54 EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COMMITTEE ON OCEANOGRAPHY 



8. Requirements for shipboard oceanographic synoptic system for regional 

 and mobile observational networks (ASWEPS) . 



9. List of instruments needed in fishery research. 



10. Oceanographic bibliography. 



As a result of the symposium and industry's general interest in oceanography 

 we are developing a master instrumentation proposal and capability file at the 

 National Oceanographic Data Center. Reviews of proposals made by each 

 agency are to be placed in the file and also made available to other Government 

 or nonprofit research groups which might have an interest in the instruments 

 concerned. The file will be privileged so as to protect the rights and ideas of 

 companies. This file will, however, be a central source of information on instru- 

 ment possibilities. Considerable time can be saved by maintaining a central 

 system for exchange of information over that required if each agency carries out 

 separate reviews and maintains a separate file. 



Another task which we have undertaken has been study of the need for an instru- 

 ment test and calibration center, following which recommendations were made to 

 the Interagency Committee for two such facilities. At the present time the 

 Hydrographic Office has plans to develop an instrument center, in the same build- 

 ing as the data center. This will be the forerunner of the first national test and 

 calibration center and will provide experience on which a cooperative, jointly 

 operated facility can be designed. 



We have other accomplishments, Mr. Chairman, but to save time I will mention 

 them very briefly. In cooperation with the Research Panel we carried out a 

 review of oceanographic facilities which are planned for Seattle. Our program 

 submissions showed that three agencies — Coast and Geodetic Survey, Office of 

 Naval Research, and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries — had plans for new 

 facilities in Seattle. This information was pointed out to the Research Panel 

 and members of this panel went to Seattle to discuss possibilities of a joint facility. 

 Dr. Maxwell, Chairman of the Research Panel, will tell you about the results of 

 the study which was carried out. 



At the request of the Department of Defense, we contacted each agency on 

 the Interagency Committee to determine their interest in Tongue Point, Oreg., 

 as a possible oceanographic facility. Our panel did not discover a need for the 

 base, but the study was necessary and, we believe, a help to the Department of 

 Defense. 



According to previous plans, instrument specialists from each agency on the 

 panel reviewed specifications and made recommendations for modification of an 

 instrument system for which the Hydrographic Office will soon place a develop- 

 mental contract. This was done to insure that the system will furnish data 

 which will be useful to all cooperating agencies. 



FUTURE PLANS 



The main job of the panel in the future will be to continue planning on a 

 coordinated basis to define immediate and long-range needs for major oceano- 

 graphic facilities and equipment and to foster the Government's oceanographic 

 instrumentation program. 



Development of observational oceanographic buoys is being pursued by both 

 Government and non-Government research groups. The panel plans to follow 

 this work, and to fill gaps in effort where necessary. In this connection we are 

 working closely with the new Devices Panel of the National Academy of Sciences 

 Committee on Oceanography which is studying radiofrequency requirements for 

 data transmission. We plan to assist at the appropriate time in obtaining fre- 

 quency allocations for use by marine scientists on oceanographic buoy systems. 

 We also plan experiments on anchoring of buoys and further studies on radio 

 transmission problems. We believe the panel can carry out an important function 

 in insuring that oceanographic buoy systems meet the needs of all agencies which 

 require data from them. 



We expect to establish an encyclopedia of oceanographic instrumentation which 

 would furnish accurate descriptions of instruments now in existence whether de- 

 scriptions of them have been published or not. This would then be kept up to 

 date by an active staff who would be knowledgeable in the instrumentation field. 

 The encyclopedia will be very useful for the working oceanographer to locate in- 

 struments which he may need and might prevent expenditure of funds and waste 

 of time for development of instruments which are already in existence. 



The panel also plans to give special attention to biological instrumentation. 

 A meeting of marine biologists and biological oceanographers is planned for the 

 summer of 1962 to define their instrumentation requirements. Following this 



