sources. To achieve these objectives, fishing catch analysis research of the NMFS will be supplemented by surveys to be conducted for ichthyoplankton, groundfish, and pelagic fish, to determine the spatial and temporal extent of their populations by means of standard sampling methods and data reporting techniques. Environmental groups in NOAA will collate and analyze environmental data for the Atlantic and Pacific with respect to detecting ocean-wide changes in circulation, temperature, water mass, and water type.

In 1972 MARMAP completed much of the planning required for a cohesive national effort, including the program development plan, MARMAP system description, and the Survey I (eggs and larvae) plan. The first multiple-ship test cruises were successfully conducted in the Atlantic from Cape Cod to the Caribbean.

Working relations with other countries were initiated, and by the end of 1972 standardized MARMAP methods of sampling eggs and larvae had been adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and were being utilized by 20 nations. A cooperative survey by MARMAP and the International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (ICNAF) to determine the magnitude of the herring spawning stocks in the Northwest Atlantic was completed in 1972. Technical advances include the development of a system for automating the sorting of eggs and larvae samples, a shipboard datalogging system, and progress in the development of a new automatic ichthyoplankton and environmental sampling system in cooperation with the United Kingdom.

Data Management

The control and handling of marine environmental data takes several forms in the Federal Ocean Program. Standards are sought and developed to ensure compatibility of results from different oceanographic instruments. The masses of data acquired in the course of the program must be screened for indexing or archival, processed, and disseminated in a variety of useful forms. Where these "data" consist of biological and other specimens, they must be sorted, classified, and, in selected cases, preserved for later study. NOAA's Environmental Data Service has established a National Geophysical and Solar-Terrestrial Data Center, including a Marine Geology and Geophysics Group. This new group has rapidly developed full working arrangements with the Geological Survey, the Defense Mapping Agency, and the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy, as well as with NOAA elements and the academic and industrial communities. With NSF (IDOE) support, the group has made significant progress toward developing a true national data service capability with catalogs, indexes, merged formats, and microform services.

The National Climatic Center, (NCC) working closely with the

Naval Weather Service, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), has contributed significantly to the global marine climatological information base during 1972 by preparing and publishing baseline references, such as the Environmental Guide for Seven U.S. Ports, Environmental Guide for the U.S. Gulf Coast, and Marine Climatological Summary (WMO Region for USA). NCC is currently archiving national data buoy meteorological data in ship format.

Except for certain water-resources-oriented data on water quality, which are handled by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Geological Survey, NOAA's National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) has the task of moving the mountain of marine environmental data, and doing it in ways that make it accessible and useful to a wide clientele. The Environmental Data Service, which operates the data center, continues to serve as lead agency for data management and information services for IDOE projects. Last year, NODC acquired the telecommunications hardware necessary to interface its automated Research Program Management System disc to the IDOE office. In 1972, EDS centers (NODC, NCC and the Center for Experimental Design and Data Analysis (CEDDA)) provided a broad spectrum of data flow, archival, and data management services for IFYGL, including the development of an inventory system that describes the various IFYGL data-collection projects.

NODC has developed a system for the Corps of Engineers (COE) to inventory data collected in Chesapeake Bay. A contract between NODC and the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences has been initiated to provide a more comprehensive supplement to the initial COE inventory for the Bay region.

The Environmental Science Information Center (ESIC) of NOAA is involved in a Selective Distribution Experiment (100 investigators) utilizing the developing Oceanic and Atmospheric Science Information Service (OASIS), an automated, searchable, subject-author-abstract system having great potential for serving the ocean science and technology communities as an adjunct to EDS' Environtal Data Index (ENDEX). ENDEX is, in part, a documented data referral system, fully automated and searchable in an interactive mode. Data file descriptions and documentation are obtained from in-depth interviews by trained contract personnel. Current contract efforts are focused on the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay, and the New York Bight.

