EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR · 2 EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR June 1996 EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR The Earth System...

U.S. DEPARTMENTOF COMMERCE

National Oceanicand AtmosphericAdministration

Vol. 6, No. 4 ● June 1996

EARTH SYSTEM MONITORPreserving the Everglades

A guide toNOAA's data and

informationservices

INSIDE

Michael Crane1

S.E. Liaison OfficerNOAA Florida Bay DataAdministrator

Nancy O'Donnell2

National OceanographicData CenterNOAA/NESDIS

The Florida Ever-glades have been de-scribed as more than ageographical location,but as an idea “outsideof time, eternal,changing only as ourviews change.” Once asilent river of grassundisturbed but for avast variety of birds,insects, and other ani-mal life, today southFlorida supports alarge, ever increasinghuman populationdrawn to the “vastglimmering openness” described by naturalistwriter Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

Over time, the south Florida ecosystem ofwet prairies, marshes, coastal estuaries, and hard-wood hammocks was transformed into a vastinterconnected system of urban, suburban, recre-ational, and commercial developments. Slow–moving sloughs and marshlands that oncechanged according to the dictates of the sea-sonal rainfall gave way to more regularized watermanagement dictated by human use. Some areas

NOAA joins multi–agency program to study and restore the Everglades

1Southeast Liaison OfficeNational Oceanographic Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS4301 Rickenbacker CausewayMiami, FL 33149-1026E-mail: [email protected]

2User Services Group National Oceanographic Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS E/OC1SSMC3, 4th Floor1315 East–West HighwaySilver Spring, MD 20910E-mail: [email protected]

that had been wet, dried up. Toxic mercury accu-mulations in fish pulled from the Everglades,algal blooms and sea grass die-offs, fewer andfewer wading birds, and a rapidly diminishingnumber of Florida panthers—all pointed to anecosystem under siege.

The public has expressed its support forchange, and many voices have joined in supportof ecosystem conservation recognizing its impor-tance to South Florida’s future. However, thiscomplex system, on which so many demandshave been placed, does not lend itself to a quickfix.

The recent deliberate flooding of the GrandCanyon, which resulted in the revival of itsbeaches and wildlife, gave proof that thoughtfulhuman intervention can not only stop the clockof ecological destruction, but reverse it.

Glen Canyon Dam had long ago depletedthe canyon’s ecosystem by preventing the an-nual flooding cycle of the river. The floodingwas declared a success by Department of the In-terior Secretary Bruce Babbbit in an interview inthe Washington Post. Babbitt added that the

– continued on page 2

▲ The Everglades meet the sea in this aerial photograph provided by RickCook, National Park Service. This meeting of land and water have created anunique estuarine environment and the largest intact mangrove forest in theWestern Hemisphere.

3News briefs

6National Ocean

Service hydrographicdata

8Colonial era archive

data project

10Curators of marinegeological samples

gather at NGDC

12NOAA/NSORS/GOESInternet Information

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15Data productsand services

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2 June 1996EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

The Earth System Monitor (ISSN 1068-2678) is published quarterly by the NOAAEnvironmental Information Services office.Questions, comments, or suggestions forarticles should be directed to the Editor,Sheri A. Phillips. Requests for subscriptionsand changes of address should be directedto the Associate Editor, Nancy O’Donnell.

The mailing address for the EarthSystem Monitor is:

National Oceanographic Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS E/OC1SSMC3, 4th Floor1315 East-West HighwaySilver Spring, MD 20910-3282

EDITORSheri Phillips

Telephone: 301-713-3279 ext.127Fax: 301-713-3302

E-mail: [email protected]

ASSOCIATE EDITORNancy O’Donnell

Telephone: 301-713-3279 ext. 126Fax: 301-713-3302

E-mail: [email protected]

DISCLAIMERMention in the Earth System Monitor ofcommercial companies or commercialproducts does not constitute an endorse-ment or recommendation by the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administrationor the U.S. Department of Commerce.Use for publicity or advertising purposes ofinformation published in the Earth SystemMonitor concerning proprietary productsor the tests of such products is notauthorized.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCEMichael Kantor, Secretary

National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration

D. James Baker,Under Secretary and Administrator

working to protect the environmentand create a framework for an ecosys-tem management strategy. In order toaccomplish this task, the Task Forceestablished a management and coordi-nation team, known as the InteragencyWorking Group, composed of 11 agencymanagers with management and regula-tory responsibilities in south Florida.This group had a one year deadline tosubmit a restoration report.

