| Summary: | Approved for public release; distribution unlimited === Predicting the thermal structure of the oceans is of
importance to the Naval tactician, logistician, or search
and rescue coordinator. Understanding the structure of the
oceans provides valuable insights to those who must utilize
the oceanic environment effectively in their day to day
operations. Today, recent information about an area is limited tc
point observations of single bathythermographs. Few models
produce an accurate picture of the ocean environment that
can be used for updating tactics to conform to a changing
situation. Producing a reliable prediction of conditions
for a large area, while using limited resources, is the
basic objective of this paper. Satellite infrared imaging of the ocean surface has been
used effectively to map sea surface temperature patterns.
Such sea surface temperature patterns can be used, along
with climatology, tc identify subsurface thermal structure
in an ocean area according to results of this study. More
accurate inputs can be made to range dependent acoustic
prediction models, thus improving the ASW environmental
predictions available to fleet users.
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