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.ity 



17 



QUALITY CONTROL - One of the major advances to ocean science was n\ade in the 



mid-1800s when Matthew Fontaine Maury standardized the methods for collecting data 



at sea. Today, because of the rapid advances being made in sensing technologies, and 



the capabilities to put data and information easily into the public access, the 



oceanographic community 



runs the risk of major 



problems with quality' of 



data. Access to an 



information highway that 



contains raw, imverified, 



often sensationalized data 



can be a great danger to 



both the decision-making 



and scientific processes. 



We need to invoke 



standards, as Maury did, 



and establish protocols for 



introducing data into the 



public domain. 



Clearinghouses, industry 



standards and community 



stewardship are the tools 



that must be established. 



Subject: National Ocean 

 Observation Quality Assurance 

 Initiative 



Background: This partnership would 

 provide a comprehensive scheme for 

 data quality assurance throughout 

 the anticipated major information 

 pathways to be developed in the 

 future, (e.g. the Global Ocean 

 Observing System, COOS). The 

 scheme would build on and 

 supercede smaller prototype efforts 

 in the current Integrated Global 

 Ocean Services System (IGOSS). 



Opportunity: Future observational 

 networks in the ocean are 

 anticipated to consist of enhanced 

 measurement, modelling, and 

 delivery systems; for a host of critical 

 ecosystem measures and standard 

 physical parameters. Because the 

 expected information management 

 methods will rely heavily on Internet 

 traffic, and because a large number 

 of participants will not be performing 

 as "contractors", measures to instill 

 strict data quality assurance will 

 necessarily rely on voluntary means. 

 It is likely that a rigorous program of 



certification, based on cor 

 agreement to a range of 

 qualification procedures (e.g. 

 comparison with climatology), can 

 be implemented successfully. 

 Participation in certification efforts 

 can become strong bonds within 

 growing Federal-Academic-lndustry 

 partnerships. 



Hurdle: The process of identifying 

 appropriate certification procedures 

 and in gaining community 

 acceptance will require a lengthy 

 community dialogue. 



Rationale for Partnership: Global 

 observational programs will fail 

 utterly without full participation by 

 the above segments of the ocean 

 community; tnis proposed 

 certification process will likewise 

 require a partnership. 



Expected Product: Community 

 accepted protocols and standards, 

 used by all participan;s in the 

 identification, collection and 

 dissemination of data and 

 information. 



Resources 



PEOPLE - Clearly the most valuable resource in oceanography is the cadre of trained 

 professionals and capable students working in the field. The future body of researchers 

 and educators in the ocean sciences may be distributed among a broader range of 

 careers and job sectors than are currently represented. Efforts are already underway to 

 develop mecharusms to train the next generation of ocean scientists in fields such as 

 business, public policy and communications, in order to expand the involvement of the 

 oceanographic community. The current number of oceanographers suggests a need for 

 partnership initiatives aimed at distributing the capabilities, sharing this resource, and 

 ensuring some quality control on the level of expertise. The community should 

 establish formal mechanisms for facilitating the exchange of persormel between 

 academic, government and private organizations. Some mechanisnas for these 

 exchanges currently exist, 

 but they are cumbersome 

 and more prohibitive than 

 conducive to cooperation. 

 Additionally, a partnership 

 approach might be invoked 

 to assess the value and 

 implementation of a 

 professional certification 

 program, as is done in 

 many other technical fields. 



Subject: Internships and Personnel 

 Exchanges: Government/Academia/ 

 Industry Cooperative Human 

 Resource Utilization 



Background: Crosstalk and mutual 

 understanding of goals among 

 mission agencies, academia, 

 industry, research agencies, and 

 policy makers are deteriorating to 

 an all time low. This comes at a 

 time when downward budget 

 pressures call for "downsizing" 

 mission "purification" and 

 "deregulation." These two groups 

 of trends combine to be very 

 counterproductive, and are 

 exacerbated by significant mission/ 

 interest shifts on tne part of several 



agencies. Crosstalk and mutual 

 understanding must be fostered at 

 all levels from program execution to 

 planning and setting of national 

 policy. 



In addition, certain private 

 industries have operations that are 

 synergistic with tne education of 

 students in the oceanographic 

 community. Oceanographers from 

 academia could benefit from 

 opportunities to work in industry, to 

 be exposed to the needs of industry, 

 to apply data being generated in the 

 researcn environment. Programs 

 could be set up to support such 

 cooperative efforts. 

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