Mr. A.N.Kalvaitis is the senior engineer and operations director for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Undersea Research Program (NURP). As such, he is responsible for providing technical support and guidance on undersea platforms and ensures that NOAA's undersea research mission objectives and operations are technically feasible, safe, cost-effective, and efficient. He has also been a project engineer on an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) program that conducted research and development on utilization of the ocean as a renewable power source. He received his B.S.M.E. from the University of Maine, Orono. Mr. Kalvaitis has published articles on undersea science platforms, OTEC developments, data quality assurance, and marine instrumentation. He is a member of the Marine Technology Society's Undersca Vehicles/ROV Committee and the Current Measurement Technology Committee of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). In addition, he is a member of the Engineering Committee on Oceanic Resources (ECOR) Working Group on Marine Resources.

Gregory Stone is a biological scientist and the Japan Program Manager for the NOAA National Undersea Research Program. He spent 2 years at the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC) as a visiting scientist in the deep sea research department. He is a member of the Science and Technology Agency (STA) Council for Advanced Technologies and was the fist nonJapanese to dive in the JAMSTEC SHINKAI 6500, currently the world's deepest diving submersible. Along with expertise in undersea technology, Stone is also a whale biologist with over 15 scientific publications. He received his bachelor's degree in ecology from College of the Atlantic and his master's degree in marine policy from the University of Rhode Island. He received the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and Japanese STA postdoctoral fellowship, and the Antarctic Service Medal from the Navy and NSF.

by Pat Wilde

ACTIVITIES OF THE U.S. PANEL

Dr. W. Erich Frey of the Coast and Geodetic Survey (C&GS) (old name reinstated after 20 years as the National Ocean Survey) reported on "Hydrographic Surveys and Nautical Charting Activities." A major mission is to map the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) at a contour interval of 250 meters. Since 1983 105,000 mi2 have been surveyed. Three ships, the SURVEYOR, DISCOVERER, and MT MICHELL, have Sea Beam multibeam systems. The WHITING uses the German HYDROCHART II system. Since October 1989, 32 1:100,000 scale multi-beam bathymetric maps have been published of a total of 58 maps compiled. In 1991 398 new chart editions were published. Eighty-five percent of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) charts have been converted to the North American Datum 1983, which is considered equivalent to WGS 84. Special bathymetric charts for fishing, showing in addition bottom sediment type, bottom

obstructions, cable/pipeline routes, and LORAN-C lattices, are being published. To date 41 such maps are available. With the U.S. adoption of metric bathymetry, the C&GS will eventually convert all its charts, using this opportunity to standardize and modernize them. The initial effort will be concentrated along the Atlantic Coast. For the computer age, the C&GS is participating in both the Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) and Automated Nautical Charting System (ANCS) programs for Charting System (ANCS) programs for the development of electronic and automated charting systems providing digitized charts (IHO SP-57 - DX-90 format) and related software.

The report on sea bottom survey activities of the U.S. National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) was given by Dr. Michael S. Loughridge. In the past year 4.3 million digital records of underway geophysical surveys from 212 cruises covering 676,000 track miles were added to the Boulder Database. This included 540,000 miles of bathymetric, 287,000 miles of gravity, and 316,000 miles of magnetic data.

Contributing institutions were the U.S. Geological Survey (47 cruises), LamontDoherty (35 new, 27 updated), Hawaii (26), Germany (26), Scripps (20), U.S.S.R. (11), Brazil (7), Texas A&M (5), Japan Oceanographic Data Center (JODC) (4), The Netherlands (4), Woods Hole (3), the U.S. Navy (2), and the University of Connecticut (1). Total digital holdings, thus, are now 30,400,000 MGD77 records covering 11,300,000 nautical miles from 3,082 cruises. Analog holdings are now 6,500,000 miles of which 5,200,000 miles are seismic reflection lines. The Index to Marine Geological Samples with over 300,000 records is available (GEODAS) for PCcompatible users in a select/retrieval program. A compact disc version of the marine mineral geochemical data of heavy minerals and manganese nodules information is planned for release in 1992. The Marine Geological Analog Data Files now contain over 150,000 samples. NGDC also has an archive of GEOSAT satellite altimeter data. The Worldwide Tsunami Database now includes 1,900 events since 2000 B.C. covering 16 regions. The data include

5,500 records and are held in dBASEIII format for PC-compatible retrieval. Marine-related CD-ROM discs are available for (1) Deep Sea Drilling Program (DSDP) data files (September 1991), (2) cumulative index to DSDP (August 1991), and (3) geophysics of North America. Planned releases of CD-ROMs include (1) Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) data similar to DSDP, (2) marine minerals, (3) underway geophysics: GEODAS, and (4) igneous petrology.

