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    Areas of Global Change Research. The Department of Defense does not support dedicated global change research, but continues a history of participation in the USGCRP through sponsored research that concurrently satisfies National Security requirements and stated goals of the USGCRP. A non-inclusive summary of related Defense research that highlights collaborative opportunities with other agencies is described below.

    FY 2000 Program Highlights. Defense research associated with the USGCRP keys on data collection and research to enhance seasonal to interannual prediction. Under the aegis of the Navy-led, multi-agency, National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), several data collection efforts are underway and/or planned: an Ocean Drifting Buoy Program with NSF, DOE, and NOAA partners will continue; several projects based on a FY 1999 NOPP solicitation for (1) Data Assimilation and Modeling and (2) High Resolution Ocean Measurement technology will be in place; and a NOPP-sponsored report on National Ocean Observation needs will be available pursuant to a FY 1999 Congressional request.

    DOD investments in new and novel sensors include the third generation Polar Ozone and Aerosol Measurement (POAM III) sensor system aboard the SPOT satellite, which is providing high-resolution stratospheric ozone measurements to complement data from NOAA and NASA satellite sensors (TOMS/SBUV). WINDSAT, a passive, polarimetric, radiometer designed for high-resolution measurement of ocean waves is sponsored by DOD and NOAA and scheduled for a 2002 launch. High-resolution hyperspectral space-borne sensors are scheduled for launch in the 2000-2002 timeframe.

    The Defense Modeling and Simulation Office (DMSO) World Wide Web site http://mel.dmso.mil provides access to a variety of environmental and geospatial data and models. The multiagency MEDEA group will continue to bridge the national security and civil community for access to classified environmental data.

    In the high latitudes, reduction and analyses of data from the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic (SHEBA) project will continue to provide insights into mass and energy balances between the atmosphere, ocean, and Arctic ice pack. Data analysis from the final scheduled SCICEX cruise in CY 1999 on a specifically configured Navy nuclear submarine will include detailed studies of bathymetric, gravimetric, and oceanographic measurements under the Arctic ice canopy. Work on the Nation’s only operational Arctic sea ice model, the Navy’s Polar Ice Prediction System model (PIPS 3.0), will focus on developing a more robust ocean circulation module and improved ice morphology to more accurately represent the complex dynamic regime in the high Arctic. A new U.S.-Russia program, the Arctic Climate Observations using Underwater Sound (ACOUS), is an acoustic thermometry investigation along specific mode paths. ACOUS will provide near-continuous temperature profiles along transects in the Arctic ocean — information vital for thermodynamic investigations. This unique Navy program is included in the framework of the Gore-Primakov Joint Commission on Economic and Technological Cooperation.

    Navy and NSF-sponsored researchers will partner with colleagues from Korea and Japan in a Sea of Japan Physical Oceanography science program in 2000. The DOD Marine Boundary Layer research in air-sea gas transfer mechanisms is closely coordinated with related NSF and DOE carbon cycle research.

    The Navy Ocean Modeling Program (NOMP) continues work on nested high-spatial-resolution, coupled air-sea-terrestrial regional models. Current versions are demonstrating 9-km resolution operating on UNIX and PC host machines.

    All data and research results are routinely made available to the civil science community.

    Related Research and Infrastructure. DOD-sponsored research and supporting infrastructure, not describe above, also contributes to observing, understanding, and predicting environmental processes related to global change. Associated programs include: theoretical studies and observations of solar phenomena; monitoring and modeling of unique features in the middle and upper atmosphere; terrestrial and marine environmental quality research, and energy conservation measures. DOD’s continued investments in environmental infrastructure, such as the university Oceanographic Research Fleet, the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, and the various services’ globally-operational oceanographic and meteorological support structures, will continue to provide data and services of benefit to USGCRP efforts.