219 



cussed only those data services presently 

 bein<v provided by NODC, mVRC, and 

 SOlSC. Full rationalization of a total geo- 

 physical data service system should be con- 

 sidered by the new agency with assistance of 

 other interested agencies after the Marine 

 Council's study on marine data needs is com- 

 pleted. The great variety in quantity, quality, 

 and uses of these data suggests that total en- 

 vironmental data cannot be handled readily 

 by a single center and that a number of cen- 

 ters will be necessary for the foreseeable fu- 

 ture. At the same time, overall policy direc- 

 tion of the different centers is needed to define 

 clearly their responsibilities and relation- 

 ships in order to prevent redundancies and 

 gaps in the system and to determine 

 priorities. 



At present, also, there is not even a com- 

 prehensive index which can tell a potential 



Workings of the Data System 



user what data exist and where. Both the 

 Environmental Data Service of ESSA and 

 the National Oceanographic Data Center, 

 liowever, are seriously considering the estab- 

 lishment of such indexes. 



National Oceanographic Data Center 



The NODC now stores a variety of marine 

 environmental data and furnishes informa- 

 tion in various forms to Federal agencies, 

 industry, and research groups on a cost re- 

 imbursement basis. The Center was estab- 

 lished in 1960 by agreement of the Navy, 

 Coast and Geodetic Survey, Bureau of Com- 

 mercial Fisheries, National Science Founda- 

 tion, Atomic Energy Commission, and tlie 

 Weather Bureau. A total of 10 agencies now 

 fund the NODC jointly and are represented 

 on its advisory board ; the Navy operates it. 



The funds provided have been insufficient 



^ 

 ^ 

 ^ 



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i 



Data Centers 



Immediate Users 



^ 



Industry 



Institutions 



f 



I 



Government 



Specification 



Collection 



