More of This Oceanography Feature • Part I Early Oceanography • Part 2 Oceanography and America • Part 3 Oceanography and the World Wars • Part 4 Modern Naval Oceanography

Oceanography on the Web • Other Nautical Inventions • Oceanography Society • The World-Wide Web Virtual Library: Oceanograph • Tidal Plants

On a day-to-day basis, ocean and weather observations are collected worldwide from civil and military sources, processed ashore, and used to make both oceanographic and meteorological forecasts in near-real-time to support the Fleet wherever it is operating. This has spawned a number of individually tailored services that would have made Maury proud. For example, the Navy's Optimum Track Ship Routing (OTSR) program uses the most up-to-date weather and ocean data to generate recommendations for the safest, most efficient, and economical passage for ships on the high seas - not unlike Maury's Wind and Current Charts. This service, especially on long ocean crossings, has not only been vital to the safety of ships, but has also - again like Maury's charts - saved millions of dollars in fuel costs alone. A similar route-planning capability is available to military aircraft. The weather is seldom neutral; it favors those who know how to use it.

In operational or combat situations, the oceanography community provides on-scene support to the Fleet through specially trained oceanographic officers and enlisted men assigned to command staffs both ashore and at sea - and to individual ships, Fleet bases, and Naval and Marine Corps Air Stations. Using a world-wide network of data sources, shore processing facilities, and communication links, in conjunction with their own local observations of sea and atmospheric conditions, these specialists provide face-to-face recommendations to the warfighters on weather, ocean and beach conditions, and environmental effects on weapons and sensors. These men and women supply the detailed expertise needed to best utilize the natural environment to our advantage, while denying its use to an adversary. This can range from local area weather forecasting in support of aircraft carrier operations, to optimizing the use of a sonar system in accordance with prevailing underwater sound conditions to maximize the chance of detecting enemy submarines.

THE QUEST FOR OCEANOGRAPHY DATA

The collection and analysis of all these data are largely the responsibility of the Naval Oceanographic Office in Mississippi and the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center in California, each of which operates a major supercomputer facility. These computers are used both for the assimilation and analysis of world-wide sensor data to produce Fleet support products - such as ocean current estimates - and for research and development by the ocean and atmospheric technical communities. Additionally, both organizations make significant use of data exchanged by foreign nations. The Naval Oceanographic Office, in particular, has entered into a series of Hydrographic Cooperation (HYCOOP) agreements to share the results of coastal hydrographic surveys with international partners. Both Navy laboratories and civilian technical institutes are major contributors to the environmental sciences, and important efforts are under way to translate their findings into new techniques and equipment for improving the accuracy and timeliness of weather and ocean forecasting for the Fleet.

In addition to his mission-related responsibilities, the Oceanographer of the Navy emphasizes education and community service by supporting three educational programs designed to promote awareness of marine and geographical sciences: Project MARCO POLO, a cooperative program with the National Geographic Society which puts students and teachers aboard oceanographic ships in a learning environment; the Pathfinder Project, a minority teachers' workshop in oceanography; and the JASON Project, directed by the JASON Foundation for Education, which downlinks real-time science and adventure to 1 million school children nationwide.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

Ten years ago, the Chief of Naval Operations wrote, "...The impact of the ocean environment upon tactical and strategic forces and their operations and system performance must be understood and accounted for to most effectively employ our Navy. The sea and the maritime atmosphere must be measured, studied, and understood if we are to take advantage of them...Oceanography is an area where we must set the standard if we are to maintain dominance..." The goal of the Oceanographer of the Navy is to fulfill that promise on the last and greatest frontier of the planet.

Images and Partial Information Provided by the United States Navy
©Mary Bellis