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.
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