Given a 1995 deadline, the TaskForce was asked to complete a compre-hensive conservation, permitting, andmitigation strategy for wetlands andother sensitive habitats, and a multi-species recovery plan for threatened andendangered species in South Florida thatfurther ecosystem restoration.

Four times a year an interagencyworking group holds public meetings tohear from the community and returnsrecommendations to the Task Forceconcerning management policies, plans,and priorities that ultimately affectFlorida residents. Topics range fromeradicating or controlling invasive exot-ics to comprehensive wetlands restora-tion.

The South Florida Ecosystem en-compasses a vast resource of theKissimmee watershed, Lake Okeechobee,the Big Cypress basin, the Everglades,Florida Bay, and the Florida Keys. Thisvast scenic area contains significantnational interest conservation areas—National Parks and Wildlife Refuges andthe Florida Keys National Marine Sanc-tuary.

Within this area, Federal agenciesare charged with administering andenforcing national environmental lawsthat protect the air, water, coastal landand waters, and endangered inhabit-ants.

Florida’s role in restorationParticularly impressive has been the

State of Florida’s more than 10–yearcommitment to its “Save Our Ever-glades” program, launched by then–Governor Bob Graham in 1983. Thegoal of the program—to make the Ever-glades look and function more like itdid in 1900 than in 1983 by the year2000—was reinforced by six objectives:• Reestablish the values of the Kissimmee River

flooding could serve as a model for workon other restoration projects, includingthe Florida Everglades.

South Florida and the Everglades—two seemingly separate worlds withseparate lexicons— today are inextrica-bly tied together. The question ofwhether it is possible for human andnatural worlds to become compatible ina way that sustains each can now beanswered with a hopeful “yes.”

Coordinating Federal agenciesOn September 23, 1993, six Federal

agencies began to take steps to preservethe Everglades into the 21st century.They joined forces to promote and fa-cilitate coordinated Federal actions torestore the Florida Ecosystem within theparameters of a five-year interagencyagreement. This first ever effort of inter–agency coordination in the region for-mally established the South Florida Eco-system Restoration Task Force. TheDepartments of the Interior, Commerce,Agriculture, and Justice, the Environ-mental Protection Agency, and the U.S.Army (Civil Works), now working asone, are coordinating the developmentof consistent policies, plans, and pro-grams for addressing the pressing needsof the South Florida Ecosystem. Datafrom the research projects, includinghistorical and operational data such assatellite imagery, are exchanged amongagency scientists.

From the initial group of Federalagencies, the Task Force has been ex-panded to include State of FloridaDeptartments of Environmental Protec-tion and Transportation, Fresh Waterand Game Commission, the SouthFlorida Water Management District andthe Miccosoukee and Seminole IndianTribes. Each agency participates fully inthis expanded policy making group.

The Task Force is seeking to balancethe important task of restoring a na-tional treasure while strengthening part-nerships with a number of differentconstituencies within the State and na-tive American tribal agencies. Many ofthese state and local groups had alreadybeen working for years on land andwater issues linked to Florida’s agricul-tural, ecological, and recreational inter-ests.

Now the Task Force was asked tobring together all the disparate groups

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3June 1996 EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

News briefsNSIDC scientist wins J. WarrenNystrom Award for 1996

The J. Warren Nystrom Award for1996 was presented to Dr. David L.McGinnis of the National Snow and IceData Center (NSIDC)/University of Colo-rado at the Association of American Geog-raphers (AAG) meeting in Charlotte, NorthCarolina. The award recognized Dr.McGinnis‘ paper, “Downscaling Tech-niques for Snowfall Prediction in GlobalChange Studies,“ as the best dissertationin geography in 1996. The award is giveneach year after a competitive processbased on the originality of ideas and po-tential contributions to the advancementof knowledge, clarity and effectiveness ofwritten style, and quality and effectivenessof oral presentation.

NODC hosts meeting on oceandata management cooperation

The National Oceanographic DataCenter recently hosted joint meetings ofthe Global Temperature-Salinity ProfileProgram (GTSPP) and the World OceanCirculation Experiment’s Upper OceanThermal Data Assembly Center at NOAA’sSilver Spring location. The meeting waschaired by Dr. Ron Wilson, who retiredlast month as Director of Canada’s MarineEnvironmental Data Service (MEDS). Par-ticipants included representatives of theWorld Meteorological Organization(WMO), the Intergovernmental Oceano-graphic Commission (IOC), the WorldOcean Circulation Experiment’s (WOCE)International Program Office , and re-search and data management organiza-tions in Australia, Canada, Russia, France,Germany, Japan and the U.S.