ACTIVITIES OF THE JAPANESE PANEL

Reef Capacity of Absorption for Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide" (FY 1989-1991); (2) “Change of Paleoenvironment of Coastal Areas Due to the Past Sea-Level Changes" (FY 1990-1991), focusing on the Okhotsk coast of Hokkaido investigating the hypsithermal event of 5,000 years BP (before present); and (3) “Study on Circulation of Carbon Dioxide in the Ocean" (FY 1990-1994), using 120 days per year ship time in the Northwest Pacific. The Japan-France Joint Project on the Rift System in the South Pacific (STARMER) (FY 1987-1991) is concluding. Diving surveys in the North Fiji Basin with the SHINKAI 6500 have just been concluded (November 1991), following up the discovery of hydrothermal vent deposits by the NAUTILE in 1989. Other diving projects in 1991, using both the SHINKAI 2000 and SHINKAI 6500, are being pursued in the Japanese EEZ south of the main islands.

Dr. Takemi Ishihara discussed the 1991 marine geology activities of the Geological Survey of Japan. The Geological Survey of Japan has four sections conducting marine research: marine geology, marine mineral resources, marine geophysics, and coastal sedimentation, chiefly using the R/V HAKUREI-MARU. The survey is in the midst of a 5-year mapping Activities of the Host Agency program: "Marine Geological Study of the Continental Margin of the Eastern Border of the Central Sea of Japan" (FY 1989-1993). Four cruises with 160 days of ship time have been used thus far. The program "Evaluation System for Metallic Deposits Associated with Submarine Hydrothermalism," using two cruises per year from 19841989 in the Western Pacific south of Japan's main islands in the IzuOgasawara (Bonin) Arc, Northern Mariana Arc, and the Okinawa Trough areas, is now complete and the results are being published in the Bulletin of the Geological Survey of Japan. In coastal areas, "Study on Long Range Prediction Model for the Change of Shallow Water Environment for Optimum Industrial Development" (FY 1988-1992) is a project in the vicinity of Tokyo Bay. There has been a shift in emphasis from marine minerals to projects involving global change. Three programs are current: (1) "Research on Coral

The activities of the Japan Hydrographic Department (JHD) of the Japan Maritime Safety Agency (JMSA) were summarized by Dr. Shoichi Oshima, the local U.S.-Japan Natural Resources (UJNR) chairman and director of the (UJNR) chairman and director of the Planning Division of the Hydrographic Department. Major publication activities included the 120th Anniversary Commemoration Bathymetric Chart, Commemoration Bathymetric Chart, "The Southern Seas of Nippon," at a scale of 1:2,500,000, and a new chart series, "Information Map Against Natural Disasters," to facilitate a rapid evacuation plan for areas like near Mt. Unzen that are susceptible to Mt. Unzen that are susceptible to episodic volcanic eruptions. A new ship, the HAMASHIO, launched in March 1991, will be used for the surveys. Five sheets are planned by the end of 1995. The S/V MEIYO, launched in October 1990, did a rapid response survey of the newly active Mt. Unzen area in June 1991. The ship also surveyed Mikura

Seamount in the Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin) Arc to identify any changes after the series of earthquakes under the seamount. The TAKUYO, with Sea Beam, and the TEN'YO, with HYDROCHART II, surveyed the Nankai Trough and identified several tectonic features related to the subducting Philippine Sea Plate. The TAKUYO, as part of the long-term study of the oceanic area south of the Japanese main islands, in 1990 surveyed the Oki-Daito Ridge and vicinity with a 5-nautical-mile grid spacing. The JHD is doing sea trials of electronic chart systems in cooperation with the Tokyo University of Mercantile Marine and equipment manufacturers. This test will be reported by Dr. Saburo Sunaga later in this article. Dr. Oshima also announced that a new vessel, the KAIYO, similar to the MEIYO (550 tons), is planned to be completed in the fall of 1993. The new ship will be designed for onboard data processing and will have the various sensors connected by a local area network (LAN). For FY 1990 the JHD completed 8 harbor surveys and 223 chart updating surveys. During the same time, they published 18 new charts and 53 new editions of previous charts.

