its activity is in non-coast-oriented water resource 

 problems, but it does support a number of projects 

 that are in the coastal zone. These currently are in 

 three categories; general hydrology, water pollu- 

 tion, and resources planning. 



Category 



No. of 

 projects 



FY 68 



Water cycle 



Water quaUty management 



and protection 

 Water resources planning 

 Total 



FY 69 



Thousands 

 of dollars 



180 



XI. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE SERVICES 

 ADMINISTRATION (ESSA) 



The Environmental Science Services Adminis- 

 tration of the Department of Commerce was 

 estabhshed on July 13, 1965, by Reorganization 

 Plan No. 2 of 1965. The formation of ESSA 

 brought together the functions of the Weather 

 Bureau and the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the 

 new agency's major elements. At the same time. 



Figure 4. Artist's rendition of Environmental 

 Science Services Administration new data ac- 

 quisition system (ODESSA) in operation. (En- 

 vironmental Science Services Administration 

 photo) 



the Institutes for Environmental Research, the 

 Environmental Data Service, and the National 

 Environmental Satellite Center were created. Also 

 the Central Radio Propagation Laboratory was 

 transferred to ESSA from the National Bureau of 

 Standards and became the Institute for Tele- 

 communication Sciences and Aeronomy, joining 

 ESSA's Institutes for Atmospheric Sciences, Earth 

 Sciences, and Oceanography. 



ESSA's mission and functions include the fol- 

 lowing: 



—Observe and collect comprehensive data about 

 the state of the oceans and inland waters, of the 

 upper and lower atmosphere, of the space environ- 

 ment, and of the earth 



—Communicate, correlate, process, and analyze all 

 such data 



—Provide and disseminate such information with a 

 prediction of future environmental states 



—Prepare and disseminate warnings of all severe 

 hazards of nature to all who may be affected 



—Provide nautical, aeronautical, and telecom- 

 munications charts and related publications and 

 services 



—Operate and maintain a system for storage, 

 retrieval, and dissemination of the acquired data 



—Explore the feasibiUty of modification and con- 

 trol of environmental phenomena 



—Coordinate Federal meteorological services and 

 supporting research. 



ESSA's hydrographic and ocean survey program 

 is conducted jointly by the Coast and Geodetic 

 Survey and its oceanographic laboratories. Its 

 objectives are the charting of depths and topog- 

 raphy of the coastal zone; delineation of major 

 ocean currents; and completion of geophysical 

 studies of the continental shelves and estuaries and 

 other coastal features of the nation's shoreUne. 



ESSA pubUshes approximately 800 different 

 nautical charts covering 2^/4 million square miles of 

 the nation's navigable waters. 



Standard nautical charts are supplemented with 

 a series of U.S. Coast Pilots, providing information 

 on navigation, regulations, landmarks, and other 

 pertinent information. 



III-90 