In January, the IOC’s Committee forInternational Oceanographic Data Ex-change agreed to change GTSPP from apilot project to a fully operational pro-gram. The main goal of this meeting ofGTSPP was to define tasks and proceduresfor turning the project into a continuingprogram. Several technical issues weredealt with during the meetings, such asdata format, quality control, and datadistribution issues. Participants also agreedthat GTSPP should publicize more broadlythe data that are available from GTSPP.

Support of global ocean research andmonitoring programs by GTSPP was dis-cussed. The World Ocean CirculationExperiment’s Upper Ocean Thermalproject has relied on joint work of datamanagement and research organizations

• assessment of post-1990 oceanographicdata sent to ICES from members;• progress in implementing IOC‘s GlobalOceanographic Data Archaeology andRescue (GODAR) project in each ICESmember country;• assessment of the minimum require-ments for quality assurance of oceano-graphic data;• need for extending the data archeologyproject to an expanded range of datatypes, in particular biological oceano-graphic parameters, and;• development of WWW pages and linkswithin the ICES member countries.

NOAA Library establishesnew exchange agreements

The NOAA Library has established anexchange agreement with the Interna-tional Commission for the Conservation ofAtlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and NOAA‘s Na-tional Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)Highly Migratory Species ManagementDivision. ICCAT will send four of theirpublications to the Library in exchange forNOAA technical memorandums and twoNMFS annual publications from the HighlyMigratory Species Division.

The Library is also working on a po-tential agreement with the Russian Insti-tute of Hydrometeorological Information(WDC-B.) The Institute plans to send 64Russian publications to the Library whilethe Library plans to send five CD-ROMtitles. For more information, contact:NOAA LibrarySSMC3, 2nd Floor1315 East-West HighwaySilver Spring, MD 20910-3282Phone: 301-713-2607 ext. 122E-mail: [email protected]

NGDC scientist studies climaticsediment record in Chile

The National Geophysical DataCenter‘s David Anderson will travel tosouthern Chile on the second leg of aNational Science Foundation–sponsoredfield program to explore the fjords of theregion in search of laminated sedimentrecords of climate. Anderson‘s group wasthe first to discover the existence of anoxicsilled basins along the coast during anexpedition last October. Anoxic basins inthe northern Hemisphere have been dem-onstrated to be recorders of climatechange over the past millennium, and thegoal of this project is to uncover similarrecords from the southern hemisphere.

to produce a global, scientifically qualitycontrolled data set through GTSPP.WOCE will use the data set, and others, atits Pacific Ocean Workshop to be held inNewport, California in August. The groupalso discussed future support for otherprojects such as the Global Ocean Obser-vation System (GOOS) and the ClimateVariability program (CLIVAR). Mr. ShinTani of Japan’s Hydrographic Department,speaking for the North East Asian RegionGOOS, plans to use existing GTSPP dataquality control software now in use at theU.S. NODC. More information aboutGTSPP is available from NODC’s Webpage at http://www.nodc. noaa.gov/GTSPP/gtspp-home.html

NCDC participates in WMO work-ing group on marine climatology

Joe Elms of the National Climatic DataCenter (NCDC) attended the seventhsession of the World MeteorologicalOrganization‘s (WMO) Working Group onMarine Meteorological Services, specifi-cally participating in the sub-group onmarine climatology, in Geneva. A delegatefrom each of the eight Responsible Mem-ber countries (one being the UnitedStates) and several additional delegatesfrom other participating maritime nationsattended the session.

The primary objective of the meetingwas to prepare recommendations on ma-rine climatology for consideration by theCommission for Marine Meteorology at itstwelfth session (tentatively scheduled forMarch of 1997). Major areas of concernwere contributions to the World ClimateProgramme (and other WMO programs),including data quality, exchange and ar-chives, the INFOCLIMA catalogue, techni-cal advice to the Secretariat, and pub-lished guides.

NODC participates ininternational ICES meeting

Robert Gelfeld represented the Na-tional Oceanographic Data Center(NODC)/World Data Center-A for Ocean-ography at the International Council forthe Exploration of the Sea (ICES) MarineData Management Working Group meet-ing held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Datamanagers and scientists from ICES mem-ber countries held discussions on:


owned downstream natural areas asFlorida Panther National Wildlife Ref-uge and Big Cypress National Preserve.At Loxahatchee National Wildlife Ref-uge, the Corps of Engineers now floodsmarshlands year round to encouragenesting of wading birds. In addition,the Central and South Florida Restudy,a program cosponsored by the SouthFlorida Water Management District andthe U.S. Army Corp of Engineers,stands as an important conceptual re-thinking of water management insouth Florida. While such land useplanning is generally a responsibility ofstate and local agencies, the Federalgovernment recognizes its influence onland use through its program and poli-cies, and is committed to interactingwith state and local governments toprotect regional ecosystems containingvaluable national park lands. Congres-sional establishment of Florida KeysNational Marine Sanctuary in 1990 is astrong example of Federal/state partner-ship in the service of the Florida ecosys-tem management.

