THE NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA CENTER 



The National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), administra- 

 tively under the Naval Oceanographic Office, is a processing 

 center and archive for the nation's oceanographic data. The 

 concept of such a center of national marine data was developed 

 ten years ago in response to the basic need for providing a focal 

 point for collection and dissemination of marine data generated 

 by a diversity of Government, academic, and private oceanographic 

 activities— both national and foreign. 



The Data Center, which opened in 1961, is sponsored by ten 

 Federal agencies, including the Department of the Navy. It 

 receives policy guidance from an advisory board composed of 

 representatives of its ten Federal sponsors and the National 

 Academy of Sciences. It is thus truly a national center, and its 

 programs are based on nonmilitary as well as defense require- 

 ments. 



The archives and services of the Data Center are important 

 to the Navy in providing data describing the marine environment 

 and marine phenomena. 



Oceanographic (physical-chemical) station data and bathyther- 

 mograph data are, at present, two of NODC's largest archive files. 

 Elements included in the station data file are described in the 

 Data Center's publication M-2, Processing Physical and Chemical 

 Data from Oceanographic Stations. Charts displaying the 

 location and number of station data observations in all ocean 

 areas can be found in NODC's publication C-3, Inventory of 

 Archived Data. 



The bathythermograph data are stored as analog temperature- 

 depth records. These are currently being digitized. The majority 

 of the observations thus far digitized are for the Indian and 

 North Pacific Oceans. 



Also archived are drift bottle data, bottom sediment information, 



and marine biological observations. For other types of data, 



several information-retrieval systems are under development. 



Requested material is normally provided on a reimbursable 



basis, but there is no charge for nonrecurring requests for small 



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