models. In the future, MEDAL will also use these data to estimate the performance of other acoustic equipment, including the coverage of acoustic minesweeping gear.

Atmospheric Data - Wind speed and direction and ambient air temperature are the main atmospheric datasets collected. Wind speed is an important input to sonar performance algorithms used by AMCM operations and also for helicopter flight parameters, such as blade and pylon unfolding, rotor engagement, and launch. Wind speed is also a factor in sea state, and affects both Surface Mine Countermeasure (SMCM) and Undersea Mine Countermeasure (UMCM) operations. Future versions of MEDAL will be able to incorporate regional climatic databases.

Magnetic Capability - These data include measurements of seawater and sediment conductivity, electrical depth, and reflection coefficients used to calculate the performance of minesweeping systems.

Acoustic Data - Acoustic data entered into MEDAL are the K1 and K2 parameters (slope of a transmission loss curve up to and beyond 100 yards) used to estimate coverage for acoustic minesweeping equipment. At present, no algorithms exist to recalculate these parameters according to environmental changes, but future algorithms may take into account acoustic water depth, seawater physical properties, wind speed, and bottom composition.

CEAS provides multi-disciplinary environmental data assessment and analysis, survey and special deployments planning, and MIW support. CEAS was designed to provide a broad range of capabilities while also having the flexibility for future enhancements. Some of these capabilities are the production of acoustic image mosaics, data queries, the creation of derived data, and output of diverse digital and hardcopy export formats.

At present MEDAL is limited in its ability to input, manipulate, and display oceanographic data. Thus, the graphic capabilities of CEAS are being used at COMINEWARCOM and at sea on the USS Inchon as a briefing tool to subset data from large regional datasets and to view and manipulate sidescan sonar imagery.

Front Matter (R1-R12)

Executive Summary (1-3)

1 Introduction (4-8)

2 Mine Warfare: An Overview (9-27)

3 Oceanography and Mine Warfare (28-38)

4 Mine Warfare and the Ocean Environment: Mission Influence, Research Issues, and Future Exploitation (39-51)

5 Discussion and Summary (52-55)

References (56-58)

Appendix A: Steering Committee and Staff Biographies (59-60)

Appendix B: Symposium Program (61-65)

Appendix C: Symposium Participants (66-67)

Appendix D: Wargame Gamebook (68-77)

Appendix E: Environmental Science Programs Within the Office of Naval Research That Support Mine Warfare (78-81)

Appendix F: Office of Naval Research Programs to Encourage Research in Areas of Interest to Naval Operations (82-90)

Appendix G: Office of Naval Research Program Contact Information (91-95)

Appendix H: Acronyms and Abbreviations (96-100)