I am very pleased to chair the Marine Technology Society’s Ocean Community Conference ‘98 during this very special year, the International Year of the Ocean. In addition to celebrating our accomplishments in understanding the ocean, this year offers an opportunity to raise our awareness of the value of the ocean. With this in mind, we have incorporated four plenary sessions into this meeting, each addressing one of the broad themes in marine technology that have been central to Year of the Ocean activities:

• The Global Ocean: Influencing Weather and Climate
• The Coastal Ocean: Balancing Competing Uses
• Economics: The Ocean and Business
• Exploration in the Sea: The Ocean as a Frontier

In addition to the plenaries, this meeting will feature over 300 technical papers, presented in the traditional format of parallel sessions. I encourage you to examine this Advance Program, choose the topics that interest you, and plan to attend this meeting.

Further, the technology that is an essential element to our ocean activity will be displayed in the exhibit area. The equipment and services presented will complement the plenary and technical paper topics, and bring a true sense of what is available to support and conduct at sea investigations.

While you are making your plans, please note that Baltimore, with its renowned Inner Harbor – in addition to being an ideal location for our meeting – is a wonderful city to visit. I know you will enjoy your stay in “Charm City.”

D. James Baker
Conference Chair
OCC ’98