Activity Report of the Japan Oceanographic Data Center

Dr. Osamu Yamada, director of the center, and from the Japan Hydrographic Department, presented the summary report. The center is the only "comprehensive" Japanese repository for oceanographic data, plus it's the center for UNESCO/IOC International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange System (IODE) for files from WESPAC, IGOSS, and MARPOLMON. Digitized bathymetric data in the MGD77 format geophysical files are handled with the J-BIRD (JODC-Bathymetric Integrated Random Database) system. The data archive is available in the J-BIRD

catalogue published in 1990. The center maintains digital GEBCO 1:1,000,000 plotting sheets. All the data handling computers (both PC-compatibles and Macintoshes) are connected by LAN. For internal use in Japan, the center has instituted an electronic bulletin board/mail exchange system called JOIDES (JODC Oceanographic Information and Exchange Service) with no fees except local phone charges. The GEODAS data handling system of NGDC, mentioned above in Dr. Loughridge's report, has been ported into the JODC, where PC-compatibles are used instead of a VAX as a file server. GEODAS will be modified to accept multi-beam data.

ELECTRONIC CHART DEVELOPMENT AND EXPERIENCES

RADM Christian Andreasen of NOAA presented papers on "ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems) Test Bed Project" and "Automated Nautical Charting System II." The test bed project is an outgrowth of the development of digital charts combined with progress in computer hardware and display systems as well as cheap and accurate real-time satellite positioning. These advances permitted the potential for ships to be navigated directly by digital chart systems called ECDIS.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is now developing standards to regulate any viable ECDIS with respect to safety and thus to staffing requirements. The IMO provisional performance standards define ECDIS as "consisting of an onboard processor and chart displays, connected to an electronic positioning system, and optionally to the ship's radar." It is supplied with an electronic chart database that originates at government hydrographic offices, and these databases are maintained by means of

automatic updates received from satellite or shore-based radio stations.

Before ECDIS standards can be adopted, a series of actual field trials are run to evaluate the proposed standards. Partial evaluations of the provisional standards have been completed in Europe with the North Sea Test Bed Project, the German SeaTrans Project, and The Netherlands Test Bed Project. The United States is pursuing an ECDIS test bed program coordinated by Woods Hole in conjunction with a joint government-industry group. The Intergraph Corporation has been awarded the contract for the hardware for the U.S. test. The tested system is expected to consist of (1) computer processor with 670 MB hard drive; (2) interactive input via keyboard or mouse; (3) Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver with differential operation; (4) LORAN-C receiver; (5) INMARSAT-C satellite receiver-transmitter for updating the electronic charts; (6) radar interface to overlay the standard radar image on the chart display; and (7) software capable of the following: "route planning, navigation calculations, chart selection, combined radar-chart display, track deviation alarms, route monitoring, chart updating, scale selection, vessel track recording, and back-up charts." The system will test the provisional standards that

(1) "It should be impossible to alter the contents of the electronic navigation chart onboard."

(2) The ECDIS database and display

can automatically respond to official Notices to Mariners by radio or by manual insertion.

(3) Navigational safety shall be maintained in the event of failure of ECDIS.

(4) The ECDIS shall provide suitable warnings of malfunction so that the operator can take appropriate corrective measures.

U.S. trials of the ECDIS will be held, upon successful completion of acceptance tests in July 1992, in Valdez, Alaska; San Francisco, California; Long Beach, California; Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts; New York, New York; and Norfolk, Virginia. The first series of tests on a variety of vessels including a Coast Guard cutter, a commercial tanker, and a container ship is scheduled for completion in May 1993. A secondary objective of the trials is to demonstrate that ECDIS can reduce operating costs by maintaining minimum fuel consumption routes and watch-standers.

RADM Andreasen indicated that Japanese cooperation in the test bed effort would be valuable, particularly in providing digital charts of major harbors as well as cooperative efforts involving Japanese shipping companies, marine electronic firms, government agencies, and other groups with maritime interests.

Sea trials on 13 March 1991 of the electronic chart system tested by JHD were summarized by Dr. Saburo Sunaga of the department. The results of the test were as follows:

(1) Superimposition and register of the radar image and the electronic chart information on the display are still a problem.

(2) Symbol resolution and colors used need to be improved for easier identification.

(3) Landmarks displayed on the screen should be limited to "conspicuous ones" to avoid clutter on the display.