forecasting system will also be useful to the local 

 control authority. Generally, the regional control 

 agency therefore will require the data describing 

 the large-scale atmospheric behavior in addition to 

 its own local data, while the national meteoro- 

 logical forecasting system will not require the fine 

 scale data collected within the control region. 



Biological data requirements are both quaUta- 

 tively and quantitatively different than either 

 physical or chemical measurements. Biological pre- 

 diction programs probably will be best accom- 

 phshed within the individual agency; close coordi- 

 nation should be maintained with NEMPS to 

 assure compatibility and effective use of systems 

 for sensing, communication, and data processing. 

 In many cases sharing of data-collection platforms 

 can be achieved. 



Recommendation: 



Activities in the National Environmental Monitor- 

 ing and Prediction System serving common civil 

 and military interests should be consolidated in 

 one Federal agency; specialized military programs 

 should be retained in the Department of Defense. 

 Civil and military environmental monitoring and 

 prediction systems should develop within the 

 following guidelines: 



—A common, shared data acquisition network 



—A common, shared communications network, 

 except where military security requires separate 

 systems 



—Independent, parallel data processing and fore- 

 casting facilities 



—Independent, specialized data and forecast dis- 

 semination sub-systems. 



IV. OTHER ORGANIZATIONAL CONSIDERA- 

 TIONS 



A. National Oceanographic Data Center 



The National Oceanographic Data Center now 

 archives marine environmental data, providing 

 such data in various forms to Federal agencies and 

 other research groups under appropriate reim- 

 bursable funding arrangements. The Center was 

 estabUshed in 1960 by Interagency Agreement 

 involving the Navy, Coast and Geodetic Survey, 



Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, National Science 

 Foundation, Atomic Energy Commission, and the 

 Weather Bureau. These agencies agreed to jointly 

 fund the NODC, with actual operation the re- 

 sponsibility of the Navy. The basic operating funds 

 for the NODC are now provided by: National 

 Science Foundation, Atomic Energy Commission, 

 Coast Guard (DOT), Coastal Engineering Research 

 Center (Army), Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, 

 Geological Survey, and Federal Water Pollution 

 Control Administration (Interior), Department of 

 Health, Education and Welfare, ESS A, and the 

 Navy. 



The funding arrangements have limited the 

 modernization of NODC's physical plant, and 

 severely hampered expansion generally. In partic- 

 ular, the appUcation of modern electronic com- 

 puters to oceanographic data processing has not 

 proceeded at a satisfactory pace. Indeed, for such 

 data processing as NODC does perform it must 

 find "time" on one of several computer systems 

 operated by other agencies. 



For these reasons, we feel that NODC should be 

 part of a major Federal agency. A considerable 

 amount of surface oceanographic data is now 

 archived by ESSA's National Weather Records 

 Center in addition to meteorological and other 

 geophysical data. All physical environmental data 

 should be available through a common source after 

 a suitable standard request. Further, vast quanti- 

 ties of data for the proposed atmospheric/ocean- 

 ographic data bank will be provided by the normal 

 operations of the NEMPS. 



Recommendation : 



A coordinated system of oceanographic and other 

 enviroiunental data centers should be established. 

 The NODC should be transferred to the civil 

 agency responsible for the National Environmental 

 Monitoring and Prediction System. This agency 

 should be given the responsibility for its funding 

 and management. 



B. Satellite Data Collection 



As new oceanographic sensors become available 

 for sateUite operation, questions arise as to their 

 mode of employment. 



The relationship of ESSA's weather satellite 

 program to NASA provides an example of a 



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