Innovative joint effortsFor years, as previously stated, state

and local groups have worked withsuch land and water issues linked to

Florida’s agricultural, ecological andrecreational interests, and on occasion,individual Federal agencies have beenpartners with them on various projects.However, these projects have not beencarried out within the framework of anecosystem management strategy.

Indeed, each Federal, state, localand private group as well as every resi-dent of south Florida has a stake inecosystem restoration. Water storageand delivery, agricultural runoff, andwater quality contaminants issues areamong those with potentially mam-moth impact on this population ofmore than six million. On the onehand, the area’s commercial and indus-trial health depends on a healthy eco-system, while, on the other hand,increasing population and the demandsof further infrastructure developmentstrain the very elements of ecosystemhealth.

The region faces major environ-mental issues. Population is expected totriple in just 50 years, making advanceplanning critical to managing dramaticchange. Increasing population growthalso means increasing competition for afinite water supply, as well as increasingby-products of growth: contaminants,introduced species, and resource over-use associated with growing commer-cial development.

Long–term planningThe important question before the

South Florida Ecosystem RestorationTask Force is how to accommodate con-tinued growth in south Florida whilereducing symptoms of ecosystem de-cline. Although the need to grow inorder to maintain economic healthmay seem a necessity at first, agenciesare recognizing the need for potentialtrade-offs to maintain environmentalintegrity. Industrial growth that oncetransformed apparently “useless”swamps and flatlands into developedland is being reevaluated as beneficialwetlands functions become better un-derstood. In south Florida now, thepublic places increased importance onpreserving undeveloped lands and re-gaining lost wetland benefits by restor-ing such areas as Kissimmee River.

The Interagency Working Groupstudied the character of the SouthFlorida ecosystem as it existed prior to

• Protect Lake Okeechobee• Protect the Water Conservation Areas• Protect the Big Cypress Swamp• Restore Everglades National Park and Florida Bay, and• Protect endangered wildlife.

This cooperation among govern-ment agencies, Congress, and conserva-tion organizations produced a numberof welcome accomplishments. TheKissimmee River restoration has begunin full partnership with the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers.

Already there has been an improve-ment of overland water flow throughthe Everglades: protection of the Floridapanther and other wildlife speciesagainst highway mortality, and expan-sion of the Big Cypress National Pre-serve boundary by 146,000 acres as partof the reconstruction of Alligator Alley(State Road 84) to intersect Highway 75across the Everglades.

In addition to these efforts, theSouth Florida Water Management Dis-trict, in conjunction with other publicand private organizations, has estab-lished a trust to protect the CorkscrewRegional Ecosystem Watershed, a54,000 acre mixture of uplands andwetlands supporting such publicly–


▲ The Everglades are world renowned for the variety of wading bird populations, in-cluding Greater egrets. Their numbers and success in nesting are particularly good indi-cators of hydrological restoration success.


drainage and the system as it presentlyexists. Over the years of human inter-vention, 990 miles of levees, 978 milesof canals, and 30 pumping stations weredeveloped to compose the water man-agement system of south Florida.

The natural balance between landand water also has changed. Excessivedrainage for agricultural and other pur-poses has caused organic, porous soil tooxidize. Oxidation has meant dimin-ished soil thickness—significant insouth Florida because, at its deepest,only 12 to 14 feet originally existed. By1984, 5 feet or more at these locationshad been lost.

Soil loss has meant loss of eleva-tion—the degree of incline that, prior todrainage, shifted water south, supplyingit to the farthest reaches of the ecosys-tem, feeding down through sawgrass,soil, and limestone to supply thesystem’s two aquifers, the Biscayne andFlorida aquifers. Now, the movement ofwater is handled mechanically throughan extensive system of levees and ca-nals.

Soil loss has meant diminished wa-ter quality. The more soil oxidation thatoccurs, the less the remaining soil isable to retain minerals and other com-ponents. These wash downstream in thecompany of pesticides and assortedother run-off, with predictable adverseimpacts on native plants and animals.Increasingly, invasive non-native spe-cies such as Brazilian pepper, Australianpine, and Malaleucca have foundgrowth conditions more favorable forthem than for native species.

