Page images
PDF
EPUB

ical Atlantic Experiment of the Global Atmospheric Research Program, and a variety of projects on environmental quality, physical oceanography, MARMAP, and improvement of marine predictions by the National Weather Service. Department of Transportation increases, totaling $2,603,000, result from expanded research efforts in combating hazardous materials pollution and in improving seaice reconnaissance, as well as the shift in certain ship support costs to research projects.

The major programs of the Federal agencies which contribute to the several MAREP Services listed in the table, "Federal Plan for Marine Environmental Prediction, by Service," are discussed, together with planned improvements, in succeeding sections of the Plan.

The "Interagency Fund Transfers for Marine Environmental Prediction, by Agency, FY 71,"

shows the extent to which Federal agencies are making use of each other's capabilities in arranging for MAREP Services or relevant research by interagency transfers in FY 71.

The MAREP products and services are generated through the operation of a system made up of four interlocking functions plus a support function. As treated in this Plan, these five functions are: data acquisition, communications, data processing, information dissemination, and general agency support. These functions are further explained in the next section under the description of the Basic MAREP Services; however, a summary of fiscal information arranged according to the functions is also given in the tables: "Agency Operational Costs, by Function," "Agency Manpower Engaged in MAREP Operations, by Function," and "Agency Relevant Research Costs, by Function."

[blocks in formation]

Total

2,503 2,354 9,174 12,422

4,738 5,122 9,207

9,378

54,575 60,540

28,953 31,264 'The funds listed are about 50 percent of total data acquisition costs of the U.S. Geological Survey, the remainder being provided by States and local agencies through cooperative agreements. These costs include data processing, not identified by the Survey as a separate function.

2 FY 72 projections for EPA are level-funded pending further deliberations by that Agency, which has been established only since December 1970.

AGENCY MANPOWER ENGAGED IN MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL
PREDICTION OPERATIONS, BY FUNCTION

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

*FY 72 projections for EPA are level-funded pending further deliberations by that Agency, which has been established only since December 1970.

Marine Environmental Prediction Services

As indicated earlier, the general public, national defense, and specialized elements of the economy collectively require marine environmental information to perform effectively and safely their daily activities and to plan for future activities. Many of these needs can be fulfilled by a basic service while others require specialized applications.

The Basic Marine Environmental Prediction (MAREP) Service of the United States is intended to meet the needs of the general public, to fulfill those requirements which are common to two or more user groups, and to provide the foundation for the Specialized Services.

Specialized MAREP Services provide the facilities, products, and distribution mechanism necessary to serve specific user groups. Such Specialized MAREP Services include those for maritime navigation, water pollution control, fisheries interests, mineral exploration, and specialized military applications.

The MAREP Services and plans for their improvement, through expansion of operations and through relevant research directed toward service improvements, are discussed in the succeeding sections.

19

Basic Marine Environmental Prediction Service

DESCRIPTION OF SERVICE

The Basic Marine Environmental Prediction (MAREP) Service provides fundamental observations and forecasts used by interested members of the general public, governmental agencies, specialized user groups, and many segments of the economy. This Basic Service also provides many of the observations, analyses and forecasts, and communications common to the Specialized Services in MAREP. It is recognized that certain meteorological observations, analysis and forecast centers, and their communication links which are provided primarily for the Basic Meteorological Service furnish invaluable support to the Basic and Specialized MAREP Services.1

The principal observation networks, analysis and forecast centers, communications networks, and other facilities of the several Federal agencies which contribute wholly or in part to the specific support of the Basic MAREP Service are listed below:

Oceanographic and related meteorological observations of Defense, using naval vessels, research ships, ships of opportunity, and reconnaissance and patrol aircraft.

Oceanographic and meteorological observations by the Coast Guard using aircraft, fixed platforms, and vessels engaged in the Ocean Station Vessel Program, Standard Monitoring Sections, and other operations. Meteorological and related oceanographic observations of the Cooperative Merchant Ship Observational Program of NOAA. Satellite program of the Department of Commerce and NASA for the remote sensing of the marine environment, with later extension to the collection and transmission of data from in situ platforms.

