sources. To achieve these objectives, fishing catch analysis research 

 of the NMFS will be supplemented by surveys to be conducted for 

 ichthyoplankton, groundfish, and pelagic fish, to determine the 

 spatial and temporal extent of their populations by means of 

 standard sampling methods and data reporting techniques. Environ- 

 mental groups in NOAA will collate and analyze environmental data 

 for the Atlantic and Pacific with respect to detecting ocean-wide 

 changes in circulation, temperature, water mass, and water type. 



In 1972 MARMAP completed much of the planning required for a 

 cohesive national effort, including the program development plan, 

 MARMAP system description, and the Survey I (eggs and larvae) 

 plan. The first multiple-ship test cruises were successfully conduct- 

 ed in the Atlantic from Cape Cod to the Caribbean. 



Working relations with other countries were initiated, and by the 

 end of 1972 standardized MARMAP methods of sampling eggs and 

 larvae had been adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization 

 (FAO) and were being utilized by 20 nations. A cooperative survey 

 by MARMAP and the International Commission for the Northwest 

 Atlantic Fisheries (ICNAF) to determine the magnitude of the 

 herring spawning stocks in the Northwest Atlantic was completed in 

 1972. Technical advances include the development of a system for 

 automating the sorting of eggs and larvae samples, a shipboard data- 

 logging system, and progress in the development of a new automatic 

 ichthyoplankton and environmental sampling system in coopera- 

 tion with the United Kingdom. 



Data Management 



The control and handling of marine environmental data takes 

 several forms in the Federal Ocean Program. Standards are sought 

 and developed to ensure compatibility of results from different 

 oceanographic instruments. The masses of data acquired in the 

 course of the program must be screened for indexing or archival, 

 processed, and disseminated in a variety of useful forms. Where 

 these "data" consist of biological and other specimens, they must be 

 sorted, classified, and, in selected cases, preserved for later study. 



NOAA's Environmental Data Service has established a National 

 Geophysical and Solar-Terrestrial Data Center, including a Marine 

 Geology and Geophysics Group. This new group has rapidly 

 developed full working arrangements with the Geological Survey, 

 the Defense Mapping Agency, and the Office of the Oceanographer of 

 the Navy, as well as with NOAA elements and the academic and 

 industrial communities. With NSF (IDOE) support, the group has 

 made significant progress toward developing a true national data 

 service capability with catalogs, indexes, merged formats, and 

 microform services. 



The National Climatic Center, (NCC) working closely with the 



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