Ecosystem fragmentation has fur-ther contributed to current changes.Fire, once an ally in habitat diversity,has been curtailed to a predictableschedule of use, leading to overdrying ofwetlands and a diminished mosaic ofburned and unburned areas necessaryfor habitat diversity.

Perhaps the most astounding by-product of this report is simple recogni-tion of how much has changed—andhow much will have to be undone inorder to restore the ecosystem’s naturalcomponents so as to achieve sustain-ability. Not only has the entire inte-grated system of water flow beenrearranged, but soil composition, habi-tat, the identify and numbers of landand water species, and the relationship

between fresh and salt water have allchanged. In the face of such dramaticdifferences, how can restoration pro-ceed?

The Interagency Working Groupsplan begins with hydrologic restoration.Without it, nothing else can happeneffectively. But with it must come otherefforts—curbing the invasion of exoticnon-native species, elimination of ear-lier contaminants, and stopping soilerosion and oxidation. It also depends,in part, on the linkages developed be-tween computer–generated models ofcurrent hydrology and those of futurewater quality, ecology, and plant andanimal populations. These scientificmodels should enable researchers todetermine relationships between waterand plant and animal communities atthe ecosystem level.

Vision for the futureWhat will a restored ecosystem look

like? Much of that is difficult to deter-mine now during the earliest stages ofthe process. However, three characteris-tics that gave the south Florida ecosys-tem resiliency and sustainability weredynamic storage and sheet flow, largespatial extent, and habitat heterogene-ity. These characteristics certainly willserve as future indicators of restorationsuccess. Increased native plant and ani-mal diversity would suggest habitat het-erogeneity, an especially importantelement considering that estimated ben-

efits from simply removing the blackand white Australian melaleucca treefrom the landscape would amount toapproximately $168 million. Also, con-sidering that mercury contaminationindicates ecosystem disruption, its op-posite—mercury reduction in large–mouth bass, alligators, andpanthers—would suggest another im-portant health indicator.

The re-establishment of pre–drain-age wading bird nesting colonies, an-other indicator is already underway.Other positive indicatos are reducednumbers of deformed fish in estuaries,increased seagrass cover, no further wet-lands losses, increased abundance offish, and species recovery.

The Interagency Task Force,through its Interagency Working Group,is not yet in a position to propose acomprehensive, fully integrated restora-tion plan for the south Florida ecosys-tem until it has incorporated state,local, and tribal interests. It is able, how-ever, to outline and recommend restora-tion vision as well as managementobjectives to support this vision. It canrecommend steps the federal commu-nity can take to reinforce existing resto-ration efforts and to initiate new efforts.

Already changes are underway. In-deed, the manner in which Federalagencies do business in south Floridahas been revamped. The action under-way in the Federal sector represented on

▲ Visitors to Everglades National Park’s Shark Valley are able to observe life in the SharkRiver Slough from narrated tram buses.



LT Todd L. Berggren, NOAA CORPSMarine Geology and Geophysics DivisionNational Geophysical Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS

The “Survey of the Coast”, thenation’s oldest scientific agency, wasestablished by President ThomasJefferson in 1807 to conduct hydro-graphic (bathymetric) surveys off thecoasts of the United States in the inter-est of navigation safety. Until recentlythe agency was known as the U.S. Coastand Geodetic Survey, and is now part ofNOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS).The agency objective remains the same;to collect quality water depth data fromthe oceans, coast, waterways and har-bors. Each survey represents a uniqueand comprehensive record of the posi-tion of the coastline and the bottomconfiguration of adjacent waters. Thesedata have been collected primarily fornavigation as part of NOS’s mission toproduce nautical charts for the marinerand maritime commerce.

However, there are many second-ary uses for these data. The surveybathymetry (water depth data) give aclear and detailed picture of bottomtopography for: modeling of oceancurrents; geological studies; oil, gas,and mineral exploration; coastal plan-ning, and ecosystem evaluations. Thesedata even have recreational uses suchas guiding SCUBA divers to wrecks andbottom features.