Tropical region reconnaissance by the cooperative efforts of the National Weather Service (NWS) of NOAA, the Department of Defense, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

[blocks in formation]

A full description of the Basic and other Specialized Meteorological Services is contained in the Federal Plan for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research, published annually by the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research. Description of these Basic and Specialized Meteorological Services and the associated facilities will appear only incidentally in this Plan as they interface with MAREP Services, except in the case of the Marine Meteorological Service and tropical cyclone warnings which overlap but are integral parts of MAREP Services.

Defense Interior

AEC NASA NSF

Smithsonian 400 600

[blocks in formation]

Scheduled Defense and Coast Guard flights over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to collect sea-surface temperature and bathythermographic data from which mean monthly sea-surface temperature charts and Gulf Stream charts are produced for distribution.

Special procedures activated by the National East Coast Winter Storms Operational Plan which depend upon the cooperative reconnaissance and surface observation, analysis, and warning capabilities of the NWS, the Department of Defense, the FAA, and the Coast Guard.

Tide and tidal current prediction services and the Pacific Tsunami Warning System of the National Ocean Survey (NOS) of NOAA.

■ Marine data collection and relay by highspeed circuits and teletypewriter systems operated by the Departments of Commerce, Defense, and Transportation.

Processing, analysis, and forecast centers for marine services of the NWS, Department of Defense, and the Coast Guard.

Tropical analyses and storm and hurricane warnings by the NWS and the Department of Defense.

Dissemination of marine forecasts and warnings by means of continuous very high frequency/frequency modulation (VHF/FM) radio broadcasts of NOAA and those of commercial facilities.

Dissemination of marine forecasts and warnings by means of Defense and Coast Guard radio facilities.

The Coastal Warning System, a cooperative network of visual displays (flag and light) at locations on the seacoast, Great Lakes, and inland waterways.

Storage and retrieval of marine data and publication of marine atlases by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) and the National Climatic Center (NCC) of NOAA, the Department of Defense, and the Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center (SOSC).

Monitoring of streamflow and water quality in estuaries and the coastal zone and in the Great Lakes by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Department of Defense, and the NOS of NOAA.

Hydraulic, hydrologic, and sedimentation studies of the Army Corps of Engineers and the USGS and flood management services of the Department of Defense.

Establishment of techniques and secondary reference standards for the assessment of oceanographic instrument performance and for the collection and dissemination of information on performance and on instrument development programs by the National Oceanographic Instrumentation Center (NOIC) of NOAA.

Marine environmental prediction (MAREP)— defined as the analyzing and forecasting of the physical, chemical, biological, and hydrodynamic states of the ocean, the overlying atmosphere, and their interactions-is treated as a total system made up of four interlocking functions plus a support function (see diagram). As indicated earlier, there are two categories of MAREP Services, Basic and Specialized. In general, the functions involved in the production of these Services are as follows:

Data acquisition—the measurement of environmental parameters, made by various sensors that are mounted on fixed or moving platforms and that are deployed in the marine environment either as airborne, floating, or submerged.

Communications the lifeline of the total system, employed for the collection, relay, and exchange of data for processing, archiving, and research support where appropriate; many of the facilities engaged in this function are also employed in the delivery of products resulting from the data processing function. Data processing product formulation in various forms, as required by users, such as analyses, forecasts, warnings of hazardous conditions, data summaries, and documentation for special study requirements.

Information dissemination-the delivery of products and services, involving output from data processing to the ultimate users so that these users can make operational decisions or conclusions on the basis of the information provided.

General agency support-activities which agencies must perform, such as training of personnel, maintenance of equipment and facilities, internal support, and management above the operating level so that the total system can be operated to provide MAREP Services effectively and efficiently.

« PreviousContinue »