Technical and Operating Services 



209 



Operations in the seas for any purpose 

 require certain indispensable, teclinical and 

 operating services, chiefly provided by the 

 Government. To move from one phice in 

 the oceans to another requires nautical charts 

 and aids to navigation. Safe operation on, 

 under, and over the oceans calls for search 

 and rescue facilities as well as adequate law 

 enforcement. Other critical services, such as 

 monitoring and prediction of atmospheric 

 and oceanic conditions, were discussed in 

 Chapter 5; needs for resource sur\'eys and 

 geological analysis were outlined in Chap- 

 ter 4. 



As the Nation moves to implement the ma- 

 rine programs proposed by the Commission, 

 the Government also must pro\ade improved 

 general purpose maps of the oceans' topog- 

 raphy and geophysics ; data storage, retrieval, 

 and dissemination services; and instrument 

 calibration and standardization services. 



The major users of these technical and op- 

 erating services include the marine trans- 

 portation and fishing industries, the offshore 

 oil and mineral producers, recreational boat- 

 ers, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the 

 scientific community. 



The principal agencies currently providing 

 them are the Department of Transportation 

 (U.S. Coast Guard), the Department of 

 Commerce (Environmental Science Sennces 

 Administration), and the Department of 

 Defense (U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army 

 Corps of Engineers). Each of these agencies, 

 in turn, is dependent upon the services pro- 

 vided by the others. They also share in the 

 use of certain facilities and coordinate their 

 operations and plans informally. Coordina- 

 tion of routine operations has been effective, 

 but the agencies have been less successful in 

 efforts to coordinate new programs, to use 

 each other's dsita, and to make maximum use 

 of their ships and facilities. 



A line is Kent from bow to bow as a 

 Coast Guard cutter prepares to 

 rescue the creic o/ a sinking 

 merchant ship in heavy north 

 Atlantic seas. 



Mapping and Charting the Oceans 



Mapping and charting provide graphic 

 descriptions of the marine environment in 

 terms of the various properties of paramount 

 interest to users. A map is a graphical repre- 

 sentation of certain features or properties; a 

 chart is a specialized map intended primarily 

 for navigational use. Nautical charts provide 

 information about bottom depth and shape, 

 shoreline configuration, and the location of 

 dangers, manmade features, and naviga- 

 tional aids. Marine maps proWde information 

 about such features as bathymetry, magnetics, 

 gravity, and sediment type and thickness. 



The National Academy of Sciences Com- 

 mittee on Oceanography has observed, "Maps 

 are basic tools for all the sciences that deal 

 with the earth. To understand and use the 

 oceans, we first, must map them." Yet if the 

 existing mapping and charting programs of 

 the Federal Government are continued at 

 present levels, the national marine objectives 

 set by the Commission will not be met for 

 another 30 to 50 years. 



Agency Responsibilities and Industry 

 Role 



Both the Environmental Science Ser\-ices 

 Administration (ESSA) and the Navy are 

 responsible for acquiring and mapping basic 

 geophysical and tojwgraphical data, includ- 

 ing subbottom profiling. Although the Navy 

 has statutory- responsibility to conduct sur- 

 veys in support of civil marine activities, it is 

 concerned primarily with its own defense re- 

 quirements and concentrates on the deep 

 ocean. ESSA is primarily ci%al-oriented and 

 concentrates most of its activities on U.S. con- 

 tinental shelves. ESSA and the Department 

 of the Interior's U.S. Geological Sur\ey 

 (USGS) depend in part on the Coast Guard 

 and the Navy for position-fixing and naviga- 



