Marine Science Affairs 



Data provided by the Great Lakes Center assist in regulating the levels 

 and overflow of Lakes Superior and Ontario and the flow over Niagara 

 Falls, in accordance with United States-Canadian agreements; and determin- 

 ing the division of water for hydroelectric power between the United States 

 and Canada. Such data are also used extensively for research studies on 

 fisheries, pollution, shore processes, currents, and ice formation, and move- 

 ment. 



Smithsonian Oceanograpiiic Sorting Center 



The Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center (SOSC) was established 

 in 1963 to process biological and geological specimens for scientists through- 

 out the world. The Center receives samples of marine algae, plankton, 

 invertebrates, and vertebrates from oceanographic expeditions and biological 

 field stations, sorts the samples into taxonomic groups, and forwards them to 

 more than 250 systematic specialists — about 200 in the United States and the 

 remainder in twenty-six foreign countries. Also, SOSC temporarily stores sea 

 floor rock and sediment samples, makes preliminary analyses, and arranges 

 for their assignment to competent investigators for study. Major sources of 

 biological and geological collections received by the SOSC have been the In- 

 ternational Indian Ocean Expedition, United States Antarctic research pro- 

 gram. International Cooperative Investigation of the Tropical Atlantic, and 

 Guinean Trawling Survey. Fifty-one sources have supplied 35,000 samples, 

 including 6,000,000 specimens, for identification and study; 8,000 have been 

 sorted. 



The SOSC lacks resources to handle the incoming flow of materials, as 

 evidenced by the fact that only one in four samples received has been proc- 

 essed and forwarded for scientific study. It is planned to identify priorities 

 more clearly to determine what changes are necessary to achieve greater 

 effectiveness in the Center's operation. 



Data Management Study 



The Marine Sciences Council initiated last year a comprehensive data 

 management study jointly funded by participating agencies. 



The study is proceeding in two phases to identify and evaluate the require- 

 ments for information and data management to support all aspects of na- 



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