The basic science community looks to the Federal 

 Government to establish and maintain appropriate 

 data centers for the archival and retrieval to meet 

 not only the needs of basic science but a wide 

 spectrum of other uses as well. 



Present systems do not meet the need for a 

 coordinated system of data centers for archiving 

 and retrieving ocean ographic data. The efforts of 

 the National Oceanographic Data Center, the 

 Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center, and 

 the National Weather Records Center have barely 

 been able to keep up with the present rate of 

 acquisition, as well as the demands for retrieval. 



A. National Oceanographic Data Center 



The inability of the National Oceanographic 

 Data Center to carry out its mission effectively has 

 resulted from the pecuHar nature of the Center, 

 jointly funded by several Federal agencies with 

 differing needs. 



The Federal oceanographic funding situation in 

 recent years has prevented government agencies 

 from meeting the funding needs as expressed by 

 the Director of the National Oceanographic Data 

 Center and approved by its inter-agency advisory 

 committee. Recently, the Navy, in an effort to 

 provide more National Oceanographic Data Center 

 support, offered to assume the entire fiscal re- 

 sponsibility for its work. Such a move wOl result in 

 a Center less capable of dealing effectively in 

 international data exchange. The Center, while it 

 should be aware of naval requirements and geared 

 to serve the Navy as well as other government 

 agencies, should be located in a non-Defense 

 agency, which should budget for and administer 

 the funds necessary to maintain its basic operation 

 in acquiring, coding, and storing data. Work per- 

 formed for other agencies in the realm of data 

 retrieval and analysis should be reimbursed from 

 those agencies' appropriations in accordance with 

 statutes and Federal practice. Similarly, costs of 

 work undertaken for non-Federal agencies should 

 be borne by requesting groups to the extent of 

 payment of retrieval and reproduction costs. 



The National Oceanographic Data Center's first 

 mission was storing time-dependent data. Re- 

 cently, it has become concerned with non-time 

 dependent oceanic variables, such as bathymetry. 

 The storage and retrieval of data that do not 

 primarily vary with the time should not be 



concentrated in a single agency, but should be left 

 in the hands of the principal gatherers of such 

 data. Thus, the ocean charting activities of the 

 Department of Commerce and the U.S. Navy 

 should be the prime repository of worldwide 

 bathymetric data, the portrayal of such data 

 should take the form of published bathymetric 

 charts at appropriate scales. In addition, the 

 original data in the form of computer printouts 

 should be available to the scientific community as 

 the plotted smooth sheets have been made avail- 

 able in the past. Biological data relating to 

 taxonomy should be concentrated with the 

 specialists who are concerned with these aspects of 

 science, and the role of the National Ocean- 

 ographic Data Center should not extend past 

 knowing of sources of information of this nature 

 and maintaining Uaison with the curators to 

 facilitate the referral of inquiries. 



The National Oceanographic Data Center 

 should not undertake the processing of raw data. 

 Such data should be processed by the originators 

 and transmitted by them to the National Ocean- 

 ographic Data Center in a form suitable for coding 

 and analysis without the necessity of applying 

 calibrations or instrumental corrections. The 

 bathythermograph processing function should be 

 returned to the Navy and the other users of 

 bathythermographs. 



The National Oceanographic Data Center is not 

 now involved in the management of real time 

 ocean monitoring and prediction systems and 

 should not become so involved in the future. Its 

 primary function is the acquisition of historical 

 data. 



B. National Weather Records Center 



Unlike the National Oceanographic Data Cen- 

 ter, the National Weather Records Center has been 

 in existence for half a century. Its primary mission 

 is to archive the national and international weather 

 records. Its marine functions include the archiving 

 and retrieval of all ocean weather, sea state, and sea 

 surface temperature data. It is funded by the 

 Department of Commerce and performs work for 

 other agencies on a reimbursable basis; it also 

 provides, at cost, retrieval and reproduction for 

 needs of all non-Federal users. Large parts of its 

 marine programs are supported by the Navy under 

 reimbursable agreements. The National Weather 



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