Until the late 1960s, survey datawere stored on paper media in the ar-chives at the National Ocean Service.In the early 1970s, a massive project todigitize bathymetric soundings fromthese paper surveys was carried out. Inthis project, which was active for only afew years, over three thousand surveyscontaining some 26 million soundingswere converted from paper to digitalmedia. Many high-quality older (mostlypre-1930) surveys still exist only on

paper media, and recently digitizationof these older data was restarted andcontinues at present. Historical surveysare important because they give a de-tailed record of changes brought aboutby natural and cultural causes throughtime. Effects of events such as earth-quakes, storm surges, and dredging canbe seen by comparing survey bathym-etry of the same areas collected at dif-ferent times. Beginning in the 1960sand continuing today, hydrographicdata are collected digitally using high-tech computer equipment and satellitenavigation.

Meeting user needsHydrographic survey data existing

only on paper was and still is suppliedto customers by manually copying pa-per-to-paper as a custom product ondemand. This process is time consum-ing and expensive both for the cus-tomer and the archivist. Beginningabout 1980, digital hydrographic surveydata has been available to the public,but access has been cumbersome be-cause of the large volume of data.

Now, for the first time, the com-plete NOS hydrographic data set exist-ing in digital form is available toanyone who has a personal computer

National Ocean Service hydrographic dataNew CD-ROM provides access to 44 million digital bathymetric soundings from U.S. regions

▲ Figure 1. Data locations for NOS hydrographic surveys.

and a CD-ROM reader. The NOS hydro-graphic survey data provide the mostextensive digital bathymetric data avail-able for the coastal waters of the conti-nental United States, Alaska, Hawaiiand Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands (Figure1).

Digital data holdings include over44 million depth soundings from 4964surveys (totaling 1.7 gigabytes of data),and all of these data are packed ontotwo CD-ROM disks. The NOS digital setconsists of depths and navigation fea-tures digitized from hydrographic sur-veys completed between 1930 and1965, and hydrographic survey dataacquired digitally in the field since1965. These data were collected by theNational Ocean Service, its predecessor,the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and,prior to 1976 in the Great Lakes, theU.S Army Corps of Engineers.

The CD-ROM set was designed tomake coastal U.S. bathymetric datareadily available to the public at a rea-sonable price. To meet this need, acomprehensive inventory system wasdesigned and is included on the CD-ROM. To satisfy a wide range of userneeds, a variety of data search optionsare included. The user interface allows auser to search the entire database with

Marine Geology and Geophysics DivisionNational Geophysical Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS E/GC3325 BroadwayBoulder, CO 80303-3328E-mail: [email protected]


▲ Figure 2. Search window of the GEODAS search software.

mouse clicks and pull-down menus.The window-driven interface simplifiesdata searches and guides users with anon-line windows-style help system.

Ready availability to so many po-tential users of such a large data set,valuable for so many applications, ini-tiates a new era for utilization of theNOS coastal hydrography collectedfrom U.S. offshore waters. Instant ac-cess to the NOS data will promote in-creased productivity for a much largernumber of data users conducting moreuseful work on a increased number ofapplications. The data are affordable toa broad cross-section of users; and re-searchers, environmental decision-mak-ers, and others have unlimited accessand don’t have to wait for a customproduct to arrive. Already sales haveincreased 70% since announcement ofthe CD-ROM set.

Software and metadataCustom menu-driven software

called GEODAS (GEOphysical DAtaSystem), developed at the NationalGeophysical Data Center (NGDC) spe-cifically for managing geophysical andhydrographic data is included on theCD-ROM. This software can operateunder the Windows and UNIX operat-ing systems. With this software, a usercan search areas of interest and extractdata from the CD-ROM interactively.Searches can be performed according toseveral criteria: platform, year of sur-

vey, survey identifier, and date the sur-vey was added to the system. Zoomingcapabilities are supported, with eachzoom defining a narrower search area.Map outlines are graphically displayedand as the user zooms in, a better reso-lution coastline makes it easier to iden-tify areas. In order to capture data for ageographic area, a user outlines an areawith mouse clicks or drags the mouseto define a region (Figure 2).

In addition to the survey datawhich gives a position (latitude and

longitude) and depth, a header recorddetails how the survey was compiled.The header record includes the follow-ing: survey id, platform name, type ofsurvey, survey scale, specific location ofsurvey, position determination method,and horizontal and vertical datum. Theheader record is readily accessible andeasily viewed on the screen or saved toa text file for later analysis.

NGDC visualization software calledHydroplot is included as an add-onenhancement. Hydroplot was designedas a visual interpretation tool for theNOS hydrographic data. Assigning col-ors to depth ranges produces an imagewhich can then be plotted directly tothe screen as color coded dots repre-senting depth values.

Zooming capabilities are also sup-ported as well as the ability to click onindividual color dots displaying depthvalue and corresponding latitude/longi-tude position (Figure 3).

