NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 659 
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA CENTER 
Fiscal Year 1963 has been an outstanding year for the growth and development of the NODC 
despite many obstacles and the increasing pressure of data collected during numerous oceanographic 
surveys. The emphasis on production was somewhat shifted during the year in the interest of main- 
taining quality of dcta rather than quantity of data. Much effort had to be devoted to developmental 
areas for streamlining the processing procedures for oceanographic station data and BT data, to in- 
crease the quality of the latter, to handle the current flow of data, and to anticipate the increased 
receipts of the data. The NODC undertook several studies on the problems of quality in BT's and 
their digitization. In addition to these studies, numerous commercial organizations have presented 
proposals for automation of BT processing. For a special request, the NODC undertook a manual 
digitization program of BT's; however, a manual system would never be able to cope with the present 
archived analog BT's nor incoming data, so this interest and cooperation from industry improves the 
outlook on the BT problem. Investigations are already under way to provide for greater automation 
of the oceanographic station data processing system. 
The scientific community has become increasingly aware of the NODC and the services and 
data which it can provide; for example, the reimbursable requests for data and services represented 
a monetary increase of about 10 times more than those for FY-62. Indicative of the trend of 
services being requested of the NODC is the fact that of these reimbursable requests over 50% of 
their dollar value was for data evaluation and analysis. 
The data services for which there has been no charge have also increased significantly. The 
exchange activities of the NODC have increased and will probably continue to increase over the next 
few years with the involvement of NODC as a contributor of services to international oceanographic 
expeditions. Minor requests for which there has been no charge have increased to about 15 times 
the number for FY-62. 
To increase the capability of some of the younger and less experienced NODC staff members, 
we have taken advantage of several training programs and training opportunities; for example, each 
year, new employees at the GS-5 or -7 level enter a technical orientation-training program under the 
Civil Service Training Agreement. During FY-63, the NODC sent two employees to the Woods Hole 
Oceanographic Institution for an advanced course in oceanography; personnel from NODC served 
on five different oceanographic survey cruises. 
To enable the NODC to process data other than physical-chemical data, the programs for 
developing holding-recall systems for geological-geophysical and biological data have been given 
added impetus. Ad hoc committees have been convened for these types of data to review the work of 
the Data Center to date in these areas and to provide guidance. 
The publications of the NODC and presentations of the Director, Deputy Director, and staff 
before various scientific groups have considerably publicized the Data Center and its work. The 
NODC NEWSLETTER, for example, now has a distribution of over 1,000 copies in the United States 
and abroad. The Director of NODC has made presentations to such groups as the Federal Council 
for Science and Technology, the Navy Research and Development Clinic, and the Eastern Pacific 
Oceanic Conference. 
