Opportunities to Improve Marine Forecasting

Book excerpt: Commerce and the general publicâ€"especially those living in increasingly crowded, highly developed low-lying coastal communitiesâ€"rely heavily on accurate forecasts of marine conditions and weather over the oceans to ensure the safe and productive use of the sea and coastal zone. This book examines the opportunities to improve our ocean forecasting systems made possible by new observational techniques and high-speed computers. Significant benefits from these potential improvements are possible for transportation, ocean energy and resources development, fisheries and recreation, and coastal management.