Data useDigital hydrographic survey data

from the U.S. offshore regions, whichconstitute a detailed record of bottomtopography of these regions, is of greatinterest to a large number of commer-cial and scientific users. For example,users of this database have acquireddigital NOS survey data for the follow-ing:

▲ Figure 3. Hydroplot program display.



Colonial era archive data project

Thomas C. Peterson1

National Climatic Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS

John F. Griffiths2

Department of MeteorologyTexas A&M University

For much of the underdevelopedworld there is a dearth of early histori-cal digital climate data. The well-knownplots of global temperature trends from1850 to the present could really bethought of as primarily representingthe U.S. and Europe prior to perhaps1930. To illustrate this, Figure 1 showsall Global Historical Climatology Net-work (GHCN) version 1 stations in Af-rica with digital temperature data priorto 1930. The GHCN version 1 was cre-ated by combining many well-knowndata sets and still yielded very littleearly climate data from less developedcountries.

If more historical climate data fromAfrica and other data sparse regionswere available in digital form, clima-tologists could produce more robustglobal temperature trends, put currentdroughts into better historical perspec-tive, and improve our understanding ofregional climate change in these areas.In addition, links between these changesand the climate in other parts of theword such as the strong relationshipbetween west African precipitation andAtlantic hurricanes, would be betterunderstood.

While there is a paucity of digitalclimate data prior to 1930 for Africaand many other regions, a considerableamount of manuscript data does exist.We have been locating early climatedata and metadata available in Euro-pean Colonial Archives and digitizing

Antique manuscript data yields wealth of information on historical climatic conditions

1National Climatic Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS151 Patton AvenueAsheville, NC 28801-5001E-mail: [email protected]

2Department of MeteorologyTexas A&M UniversityCollege Station, TX 77843E-mail: [email protected]

them to extend the existing digital cli-mate record back in time for much ofthe world. The vast majority of colonialdata and metadata in the PortugueseAnais Meteorológicos das Colónias, theFrench Annales du Bureau CentralMétéorologique de France, the BritishIndia Monthly Weather Review (whichcontains a far reaching “Extra India”section), and other European colonialpublications do not exist in digitalform. The data are clearly printed inyearly bound volumes, many of whichnow reside in the NCDC. Additionallywe have been scouring several differentlibraries for additional data.

European Colonial Archive dataand metadata constitute a valuable,largely unexploited resource. From thelate 1800s to the end of the ColonialEra, each European colonial power typi-cally produced annual publicationslisting climate (and often populationand economic) data for its colonies.Some of these publications, such as theAnais Meteorológicos das Colónias in-cluded data from many colonies whileothers were individual colony publica-tions. In addition, many of the publica-tions we are using are early publicationsfrom independent countries not colo-

nies. To provide an example of whatsome of these Colonial Era publicationsare like, Figure 2 is a page of data forJanuary 1894 for the east African sta-tion of Tabora taken from the DeutscheUeberseeische Meteorologische Beobacht-ungen in Deutsch-Ost-Afrika. Clearlythere was a meticulous observer inTabora at this time and these observa-tions have been carefully preserved forposterity. NCDC has 23 volumes of thisparticular publication, from 1883-1914,covering approximately 30 stations. Bycontrast, GHCN version 1 has less than80 temperature stations with data priorto 1930 for the entire continent of Af-rica, so these sources represent a wealthof data.

The title page on this volume ofGerman East Africa data indicates thatit was received by the U.S. WeatherBureau Library. The title page from adifferent Colonial Era publication, theMauritius Meteorological Results 1884was stamped received by the U.S. NavalObservatory, Washington, December29, 1896 and is now in NOAA’s care.We have located many Colonial Erapublications in the NOAA library andNCDC’s Foreign Data Library. Addi-tional titles and volumes to fill in gaps

▲ Figure 1. African stations in GHCN version 1 with temperature data prior to 1930.


in some NOAA library series have beenlocated in a few other archives such asthe National Meteorological Library ofthe British Meteorological Office andthe Konniklij Museum voor Midden-Afrika in Brussels. While more archivalsearch work remains, we now have alarge collection of bound Colonial Ar-chive volumes on hand at NCDC andpossess hundreds of pages photocopiedfrom non-U.S. libraries. See the Colo-nial Archive Project’s web page underNCDC’s home page (http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov) for a list of Colonial Era publi-cations currently available in NCDC’sForeign Data Library. While these pub-lications were consolidated from NOAAsources, the World MeteorologicalOrganization’s (WMO) Archival Surveyfor Climate History (ARCHISS) projectis uncovering additional valuable his-torical meteorological observationsstored in many different archivesaround the world.

