223 



Better national instrument and 

 calibration services should be 

 availabU; to users of highly 

 specialised, expensive at-sea research 

 in-stnimcnts like these deep sea 

 cameras; beloic, a view of 

 the Atlantic Ocean floor 10,000 

 feet beneath the surface. 



The Navy, to date, has been the largest pur- 

 chaser of oceanograpliic instruments and user 

 of oceanographic data and has established 

 the Naval Oceanographic Instrument Center 

 (NOIC) of the Naval Oceanographic Office 

 as a test and calibration facility. NOIC has 

 helped to establish criteria and procedures 

 for testing and calibrating certain types of 

 insti-uments. But NOIC's effort is not ade- 

 quate to satisfy the rapidly increasing de- 

 mands for such services. 



The Commission recommends that the 

 National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Agency assume responsibility for spon- 

 soring programs to provide the reference 

 standards, test and calibration proce- 

 dures, and test facilities necessary to 

 improve marine data reliability and com- 

 parability. It also should publish at peri- 

 odic intervals a list of those test facilities 

 at government, industry, and academic 

 centers which are competent to test and 

 calibrate ocean instrument systems. 



Standards and procedures developed by 

 NOAA for test and calibration of marine 

 instruments should be related to the primary 

 standards maintained by the National Bu- 

 reau of Standards and also should be respon- 

 sive to Navy needs. A strong reference stand- 

 ards program within the United States also 

 should help to obtain necessary international 

 standards agreements. 



The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Agency should not attempt to do the entire 

 job alone. All the facilities and experience of 

 the National Bureau of Standards, the Navy, 

 and private industry should be tapped. In 

 particular, the Commission suggests tiiat the 

 Naval Oceanograpliic Instrument Center 

 might comprise the nucleus upon which to 

 builil a national instrument center. 



