1998 Year of the Ocean Marine Science, Technology, and Research 



advances being made in sensing technologies, and the capabiHties to put datp and information 

 easily into the public access, the oceanographic community runs a risk of major problems with 

 quality of data. Access to an information highway that contains raw, unverified, often 

 sensationalized data can be a great danger to both the decision-making and scientific processes. 

 The ocean sciences community needs to invoke standards, as Maury did, and establish protocols 

 for introducing data into the public domain. Clearinghouses, industry standards, community 

 stewardship, and training for data providers and researchers, are the tools that must be improved. 



Future observational networks in the ocean are anticipated to consist of enhanced 

 measurement, modeling, and delivery systems, for a host of critical ecosystem measures and 

 standard physical parameters. Because the expected information management methods will rely 

 heavily on Internet traffic, and because a large number of participants will not be performing as 

 "contractors", measures to instill strict data quality assurance will necessarily rely on voluntary 

 means. It is likely that a rigorous program of certification, based on community agreement to a 

 range of qualification procedures (e.g. comparison with climatology), can be implemented 

 successfully. Participation in certification efforts can become strong bonds within growing 

 federal-academic-industry partnerships. 



Resources 



People 



Clearly the most valuable resource in oceanography is the cadre of trained professionals 

 and capable students working in the field. The future body of researchers and educators in the 

 ocean sciences may be distributed among a broader range of careers and job sectors than are 

 currently represented. Efforts are already underway to develop mechanisms to train the next 

 generation of ocean scientists in fields such as business, public policy, and communications, in 

 order to expand the involvement of the oceanographic community. The current number of 

 oceanographers suggests a need for partnership initiatives aimed at distributing capabilities, 

 sharing personnel resources, and ensuring some quality control on the level of expertise. The 

 community should establish formal mechanisms for facilitating the exchange of personnel 

 between academic, government, and private organizations. Some mechanisms for these 

 exchanges currently exist, but they are cumbersome and more prohibitive than conducive to 

 cooperation. Additionally, a partnership approach might be invoked to assess the value and 

 implementation of a professional certification program, as is done in many other technical fields. 



The crosstalking and mutual understanding of goals among mission agencies, academia, 

 industry, research agencies, and policy makers is disturbingly minimal. This comes at a time 

 when downward budget pressures call for "downsizing" mission "purification" and 

 "deregulation." The combination of these two trends proves to be very counterproductive, and is 

 exacerbated by significant mission/interest shifts on the part of several agencies. Crosstalking 

 and mutual understanding must be fostered at all levels from program execution to planning and 

 setting of national policy. 



Ml 



