ENVIRONMENTAL WORKSTATIONS

ENVIRONMENTAL WORKSTATIONS LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Identify the primary environmental workstation used by NAVMETOCCOM. Identify the major features and software programs associated with this system. Over the past decade the Navy has developed various METOC related PC-based systems designed to take advantage of computer technology. The original PC-based systems were integrated into Navy and Marine Corps weather offices to acquire, process, display, and disseminate meteorological and oceanographic data. Unfortunately, these original "stand-alone" PC systems took up much workspace and required more operator personnel than were available. In the early 1990's, the first computer workstation developed for the shore-based Navy METOC community was introduced. This system, known as the CONTEL Meteorological Workstation (CMW), was a desktop computer system with multiple communication and display functions. It consolidated the various stand- alone systems into a single client-server system and was capable of simultaneously sending, receiving, storing, recalling, printing, and processing alphanumeric data. It also generated color graphics from processed data. By the late 1990's, the CMW was being replaced by the Meteorology and Oceanography Integrated Data Display System (MIDDS), which is discussed in the following text. A shipboard version of an environmental workstation known as the Tactical Environmental Support System (TESS) will be discussed later in the chapter. METEOROLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY. (METOC) INTEGRATED DATA DISPLAY SYSTEM (MIDDS) The Commander Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (CNMOC) tasked the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVO) to develop the Meteorology and Oceanography (METOC) Integrated Data Display System (MIDDS). This system combines both government and commercial application software. The Windows-NT operating system is the base software. MIDDS provides three primary functions. First, MIDDS is an environmental workstation where the weather forecaster or observer retrieves, processes, and Figure 1-7.—MIDDS workstation. l-14