data. Those data will be transferred to magnetic tape and forwarded 

 to the University of Hawaii for analysis and inclusion in an atlas 

 series on the International Indian Ocean Expedition. Acting as the 

 designated Regional Oceanographic Data Center, under the program 

 of Cooperative Investigation of the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions 

 (CICAR), NODC acquired and processed data from Cuba, Mexico, 

 the Netherlands, United States, USSR, and Venezuela, and arrang- 

 ed for completion and publication of Volume 11, Marine Biology, and 

 Volume III, Marine Geology and Geophysics, of the CICAR 

 Bibliography. 



Sorting centers operated by the Smithsonian Institution continued 

 to process biological and geological materials for marine scientists 

 throughout the world. The Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting 

 Center(SOSC)in Washington, D.C. processed over 3.5 million marine 

 organisms in FY '72. Ten percent of these were sent to interested 

 scientists, who were provided with the research services of 

 taxonomic sorting, community analysis, specimen and sample data 

 management, and field logistics. The Center assists various national 

 and international programs in environmental analysis, including the 

 NSF's U.S. Antarctic Research Program (USARP) and NOAA's 

 MARMAP. 



Patterned after the SOSC and maintained in Tunsia through the 

 use of P.L. 480 excess currency funds, the Mediterranean Marine 

 Sorting Center (MMSC) processed over 2.5 million specimens in 

 FY '72, primarily from Mediterranean Sea collections. In addition to 

 providing sorting services, the MMSC plays a significant role in the 

 training of technical personnel from developing countries 

 throughout the region. As a result of efforts of the two sorting 

 centers, many marine collections that otherwise might go unnoticed 

 are made available to the scientific community for investigation and 

 documentation in the literature. 



The SOSC maintains a computerized inventory of collections 

 received and sorted, and is expanding this inventory to include the 

 data that result from subsequent analysis by specialists. The 

 collections processed and stored by the sorting centers of the 

 Smithsonian constitute baseline information on the current and 

 historical condition of the marine environment. 



The sorting centers have capabilities for providing expertise in 

 sampling design and technology, in addition to the processing of 

 samples for both systematic and environmental data. They receive 

 bulk samples from government and private sources, separate them 

 into appropriate taxa for identification by specialists, obtain and 

 coordinate the station data to provide maximum environmental 

 information with the specimens, experiment with preservation, 

 labeling, accessioning, shipping and storage of specimens, train 

 technicians for all aspects of specimen handling, and provide 

 information and data forms which facilitate oceanographic 



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