperature structure from 

 San Diego, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, showed the median of 

 the absolute values of vertical slope, in over 40, 000 data samp- 

 lings, to be 0°16' and the 70th percentile of the absolute values of 

 slope to be 0°30'. 



2. The autocorrelation of depth of encounter of isotherms in the 

 sea at 30- and 60-minute lags has higher values near California 

 than near Hawaii. 



3 . The significant high-frequency peaks in the power spectrum 

 of isotherms are distributed in patches all the way from the 

 California coast to the Hawaiian coast; however, they appear to be 

 a little more numerous in the central part of the section. 



RECOMMENDATIONS 



1. Continue development of the thermistor chain to improve the 

 quality, accuracy, and reliability of the data. 



MBL/WHOI 



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