Chapter 7 



Federal Programs for Collecting and 

 Managing Oceanographic Data 



INTRODUCTION 



Several Federal agencies have responsibility to 

 survey and collect data on the ocean. They are: 



• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)/ 



• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin- 

 istration (NOAA),2 



• U.S. Coast Guard (USCG),^ 



• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

 (EPA),* 



• U.S. Department of Energy (DOE),^ 



• Minerals Management Service (MMS),^ 



• the Bureau of Mines (BOM),' and 



'43 U.S.C. 31 (a) and (b), The Organic Act of 1879, as amended; 

 16 U.S.C. 1451-1456, Public Law 94-370, The Coastal Zone Manage- 

 ment Act Amendments of 1976; 43 U.S.C. 1865, Public Law 95-372, 

 The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978; 30 

 U.S.C. 1419 et seq.. Public Law 96-283, The Deep Seabed Hard 

 Mineral Resources Act of 1980; 43 U.S.C. 1301, Public Law 92-532, 

 The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972; and 

 Proclamation #5030, 48 Fed. Reg. 10605, Mar. 10, 1983. 



^33 U.S.C. 883 et seq.. The Act of Aug. 6, 1947, as amended; 84 

 Stat. 2090, Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970— 

 Establishment of NOAA; 33 U.S.C. The National Ocean Pollution 

 Planning Act of 1978; 16 U.S.C. 1451-1456, Public Law 94-370, The 

 Coastal Zone Management Act Amendments of 1976; 43 U.S.C. 1847, 

 Public Law 95-372, The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amend- 

 ments of 1978; 30 U.S.C. 1419, Public Law 96-283, The Deep Seabed 

 Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980; 16 U.S.C. 1432, 33 U.S.C. 

 1441, Public Law 92-532, The Marine Protection, Research and Sanc- 

 tuaries Act of 1972; 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.. Fishery Conservation 

 and Management Act of 1976, and Proclamation No. 5030, 48 Fed. 

 Reg. 10605, Mar. 10, 1983. 



H3 U.S.C. 1865, Public Law 95-372, The Outer Continental Shelf 

 Lands Act Amendments of 1978. 



'33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq., Public Law 95-217, The Clean Water Act, 

 as amended; 33 U.S.C. 1401, et seq.. Public Law 92-532, The Ma- 

 rine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. 



^4, Public Law 93-577, Federal Non-Nuclear Energy Research and 

 Development Act of 1974; 301 , Public Law 95-91 , Energy Organiza- 

 tion Act 



'43 U.S.C. 1131-1356, Public Law 83-212, Public Law 93-627 and 

 Public Law 95-372, The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953 

 as amended; 43 U.S.C. 1301-1315, Public Law 83-31, The Submerged 

 Lands Act; 33 U.S.C. 1101-1108, Public Law 89-454, The Coastal 

 Zone Management Act of 1972; 43 U.S.C. 4321,4331-4335,4341-4347, 

 Public Law 91-190, The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969; 

 Proclamation No. 5030, 48 Fed. Reg. 10605, Mar. 10, 1983, Exclu- 

 sive Economic Zone of the United States of America. 



'30 U.S.C. 21 (a), Public Law 91-631, The Mining and Minerals 

 Policy Act of 1970; 30 U.S.C. 1602, 1603, Public Law 96-479, The 

 National Materials, and Minerals Policy, Research, £md Development 

 Act of 1980. 



• the U.S. Navy. 8 



Some of the designated agencies do not maintain 

 active research programs in the Exclusive Economic 

 Zone (EEZ). Of those collecting data, some are in- 

 volved in survey activities while others conduct 

 more localized research. The agencies conducting 

 broad-scale exploration of the EEZ are NOAA (the 

 Department of Commerce) and USGS (the Depart- 

 ment of the Interior). Several agencies and public 

 and private laboratories collect EEZ information 

 ranging from site-specific mineral analyses to assess- 

 ments of biological resources and various physical 

 and chemical parameters of the oceans; these data 

 collectors include NOAA (four groups),^ MMS, 

 BOM, USGS, the National Aeronautics and Space 

 Administration (NASA), the U.S. Navy, private 

 industry, and academic and private laboratories 

 (see box 7-A). All of their data must be archived 

 and accessed. 



Exploration and development of the U.S. Exclu- 

 sive Economic Zone is not proceeding economically 

 or efficiently under current programs. There is no 

 systematic mechanism for data collection, with the 

 exception of plans to "map" the EEZ (by USGS 

 using the GLORIA side-looking sonar system and 

 NOAA using multi-beam systems). The NOAA 

 and USGS efforts will provide the first survey of 

 the vast territory contained in the EEZ; these 

 projects, however, are plagued by budget problems, 

 and completion is uncertain. The many other stages 

 of research necessary before development of U.S. 

 seabed resources can take place (e.g., comprehen- 

 sive three-dimensional mineral assessment, devel- 

 opment of rapid sampling technologies, etc.) are 

 largely either unplanned or proceeding in a piece- 

 meal fashion. 



»10 U.S.C. 7203 and 10 U.S.C. 5151. 



'National Ocean Service, including the Strategic Assessment Branch 

 and Charting and Geodetic Services; National Marine Fisheries Serv- 

 ice; the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Serv- 

 ice, including the National Geophysical Data Center and the National 

 Oceanographic Data Center; and the Office of Oceanic and Atmos- 

 pheric Research. 



249 



72-672 0-87—9 



