fields of marine science, engineering, and 

 related disciplines as provided in the Sea 

 Grant Program Improvement Act of 1976. 



• Perform basic and applied research and de- 

 velop technology relating to the state and 

 utilization of resources of the oceans and in- 

 land waters including the seabed, the upper 

 and lower atmospheres, the earth, the sun, 

 and the space environment, as may be neces- 

 sary or desirable to develop an understanding 

 of the processes and phenomena involved. 



• Perform research and develop technology 

 relating to the observation, communication, 

 processing, analysis, dissemination, storage, 

 retrieval, and use of environmental data as 

 may be necessary or desirable to permit the 

 Administration to discharge its responsibili- 

 ties. 



• Acquire, analyze, and disseminate data and 

 perform basic and applied research on elec- 

 tromagnetic waves, as they relate to or are 

 useful in performing other functions assigned 

 herein; prepare and issue predictions of at- 

 mospheric, ionospheric, and solar conditions, 

 and warnings of disturbances thereof; and 

 acquire, analyze, and disseminate data and 

 perform basic and applied research on the 

 propagation of sound waves and on interac- 

 tions between sound waves and other pheno- 

 mena. 



Definition of Basic Research 



Basic research is concerned primarily with gain- 

 ing increased knowledge or understanding of a 

 subject; it includes exploration, experimentation, 

 theoretical analysis, and recording of the new in- 

 formation discovered; it is not generally directed 

 toward any specific practical application or the 

 solution of operational problems. 



This is to be contrasted with applied research, 

 which is concerned primarily with finding a practi- 

 cal use of existing scientific knowledge or under- 

 standing, or discovering new knowledge, for the 

 purpose of meeting a specific recognized need. It 

 discovers new relationships, new methods, or new 

 applications of known methods. 



Role of Basic Research 



NOAA recognizes the need for increased un- 

 derstanding in areas directly related to the mission 

 of NOAA, as well as the need for solutions to 

 practical problems. NOAA's policy is to conduct 

 and support a research program that is balanced 

 in regard to applied research and basic research 

 that supports NOAA's mission. 



NOAA performs basic research in the upper 

 and lower atmospheres, the oceans and the Great 

 Lakes, the space environment, and the sun to 

 develop an understanding of the fundamental pro- 

 cesses and phenomena. NOAA also performs ba- 

 sic research on electromagnetic waves to support 

 other NOAA functions. 



Examples of Basic Research 



Noted below are the most significant projects 

 involving basic research NOAA has carried out in 

 the past 10 years. 



Studies of the Equatorial Ionosphere, 

 Electrojets, and Irregularities 



Studies of the equatorial ionosphere began with 

 the installation, at Jicamarca, Peru, of a large 

 incoherent scatter radar facility. Although NOAA 

 turned the facility over to the Peruvian Govern- 

 ment in 1969 and removed NOAA personnel, 

 NOAA's Aeronomy Laboratory has remained ac- 

 tive in the study of the equatorial ionosphere and 

 its motions by incoherent scatter techniques using 

 the Jicamarca facility and smaller NOAA-devel- 

 oped portable Doppler radar equipment (Refs. 3, 

 4, 7, 10, 11); the study of the electron densities in 

 the equatorial ionospheric E and F regions (Refs. 

 1, 2, 5, 13); the use of airglow observations to 

 understand the equatorial ionosphere (Refs. 6, 9); 

 and, more recently, the application of similar 

 Doppler radar techniques to study irregularities 

 and the electrojet in the auroral zone (Ref. 12). 

 This program is continuing both in equatorial and 

 auroral regions and has recently evolved into the 

 study of neutral motions in the troposphere and 

 stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere us- 

 ing Doppler backscatter radar techniques and 

 observation of the Doppler shifts of airglow lines. 



Referenced below are pertinent papers, and ar- 

 ticles from 1968 through 1975. NOAA authors are 

 italicized. 



1. Reid, G. C.The formation of small-scale irregularities in the 

 ionosphere. J. Geophysic Res.. Space Physics 73, No. 5, 1627- 

 1640. l968.(Numberof citations: 58.) 



2. Balsley. B. B.Some characteristics of non-two stream irregu- 

 larities in the equatorial electrojet, J. Geophys. Res., 1969. (50.) 



3. McClure. J. P.. Diurnal variation of neutral and charged parti- 

 cle temperatures in the equatorial F region, J. Geophys. Res. 74, 

 279, 1969.(43.) 



4. Balsley. B. B. and Woodman, R. F., On the control of the F- 

 region drift velocity by the E-region electric field experimental 

 evidence. J. Atmos.Terres. Phys. 31,865-867, 1969.(41.) 



5. Farley. D. T.. Balsley. B. B.. Woodman, R. F., and McClure. 

 J. P.. Equatorial spread F: Implications of VHF radar observa- 

 tions, J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 75. No. 34, 7199-7216. 1970 

 (33.) 



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