scientists and will serve as the sorting center for the Cooperative Investiga- 

 tions of the Mediterranean, a 5-year intergovernmental study starting in 

 1970, and included in the International Decade of Ocean Exploration 

 (IDOE). 



National Weather Records Center 



The National Weather Records Center (NWRC), an arm of ESSA's 

 environmental data seivice, is the archival center for all climatological data 

 gathered by civilian and military agencies. Over 15 percent of the informa- 

 tion stored in the Center's tape library contains marine surface observations, 

 including sea surface temperatures and ocean wave data. Marine-related in- 

 formation from over 2,000 merchant ships and smaller fixed stations, such 

 as lightships and ocean station vessels, is used to develop climatological 

 analyses. Volume VIII of the U.S. Navy's global series of Climatic Atlases 

 was completed using the synoptic information collected at the Center. Other 

 forms of infoiTnation, such as satellite photographs, are also included in the 

 data file. Automation of selected data files now allows limited production 

 of graphic information from data acquired directly from ships. 



Great Lakes Regional Data Center 



The Great Lakes Regional Data Center (GLRDC), operated by the 

 Lake Survey District, Corps of Engineers, has a program directed toward 

 processing, storage, retrieval, dissemination and analysis of — 



(1) Hydraulic and hydrologic data (river flow and water level); 



(2) Limnologic data (physical, chemical, and biological) ; 



(3) Hydrometeorological data (precipitation) ; 



(4) Hydrographic data (depth) ; and 



(5) Ice and snow data (formation, movement, break-up and thick- 

 ness) . 



Information and analysis services provided by the GLRDC assist in regu- 

 lating the levels and outflow of Lakes Superior and Ontario, the flow over 

 Niagara Falls, and in the determination of the division of water for hydro- 

 electric power between the United States and Canada. Such data are also 

 used extensively in research on fisheries, pollution, shore processes, currents, 

 and ice formation and movement. The GLRDC acts as a data repository 

 and clearinghouse for data and research projects for the Great Lakes Study 

 Group ^ and the marine-related scientific community in general. 



International coordination of data collection and research activities is 

 provided by the GLRDC for the Great Lakes Study Group and in services 

 provided to the International Joint Commission. The GLRDC is a major 

 participant in the International Field Year on the Great Lakes. It main- 



^ The Great Lakes Study Group (GLSG) is an informal organization representing 

 U.S. and Canadian interests, initiated in 1962, to facilitate the exchange of informa- 

 tion and to provide informal coordination among the various research activities relat- 

 ing to the Great Lakes and the Great Lakes Bisin. This group provides a forum for 

 assisting, coordinating and eliminating duplication associated with research activities 

 on the Great Lakes. 



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