“NAVO 21”. The Naval Oceanographic Office of the 21st century

The Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) mission is to collect, process, and distribute products and data to the Department of Defense and other national and international customers. Four milestones from 1994 to 1997 have significantly increased NAVOCEANO´s capabilities to carry out this mission. First, the introduction of the Integrated Data Base Management System (IDBMS) in 1994 has provided management of over 150 years of irreplaceable ocean data. Second, when NAVOCEANO was designated one of four Department of Defense Major Shared Resource Centers in 1995, a High Performance Computing Center was established. This Center ranks among the top ten computing centers in the world and provides leading-edge processing and storage capability. Third, the introduction of the T-AGS 60 PATHFINDER class multipurpose oceanographic survey ships in 1996 has allowed “one-stop shopping” in the coastal and deep waters of the world, on-board data processing, and high-speed data transmissions for rapid characterization of the marine environment. Fourth, the completion of the Surf Eagle project in 1997 will provide the Warfighting Support Center the capability of all-source analysis of high-resolution, digital imagery. Independently these four “pillars” represent major milestones. Combined, they support a robust foundation for “NAVO 21”, the Naval Oceanographic Office of the 21st century. This paper discusses the “NAVO 21” concept