Marine Science Affairs 



— the large geographic and vertical domain of the marine environ- 

 ment from which data must be collected ; 

 — difficulty of installing and maintaining data collection platforms and 



instruments in the ocean ; 

 — difficulty in transmitting data from distant ocean areas to shore- 

 based facilities ; and 

 — availability of new data collection techniques — buoys, satellites, and 

 advanced instrumentation — which increase the volume of useful 

 data but overload the existing data service facilities. 

 To meet these deficiencies, the Marine Sciences Council, in 1967, initiated 

 a comprehensive data management study on contract, jointly funded by 

 nine agencies. A Data Management Advisory Panel from industry and the 

 scientific and engineering communities as well as Federal agencies was 

 appointed by the Executive Secretary to develop requirements and to monitor 

 the study. The study being conducted by System Development Corpora- 

 tion is now in its second phase and will be completed during the current 

 fiscal year. It will identify and forecast data requirements, delineate a 

 national data program and a transition plan to improve coordination of exist- 

 ing marine data and information service functions, and determine cost 

 estimates for the principal components and alternatives. 



The study has surveyed and analyzed nine data user and producer com- 

 munities: fishing; ocean engineering; research; environmental forecasting; 

 merchant shipping; industrial operations; naval planning and operations; 

 recreation, conservation, and education; and State and regional planning 

 and management. On this basis, the following steps have been completed: 

 — description of the producer and user communities; 

 — identification of the purposes for which data are collected and used ; 

 — classification and evaluation of explicit data and identification of 



priorities ; 

 — determination of the adequacy of existing data products and services 



and the need for improvements; 

 — estimation of data acquisition and service costs and user benefits 



derived from services ; and 

 — delineation of the nature of data flow between diverse producers and 

 users. 

 The complex problems associated with the flow of marine science data 

 from acquisition to use are being approached by planning for data handling 

 over the next ten years. If not resolved, an intensification of the problems 

 of poor service, slow response time, and excessive costs will continue into 

 the future. The data study should provide the means to determine how 

 data functions and activities should be organized and conducted to achieve 

 the required progress in providing the kinds and quality of services needed 

 by all sectors of the marine science affairs community. 



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