Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
NATIONAL SECURITY information about the ocean and its range of effects on ships is crucial for the operations of Navy aircraft, ships, and submarines. The Navy recog- nized the importance of stimulating oceanographic research and became the first major supporter of the field on oceanography soon after World War lI. The dramatic political changes that have occurred around the globe in recent years have not diminished the need for ocean science research and improved understanding of the ocean. In fact, as the likelihood of coastal warfare has increased, coastal oceanography has become even more important. The complexity of the processes that occur in coastal environ- ments has increased the need for improved models and predictive capabilities of coastal ocean conditions. The OSB conducts a range of activities to help the Navy identify the areas of science that are important both to a basic understanding of the ocean and relevant to the Navy mission. At the request of the Chief of Naval Research and the Oceanographer of the Navy, the OSB has provider] advice on Navy marine science programs ant} on potential oceanographic contri- butions to national security since 1985. Navy Committee (CompleledF Activity The Navy Committee was formed in 1985 to help the Navy develop long-range plans for ocean science research and clevelopment, to identify Navy research priorities, to review documents describing Navy programs, and to provide other guidance as requested. In 1993, ONR requested that the committee report on future research opportunities in the areas of marine meteorology, coastal sciences, oceanic chemistry, and marine geology and geophysics. The opportunities presented were to emphasize naval relevance. The Navy Committee responcled to this request by forming study panels for each topic. Panels appointee] by the NRC and composed of experts in the relevant fielcis were selected by the committee and the board. Reports were prepared and published in 1993, identifying opportunities for new research initiatives. In 1993, the Navy Committee hosted the third of the tactical oceanogra · - P 1y symposia series. 19
Ace, ~ "c spawn - ~ Couth Oceanography anal Storm W~hre ,^~-~ .',22 ,. _~ 20 Symposia on Tactical Oceanography (Ongoing Activity) The OSB initiated a series of classified symposia on tactical oceanogra- phy in 1990, with subsequent symposia held in 1991 and 1993. The symposia are organized by the Navy Committee and supported by the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy ant! the ONR. These symposia provide an opportunity for discussion and an exchange of ideas between academic scientists and Navy users of their research. Academic participants discussed the potential contributions that science and technology could offer for support of naval warfare. Approximately 125 individuals participated in each of the first two symposia, half from the academic community and half from the military community. The third symposium was held in August 1993, focusing on coastal oceanography and littoral warfare. The symposium brought together 125 individuals from the operational Navy, the Navy oceanography research development and acquisition community, and academia, with the goals of: addressing timely operational problems, fleet mission needs, and other requirements where research and development assistance and inputs are sought by Naval leaders and program managers. enhancing communications and understanding among basic and applied research communities, and between these communities and Naval forces. · enabling an extended group of researchers to become familiar with challenging Naval issues unique or strongly applicable to the littoral regime. The classified symposium opened with a littoral warfare wargame designed to emphasize the impact of decisions forced on warfare commanders by rapidly changing environmental conditions, such as experienced in the Persian Gulf War. The remainder was devoted to plenary sessions and working groups. Working group discussions focused on harbors ant! approaches, straits and archipelagos, the surf zone, and continental shelves. A unclassified proceedings of this symposium, Coastal Oceanography and l,ittoral Warfare, was published in 1994 providing summaries of the working group deliberations documenting the current status ant! "where to go now" the direction for specific areas. ONR will follow up on the research issues identified and attempt to capture the new ideas within current research and development programs supporting mine warfare, special warfare, and shallow antisubmarine warfare against the diesel submarine threat. The OSB has been requested to host a fourth symposium, proposed for August 1995 on littoral meteorology. This symposium will build on the foundation established by the third symposium, using report recommenda- tions as a starting point, inviting many of the same participants, and concentrating on five warfare areas that were addressed in earlier symposia: mine, amphibious, special, strike, and shallow water anti-submarine warfare.
