While underway and in the ship's operating area one cartographer was always on duty in the survey control center. While surveying the duty cartographer had "the conn", giving the mate in the pilot house (bridge) directions as to course and speed. His NAVOCEANO comrades worked below in a room called hydroplot, later oceanoplot, charting the accumulated data.
Continuous readings of the earth's magnetic field and gravity were collected. One person tended to the gravity meter more or less full time. Occasionally another took ocean salinity and temperature measurements. The 10 or 12 in the NAVOCEANO staff reported to the senior scientist, alternately known as the senior civilian or survey party chief.
In 1962 and 1963 two field engineers from the Sperry Gyroscope Corp. were aboard, one to offer technical help with the navigational computer, called NAVDAC, while the other supported the radio navaid (Loran C) that supplied control for the surveys. At that time Sperry was sort of the overall systems manager for our mission's electronics.
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| Perhaps a NAVOCEANO survey party ashore searching for a watering hole? |
