—Certain Teletypewriter Systems operated by the 

 Federal Aviation Administration. 



—Radar Reporting and Warning Coordination 

 System, a teletypewriter system operated by the 

 Department of Commerce. 



—Teletypewriter and high speed circuits operated 

 by the Department of Commerce for collecting 

 and exchanging overseas information. 



— ESSA Weather Wire, a teletypewriter system to 

 distribute forecasts and warnings to the press, 

 radio, and television. 



—Facsimile networks. 



—Continuous VHF/FM radio broadcasts* operated 

 by the Department of Commerce. 



The Department of Commerce operates auto- 

 matic telephone answering systems and has ar- 

 ranged for radio broadcasts to marine users over 

 Coast Guard, Navy, Army, and commercial radio 

 facilities. An automatic telephone answering sys- 

 tem operates throughout the year at Baltimore, 

 Washington, Juneau, Seattle, Chicago, and Los 

 Angeles; service is also provided at Boston and 

 Providence during the boating season. These sys- 

 tems provide the latest forecasts and warnings for 

 marine users in their areas. 



More than 2,000 commercial radio and .tele- 

 vision stations broadcast marine weather forecasts 

 and warnings several times daily as a public service. 

 Forecasts and warnings for coastal and offshore 

 areas are also transmitted by 31 Coast Guard, 10 

 Army (in Alaska), and 39 conmiercial radiotele- 

 phone and radiotelegraph installations. High seas 

 analyses, forecasts, and warnings are provided to 

 merchant ships operating in the western North 

 Atlantic and eastern and central North Pacific 

 Oceans by Navy and commercial radiotelegraph 

 broadcasts. Warnings for the western North At- 

 lantic and eastern North Pacific are also trans- 

 mitted by commercial radiotelegraph stations. 



C. Department of Transportation 



1. Federal Aviation Administration 



The Federal Aviation Administration collects 

 meteorological data at many airports in the U.S., 

 and provides basic communications systems for 

 the transmission of weather data. 



2. Coast Guard 



The Coast Guard operates two weather offices 

 in support of Search and Rescue (SAR) opera- 

 tions. These offices, located at the Rescue Co- 

 ordination Centers in New York and San Fran- 

 cisco, provide advice to commanders directing 

 rescue operations and transmit specialized fore- 

 casts to ships and aircraft which are engaged 

 in SAR operations. These Centers can receive 

 oceanographic forecasts from the Navy's FNWC 

 and disseminate these forecasts as needed. 



The Coast Guard provides operational forecasts 

 of iceberg movement and ice-season severity. Ice 

 data from aerial reconnaissance are combined 

 with meteorological information to forecast ice- 

 season severity prior to the iceberg season. The 

 Coast Guard also conducts an annual aerial census 

 of icebergs in the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay 

 during September and January. During the iceberg 

 season the Coast Guard maintains an oceanographic 



Communications support is provided at no cost to 

 the Department of Commerce by the Coast Guard, Navy, 

 and many commercial facilities. 



Figure 8. U.S. Coast Guard Hercules ice patrol 

 plane from Argentia, Newfoundland, tracking 

 an iceberg along the Grand Banks. The plane 

 is also equipped with a microwave radiometer 

 for ice observation through clouds. (Coast 

 Guard photo) 



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