Internationally, NODC broadened its data-acquisition efforts by establishing or updating bilateral exchange agreements with Australia, Chile, Ecuador, France, Mexico, and Thailand. By an agreement between World Data Center A and the Indian Ocean Biological Center, in Cochin, India, NODC keypunched the second (and final) shipment of zooplankton volumes and taxonomy code

data. Those data will be transferred to magnetic tape and forwarded to the University of Hawaii for analysis and inclusion in an atlas series on the International Indian Ocean Expedition. Acting as the designated Regional Oceanographic Data Center, under the program of Cooperative Investigation of the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CICAR), NODC acquired and processed data from Cuba, Mexico, the Netherlands, United States, USSR, and Venezuela, and arranged for completion and publication of Volume II, Marine Biology, and Volume III, Marine Geology and Geophysics, of the CICAR Bibliography.

Sorting centers operated by the Smithsonian Institution continued to process biological and geological materials for marine scientists throughout the world. The Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center (SOSC) in Washington, D.C.processed over 3.5 million marine organisms in FY '72. Ten percent of these were sent to interested scientists, who were provided with the research services of taxonomic sorting, community analysis, specimen and sample data management, and field logistics. The Center assists various national and international programs in environmental analysis, including the NSF's U.S. Antarctic Research Program (USARP) and NOAA's MARMAP.

Patterned after the SOSC and maintained in Tunsia through the use of P.L. 480 excess currency funds, the Mediterranean Marine Sorting Center (MMSC) processed over 2.5 million specimens in FY '72, primarily from Mediterranean Sea collections. In addition to providing sorting services, the MMSC plays a significant role in the training of technical personnel from developing countries throughout the region. As a result of efforts of the two sorting centers, many marine collections that otherwise might go unnoticed are made available to the scientific community for investigation and documentation in the literature.

The SOSC maintains a computerized inventory of collections received and sorted, and is expanding this inventory to include the data that result from subsequent analysis by specialists. The collections processed and stored by the sorting centers of the Smithsonian constitute baseline information on the current and historical condition of the marine environment.

The sorting centers have capabilities for providing expertise in sampling design and technology, in addition to the processing of samples for both systematic and environmental data. They receive bulk samples from government and private sources, separate them into appropriate taxa for identification by specialists, obtain and coordinate the station data to provide maximum environmental information with the specimens, experiment with preservation, labeling, accessioning, shipping and storage of specimens, train technicians for all aspects of specimen handling, and provide information and data forms which facilitate oceanographic

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investigations by insuring that consideration be given to the collection of environmental data. During the past 10 years, over 40 million specimens have been processed by the Smithsonian's two centers, which provide international leadership in this field.

The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) of the Smithsonian Institution maintains the world's largest collection of biological specimens and geological samples. These collections constitute an important resource for studies on current and historical environmental conditions and are actively being studied by scientists from the Museum and elsewhere. In most cases, collections such as these are the only biological and geological record of past environmental conditions for a large part of the marine environment.

In addition to serving as baseline information on the distribution and abundance of biological populations and geological strata, museum specimens are used to determine the historical condition of certain environmental parameters. For example, general environmental conditions such as temperature and salinity frequently affect the growth patterns of certain organisms. Selected marine specimens can therefore be examined to determine existing conditions at the time and place of collection. In addition, marine organisms often accumulate in their internal structures dissolved inorganic and organic chemicals from the surrounding waters. Under a grant from the IDOE, an exploratory program has been initiated by the NMNH for analyses of toxic heavy metals (Hg, Cd, As, Zr, Cu, and Pb) in museum-preserved specimens. The use of museum collections for baseline studies of trace elements in the marine environment increases their inherent value as indicators of past environmental conditions.

Other relevant information is obtained from museum collections in the determination of the trophic composition of "communities" of organisms. Biotic indices such as "species diversity" give useful information regarding short-term environmental stresses and longterm ecosystem stability. In this way, biological samples that are collected at a certain specified time and place serve as “timecapsules" of ecological information. This information attains maximum usefulness when accompanied by other environmental measurements taken concurrently with the biological samples.

The use of museum collections for marine environmental baseline purposes depends in large part on the rapid retrieval of information relative to taxonomic categories, time and place of collection, and associated chemical and physical environmental data. Through continuing and expanding use of automatic data processing (ADP), the routine chores associated with cataloging collections are becoming less of a burden, and ADP is being used to a greater degree as a research tool in the museum. At present, ADP techniques are being applied to crustaceans, echinoderms, and several groups of