OCEANOGRAPHY AND OCEANOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS
FOREWORD
Over the years, the terms aerographer and meteorologist have, for the most part, become
synonymous.
Both terms pertain to individuals in the field of meteorology. What is not recognized by many is that aerographers also do
considerable work in the field of oceanography.
Aerographers have always studied the atmospheric
environment, and since the atmosphere directly
impacts on the oceans of the world, aerographers have been given the
responsibility of analyzing the ocean environment
and predicting changes that occur within it.
The oceans of the world cover over 70 percent of Earth,
and they are the reason that Earth is often
referred to as the "water planet". Our Navy, as well as those of our
adversaries, operates over, on, and under these
oceans. Therefore, it is extremely important that our Navy know as much
as possible about this environment.
Over the years the AG’s role within the field of
oceanography has been basic. Our responsibilities
have been in the areas of observing and forecasting sea-surface
temperatures, sea states,
bathymetry profiles, and surf conditions. Today, however, more and more
emphasis is being placed on improving our Navy’s
antisubmarine warfare capability. This increased emphasis
requires that today’s AG be far more knowledgeable of the ocean environment.
In this unit, we will
discuss the sea surface in lesson 1, the ocean body
in lesson 2, the ocean floor in lesson 3, and
oceanographic analysis in lesson 4.
Lesson 1
The Sea Surface
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North Pacific Currents
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South Atlantic Currents
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South Pacific Currents
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Other North Pacific Currents
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Indian Ocean Currents
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LESSON 2
The Ocean Body
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Lesson 3
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The Ocean Floor
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Continental Shelf
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Ocean Basin
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Lesson 4
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Oceanographic Analysis
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Analysis Procedures
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Practice Plotting Sea-height Charts
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Sea-surface temperature analysis
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Analysis Procedures
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Layer-depth analysis
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Plotted Data
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Vertical Temperature Gradients
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