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10 OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE NEXT DECADE 



objective evaluation of agency needs and poses possible solutions 

 from a new perspective. The National Research Council is but 

 one possible source of external advice. These advisory groups 

 should report to a level sufficiently high that their views are pre- 

 sented directly to agency policy makers and the relationships are 

 eventually institutionalized to establish a collective memory. 



The board recognizes that the existence of multiple marine 

 agencies with differing mandates brings a vigor and diversity to 

 the field. However, the lack of coordination and cooperation among 

 agencies that conduct or sponsor marine research detracts from 

 this advantage. Informal attempts at coordination have been largely 

 unsuccessful; a formal mechanism is necessary. The board rec- 

 ommends that, because no single agency is charged with and able 

 to oversee the total national marine science agenda, an effective 

 means be found for agencies to interact at the policy level and 

 formulate action plans. 



One model for such interaction is the Committee on Earth 

 and Environmental Sciences of the Federal Coordinating Council 

 for Science, Engineering, and Technology. Regardless of the coor- 

 dinating mechanism chosen, it must permit the agencies to de- 

 velop a synergistic approach to addressing national problems and 

 to coordinating programs and infrastructure. High-priority tasks 

 for such a group would be an examination of the balance between 

 individual investigator awards and large project support, and the 

 establishment of guidelines for the large, global change projects. 



Agency Responsibility for Basic Science 



The vitality of basic ocean research in the United States re- 

 sides principally in its academic institutions. The board recom- 

 mends that federal agencies with marine-related missions find 

 mechanisms to guarantee the continuing vitality of the underly- 

 ing basic science on which they depend. In some agencies, the 

 best mechanism is direct funding of individual investigator grants; 

 in others, consultation and collaboration work well. NSF and, 

 secondarily, ONR should retain primary responsibility for the vi- 

 tality of the basic science, with NOAA becoming increasingly 

 involved. Also, mission agencies such as EPA and DOE must 

 share more fully in this responsibility. It is particularly impor- 

 tant to encourage involvement of mission agencies in sampling 

 and monitoring programs pertaining to long-term global change 

 issues. At present, a disproportionate share of the funds is pro- 

 vided by NSF. As these programs expand, resources for individual 



