lent of 46 of the planned 400 boundary maps of Florida have been com- 

 pleted under a cooperative Florida and NOAA program to map the shore 

 and seaward boundaries. In cooperation with the Mexican Government, 

 a seaward-boundary survey was completed in 1971 to determine and fix the 

 seaward-lateral boundaries between the United States and Mexico in the 

 Gulf of Mexico and on the Pacific coast. 



As part of the National Flood Insurance Program administered by the 

 Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Corps of Engineers, 

 NC)AA, and the USGS are providing mapping, hydrologic, and associated 

 technical information and services for the proper management of flood 

 losses in the coastal zone. Studies and maps were recently completed for 

 areas in Alaska, California, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, 

 New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. 



A storm-evacuation mapping program was instituted to provide a series 

 of maps for flood-prone areas along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where 

 hurricanes may strike. These special maps depict evacuation routes, areas 

 subject to flooding, and elevations that might afford "safety islands" for 

 evacuees. The first maps of the coastal areas from Mobile, Ala., to New 

 Orleans, La., were completed in 1971. 



A program in marine geodesy is being planned to extend the land geodetic 

 net onto the continental shelves for precise control and for studies regarding 

 land movement on the west coast Continental Shelf. Of special interest here 

 is NASA's investigation of possible application of geodetic satellite technology 

 and related precision-ranging techniques to marine geodesy ( see chapter VI ) . 



Automation off Data Acquisition, Processing, and Reduction 



In Fiscal Year 1971, NOAA initiated the development of automated tech- 

 niques for its nautical charting. Initial emphasis has been on data acquisition, 

 data processing, and nautical chart compilation. Upon completion of the 

 program, estimated to take 5 years, all nautical chart production will be 

 automated and the time lapse from the completion of data acquisition to 

 the dissemination of nautical charts will be reduced from 2 years to 6 

 months. 



Major accomplishments to date include installation of automated data- 

 acquisition equipment aboard three vessels assigned to the coastal charting 

 program; increased staffs for hydrographic survey verification and evalua- 

 tion dedicated to a reduction of the present unqualified hydrographic sur- 

 vey backlog; initiation of the digitization of the 2,700 hydrographic surveys 

 comprising the present marine chart data base of qualified hydrographic 

 surveys; procurement of a computer-supported graphic-digitizing system to 

 support the automated compilation effort ; and upgrading of the present data 

 processing system at the Atlantic Marine Center to increase speed, eflficiency, 

 and production volume. 



Close liaison between the Naval Oceanographic Office, the U.S. Army 

 Topographic Command, Rome Air Development Center, the Canadian 

 Hydrographic Service, and NOAA is being maintained to insure a mutually 

 beneficial development program. 



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