FOREWORD 



The newly formed National Advisory Committee 

 on Oceans and Atmosphere (NACOA) has been 

 charged by P.L. 92-125 to have direct concern 

 with both the oceans and the atmosphere. NACOA 

 is advisory to both the President and the Con- 

 gress on the Nation's marine and atmospheric 

 affairs — and to the Secretary of Commerce with 

 respect to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration. 



To review and evaluate every program and issue 

 over the vast domain of NACOA responsibility 

 is to treat none of them well and would mean 

 attempting, in some instances, to do what others 

 are capable of doing better.* But to be able to 



* In this, NACOA's first year, we have naturally drawn 

 heavily on a long series of reports by which the field, 

 particularly of oceanography, has been enriched. Specifi- 

 cally we wish to acknowledge our indebtedness to: "Ocean- 

 ography 1960-1970," National Academy of Sciences, Com- 

 mittee on Oceanography, 1959. "Oceanography, the Ten 

 Years Ahead, a Long-Range Oceanographic Plan 1963- 

 1972," Interagency Committee on Oceanography of the 

 FCST, ICO Pamphlet No. 10, June 1963. "Effective Use 

 of the Sea," Report of the Panel on Oceanography, Presi- 

 dent's Scientific Advisory Committee, June 1966. "Our 

 Nation and the Sea, A Plan for National Action," Re- 

 port of the Commission on Marine Science, Engineering 

 and Resources (Stratton Commission), January 1969. The 

 five Annual Reports on Marine Science Affairs by the 

 National Council on Marine Sciences and Engineering 

 Development, 1967 through 1971, inclusive. 



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