As  discussed  in  chapter  one,  the  Tactical Environmental Support System (TESS) is designed to provide   tailored   meteorological,   oceanographic, electromagnetic  propagation,  acoustic,  and  satellite products. The analyses and predictions from TESS are based mainly upon information obtained from various telecommunications  channels,  on-scene  reports,  and environmental   software   programs.   Since   its introduction, TESS has undergone major hardware changes  and  significant  software  improvements.  We will discuss the environmental software programs available with the TESS (3), TESS-Next Century (NC) Transition, and TESS-Next Century (TESS-NC). TESS  (3) The  Tactical  Environmental  Support  System, Version  3.0  (TESS  3),  retained  essentially  the  same Table 2-3.—TESS (3) Environmental Programs PROGRAM Solar/Lunar Almanac Program (SLAP) Warning  plot Atmospheric Environmental File (AEF) Radiosonde Initial Analysis (RLA) D-values (DVAL) APPLICATION Produces monthly or daily summaries of ephemeral data for the sun and the moon. Data includes rise and set times, daylight and twilight periods, moon phase, etc. Three subprograms plot tropical cyclones, high winds, and high seas. View atmospheric soundings prior to use in an environmental application. Holds a maximum of 10  soundings. Processes radiosonde data into arrays of parametric data. Determines significant altitude levels such as the freezing level, condensation level, and contrail formation levels, etc. Computes D-value profiles. A D- value compares the differences between the actual height above mean sea level (MSL) and the height of the same pressure surface in the U.S. standard atmosphere. The D-value is used to correct altitude settings for pressure-bomb detonations. CONSIDERATIONS Data only accurate for dates between 1985 to 2015. Potential for erroneous data above 60° latitude. Displayed times do not consider political and geographical limits. No significant considerations. No significant considerations. Requires the entry of latitude, longitude, and balloon release height. Maximum altitude of approximately 11,000 meters. Cautionary use for radiosonde data when the balloon is released at heights greater than 50 meters. stand-alone  workstation  concept  of  earlier  versions  of TESS. However, TESS (3) was the first environmental workstation  that  provided  connectivity  between  ships and shore-based METOC activities. An automatic shipboard observation system known as the Shipboard Meteorological  and  Oceanographic  Observing  System (SMOOS) was introduced in conjunction with this system. SMOOS is discussed in module 1 of this series. TESS (3) was installed with a wide variety of environmental  applications  software,  most  of  which come from the OAML and GFMPL models and data bases. Table 2-3 explains the application of several of these programs. Access to all programs is directed by screen menus, with user input via trackball or keyboard. Additional information is provided in the TESS (3) operator’s manuals. All remaining TESS (3) systems will eventually be replaced by the TESS-Next Century system. 2-6