138 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 
Working toward this goal of ready accessibility, we have begun to 
convert the previous punched card system for physical-chemical sta- 
tion data into a new magnetic tape system. This will enable us to 
assemble these data so that we may retrieve the valuable temperature, 
salinity, density, and sound velocity information at a more rapid rate 
than ever before. We have, therefore, initiated a program of digitiz- 
ing these data into a magnetic tape system of uniform units which 
will enable us, with the aid of a computer, to provide information in a 
few hours which would otherwise take months or years to tabulate. 
Our present archive contains physical and chemical data from about 
260,000 oceanographic stations which is contained on over 5 million 
punched cards. When these data are distributed over the world’s 
oceans in all seasons, one can see that there are many areas of the world 
where little or no data are available. We are attempting to fill some 
of these gaps through a vigorous acquisition program and exchange 
with other nations. These data are being processed and archived at 
the rate of three-quarters of a million punchcards each year. 
Our archives of bathythermograms, or BT’s as we know them, now 
contain approximately 850,000 analog temperature records for depths 
up to 900 feet. We are continuing to process approximately 30,000 
each year from survey ships or other vessels for which there is an 
urgent and immediate need. Emphasis has been placed on digitizing 
BT data and putting it into a form that will make it available for 
computer programs. Proceeding with a new system, we have digitized 
approximately 50,000 of the existing archives of 850,000 analog tem- 
perature records on a pilot project basis. Over 2 million data points 
are involved and are contained on approximately 250,000 punched 
cards. Since the system has been examined and approved by members 
of the oceanographic community, we plan to step up production during 
the coming year, processing into a magnetic tape storage system what 
will be the equivalent of more than 100,000 observations. Because 
new data are being received at the rate of about 90,000 observations per 
year, this effort is still far short of what will be required to complete 
the ultimate goal of digitizing the entire backlog and keeping up with 
the contemporary inflow. 
A variety of other data are received in manuscript and other 
forms. Standard storage-retrieval systems and determination of 
standard recording forms have yet to be determined for these data. 
Nevertheless, these data are organized in a logical manner, usually 
geographically and by data type and date, and are available to the 
oceanographic community on demand in their existing form, which 
is usually a manuscript log-type form. Development of appropriate 
storage-retrieval systems for these data will proceed as our research 
and development of systems for data types now in work are completed. 
In January of this year, we began geological and biological produc- 
tion ona pilot study basis. Core, grab, and dredge data from approxi- 
mately 2,100 geological stations have been put into the geological 
storage-retrieval system for test purposes. Similarly, approximately 
1,200 biological stations, represented by 5,000 punchcards, have been 
entered into the biological storage-retrieval system also for testing 
purposes. 
