1. Fleet Weather Center San Diego
Prepared in support of conference entitled,
“Mapping, Tracking, & Visualization from Harbors to Deep Oceans
26 Aug 2011

2. Naval Oceanography Organization
MISSION SUPPORT PRIORITY
KNOWLEDGE-CENTRIC
Maritime Operations
Fleet safety and
near-term operational readiness
Aviation Operations
Cost of Ownership
Fleet Operations
Precise Time and Astrometry
National missions
Navigation
ISR
Today’s Fight
Naval Oceanography
~$350M TOA
6 ships
1,200 military
1,300 civilians
Naval Special Warfare
Cost of Operations
(Effectiveness)
Anti-Submarine Warfare
Navy Operations
Mine Warfare
FNMOC
USNO
NAVO

3. Battlespace On Demand Linking Forecasts to Decisions
Decision Superiority: Making better decisions faster than the adversary
Battlespace On Demand (BonD) is Naval Oceanography’s operational concept. It guides and informs our
operational and technical domains, and drives our investment strategy. It enables us to keep the Fleet safe,
and enhance warfighting effectiveness by achieving decision superiority.
Naval Oceanography is about generating competitive advantage across the warfighting and shaping
spectrum. Our strategy, Battlespace on Demand, consists of three tiers, each of which builds on the previous
tiers to ultimately produce enhanced decision-making capabilities for the warfighter.
Tier 0: Data from various sources are collected, assimilated and fused to provide initial and boundary
conditions that accurately describe the current ocean and atmosphere environment, as well as the celestial and
temporal reference frames.
Tier 1: Data from satellites, altimetry, gliders, buoys and other collection methods are incorporated to
initialize computations. Then, our high performance supercomputers run complex models to continually forecast
and verify the future state of the ocean and atmosphere.
Tier 2: The environment modeled in Tier 1 will impact sensors, weapons, platforms and people, providing
opportunities and restrictions for operations and warfighting. We define the influences on planning, force
structure, targeting, timing, maneuver, tactics, techniques and procedures. The result is a “performance
surface” that accounts for both the predicted environment and the capabilities and behaviors of the force – both
allies and adversaries.
Tier 3: Performance surfaces are applied to specific decision-making processes to quantify risk and
opportunity at strategic, operational and tactical levels. We provide actionable recommendations on force
allocation and employment that directly enhance safety and warfighting effectiveness.

4. FWC San Diego and FWC Norfolk AORs
FWC-SD
FWC-N
Fleet Weather Center San Diego has the Pacific and Indian Oceans AOR’s

5. Maritime Operations Optimum Track Ship Routing
- Hazardous weather advisories
- Divert and sortie recommendations
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
- Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
- Tropical cyclone forecasts for Pacific
and Indian Oceans
Routine ship weather forecasts (WEAX)
Aviation weather forecasts for ship-based helicopters (AVWX)

6. Aviation Operations Core Aviation Weather Services
• Flight Route Weather Briefings via Web-based Flight Weather Briefer
• Severe weather warnings and advisories for Navy airfields
• Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts for Navy airfields

7. Fleet Operations “Cradle to Grave” support to:
Carrier Strike Group Commanders and ARG
Joint and contingency operations worldwide
SGOT = 1 AGC, 3 forecasters, 4 asst
MET = 1 forecaster, 1 asst
Onboard personnel work with reachback cells to determine:
Optimum fleet maneuvers
Flight operations
Weapons loadout
Target selection

8. Strike Group Oceanography Teams (SGOTs)
Mission: Provide timely, comprehensive, and tactically relevant meteorological and oceanographic (METOC) products and services in direct support of Numbered Fleet / Navy Component Commanders, Assigned Units / Staff, and other U.S. and Joint / NATO/Coalition Forces as directed.
“Sensible Weather”
Aviation Forecast
Maritime Forecast
Satellite Imagery
Upper Air Soundings
BTs
Obs
Tailored Mission Support TDAs:
NITES
PC-IMAT
AREPS
TAWS
CVN / LHD / LHA

9. Naval Oceanography Tools
Global
Regional
3D full physics forecast models
High resolution 3D forecast models
Local
Future
2D/3D rapidly placed coastal, riverine, and estuary models

10. Naval Oceanography Tools Annotated and Analyzed Imagery
Collection Assets
Annotated and Analyzed Imagery
Ocean Modeling
Tactical Products B A B A
Temp: CTD section A - B
Warm core feature
Cold core feature
Global
Regional
Local
Historical Imagery
Tactical Imagery
Side Scan Sonar
Master Contact Database
Pd Radials
(unaveraged for each grid point)
Pd Map
(averaged over 4nmi for each grid point) A
Kuroshio

11. Ship Routing Around Heavy Seas
Divert track
Original track
For Demonstration Purposes Only

12. Joint Typhoon Warning Center
Routing Ships around typhoons in the Western Pacific

13. Hazardous Seas ROGUE WAVES
Catastrophic ocean waves, otherwise known as "freak" or "rogue" waves, are towering waves that can measure 30 to 60 feet in height. While always UNEXPECTED, rogue waves tend to occur more often in particular areas, such as off the eastern coast of South Africa.
AGULHAS
CURRENT
WESTWIND DRIFT
WESTWIND DRIFT

14. Wavewatch III Global Model

15. Using Delft 3D Nearshore Model to Characterize Nearshore Environment

16. Global Satellite Imagery

17. Using Long Range Forecast Tools to Solve Operational Problems

18. Forecaster Tool Kit
300MB Jet Stream and Vorticity

19. Maritime Use of Google Earth
For Demonstration Purposes Only

20. Questions?
UNCLASSIFIED