Showing papers by "National Ocean Service published in 1988"

Swath Mapping Data Management Within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Abstract: In 1983, the United States proclaimed the establishment of a maritime Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extending beyond the territorial sea to a distance of 200 nautical miles from its coastline. The proclamation reserved for the U.S. the sovereign right to explore for, exploit, conserve, and manage all natural resources within this new 3.4 million square nautical mile territory, an area roughly 1.2 times the total U.S. land mass. In order to help determine the characteristics and resources of the U.S. EEZ, a detailed program was developed to systematically map the entire area using multi-beam swath sounding systems. The program is under the direction of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), United States Department of Commerce. Field operations commenced in early 1984 as two NOAA ships, equipped with advanced bathymetric swath mapping and precision navigation capabilities, began surveying off the coast of central California. Two additional ships have been added since and, to date, 36,000 square nautical miles of bathymetric mapping have been completed, a product of 95,000 lineal nautical miles of swath sounding. With such an enormous amount of data produced by swath mapping systems, the necessity for a comprehensive data management program was recognized early in the project. This paper describes the two-level data management system that has evolved, the lower level utilized aboard NOAA ships that acquire and initially process swath data, and the upper level employed by the Ocean Mapping Section, which is responsible for receiving, verifying, final processing and archiving all bathymetric swath data.

Volunteer ovbserving ships and th U.S. Government - a winning partnership

Abstract: The U.S. Government continues to enjoy excellent partnerships within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NoAA) I private industry, universities, the U.S. Navy, and other Government agencies in the collection of marine meteorological and oceanographic data from the world's oceans. A partnership exists where the maritime industries provide the platforms and personnel and NOAA and Navy provide training, equipment, and logistics support. Data gathered by this partnership and received at the National Prediction and Archive Centers aid the entire maritime industry by improving forecasts and services thus allowing ships to make safer voyages while saving time and money. This partnership is not limited to U.S. ships but extends to ships of other countries. This international cooperation makes possible the collection of ocean data on a global scale, allowing the world to better understand global environmental changes and their interactions with the oceans.