4 
local governments, academic institutions, and industry, for the purpose 
of fostering marine resource development, technology, environmental 
research, education, and training, and advisory services. Its major 
activities include assisting coastal States to improve their ability to 
manage their coastal zones through research, education, and 
advisory services; facilitating the ability of private enterprise to 
explore for and utilize marine resources and engage in marin ecommerce 
and commercial recreational activities through technology develop- 
ment, identification of new or unutilized marine resources, and 
providing the information required for the solutions to socio-economic 
and legal problems; operating and managing a national marine 
advisory program to facilitate the transfer of information between 
researchers and users; and helping provide the skilled manpower 
required to meet national needs in marine activities. 
NOAA’s Office of Coastal Zone Management was established in 1973 
to administer the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (Public Law 
92-583) which provides Federal grants and other support to assist the 
coastal States and territories in the development and implementation 
of management programs for their coastal zones. The Office also ad- 
ministers title III of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries 
Act of 1972 that calls for the study and designation of marine sanc- 
tuaries for the purpose of preserving them or restoring them due to 
their conservation, recreational, ecological, or esthetic values. 
Both of these major program components will require substantial 
development of scientific, technical, and cultural data and information. 
Some of the needed management data, information synthesis, and ap- 
plied research will be generated by the States. Reliance upon existing 
and developing Federal data sources will also be significant. 
Typically, the programs will include compilations of basic shoreline 
and near-shore data, base maps, satellite imagery, resource inven- 
tories, and environmental data summaries. Grants may also be used to 
initiate or continue technical studies to identify or assess resources, 
capabilities, mechanisms, alternatives, et cetera, in relation to achiev- 
ing the objectives of the Coastal Zone Management Act. 
NOAA’s Environmental Research Laboratories’ (ERL) oceano- 
graphic research program is conducted primarily by the Atlantic 
Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratories (AOML) and _ the 
Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. Included are studies of the 
dynamics of the upper oceanic boundary layer, the role of internal 
waves in the overall dynamics of the water column, investigations of 
the open ocean and Continental Shelf characteristics of seismic sea 
waves (tsunamis), and investigations of current patterns. Marine 
ecosystem analysis programs are also a responsibility of ERL. 
The Maritime Administration provides a broad range of programs 
for revitalizing the U.S. flag merchant marine so that it can meet this 
Nation’s shipping needs for commerce and defense. MARAD collects, 
processes, and analyzes comprehensive data regarding the foreign 
world merchant fleet and the U.S. world merchant fleet. Fifty-two (52) 
elements of data are maintained. 
The only aspects of these programs applicable to the ocean data 
study, however, are those directed toward gaining a better under- 
standing of the nature of the ocean surface and the environmental 
effects on the operation and design of merchant vessels. 
Assessment of oceanic data is performed at the Maritime Operations 
Data Center which is part of the National Maritime Research Center 