Colonial Era publications contain avariety of metadata. Some are generalstatements such as the 1904 British EastAfrica Meteorological Records indicatingthat “in the past the instruments havebeen exposed under a great variety ofconditions ... it is hoped to provide allstations with an exposure cage ... fixedabove the ground on posts and shel-tered by a grass hut.” While some arespecific such as the Climatic Observa-tions at Colonial and Foreign Stations:Tropical Africa 1900-1902 (E.G. Raven-stein, Meteorological Office, London,1904) indicating that the WadelaiSudan “maximum thermometer #1868[was] reported out of order April, 1902”(which is important because observa-tions were continued nevertheless andgiven in tabular form) and that theEntebbe, Uganda “thermometers [were]kept formerly under the veranda andnot in a screen, but since July 15, 1902are within a lath-screen under a grassshed in open ground.” And some pro-vide insights into the observers. Forexample, apparently during this eraGerman thermometers were often keptunder the shelter of an eave on thenorth wall of a house because we un-covered one German East African sta-tion where this north wall tradition wascontinued despite being South of theEquator.

Our approach to this project isfairly straightforward. It starts with

Professor John Griffiths locating Colo-nial Era Archives and other early for-eign meteorological data publicationsin U.S. libraries and, through foreigncollaboration, overseas libraries as well.Where possible, we request these publi-cations to be transferred temporarily tothe NCDC Foreign Data Library.

Since there are far too many Colo-nial Era data available to digitize all ofthem, we determine the period ofrecord for each station in the ColonialEra Archive so that we digitize onlyselected, geographically well distrib-uted, long-term stations that are notalready available in GHCN. We are alsolimiting ourselves to three meteorologi-cal parameters: monthly total precipita-tion and mean monthly maximum andminimum temperature, though meantemperature is digitized if maximumand minimum temperature data are notavailable.

The data are then hand copiedfrom the bound volumes to a paperform by University of North Carolina–Asheville students working at NCDC.The data are not digitized directly be-cause of the way the data are organized:often only a few numbers from eachpage will be copied and each volumewill have data from many stations butonly for one year. Each station’s dataare digitized only after they are all col-lected in one place. As a check on the

data, the digitizing is done by meteorol-ogy students at Texas A&M Universitywho know approximately what toexpect based on the location of thestation. Most of the work from photo-copied material sent from foreign li-braries is done at Texas A&MUniversity.

Once the data and selectedmetadata are digitized, they are incor-porated into the Global Historical Cli-matology Network. In fact, the originalpurpose of the Colonial Era Archiveproject was to fill in gaps in GHCNdata. Incorporating the data intoGHCN subjects them to GHCN’s qual-ity control, homogeneity testing andadjustments, and makes these digitalhistorical data available to researchersworldwide. These data will provide op-portunities for observed climate changeanalyses that have never existed before.As the quantity of digital Colonial Eradata increases, we and other scientistswill use them in a variety of analysesincluding analysis of regional trendsand multi-decadal variability in tem-perature and precipitation designed togain insights into our planet’s climateand to demonstrate the robustness of(or identify problems with) these data.

GHCN is produced cooperativelyby NOAA’s National Climatic DataCenter, the Carbon Dioxide Informa-

▲ Figure 2. A sample of data from a Colonial Era Archive publication, the DeutscheUeberseeische Meteorologische Beobachtungen in Deutsch-Ost-Afrika.

– continued on page16


Curators of marine geologicalsamples gather at NGDC

Limnological Research Center of theUniversity of Minnesota, the interna-tional Ocean Drilling Program, OregonState University, the Scripps Institutionof Oceanography, the U.S. GeologicalSurvey, the Woods Hole OceanographicInstitution, and NGDC/WDC-A MGG.

A pivotal meetingResults of the meeting included

major changes to the Curators’ data-base to take advantage of new tech-nologies and to include additionalinformation about sample collections.Plans were made to modify the data-base to include lacustrine and terrestrialsamples, reflecting changes in the typesof material being archived.

An international subcommittee,chaired by Dr. Wolfgang Berger of theScripps Institution of Oceanographywas formed to review the current sedi-mentary classification scheme, and Mr.James Broda of the Woods HoleOceanographic Institution was taskedwith organizing a revised samplingdevice codes list. The original fixed-field multi-card format was replacedwith a flexible, delimited form morecompatible with spreadsheets and rela-tional database management systemscommonly used by researchers.

Other important issues addressedin a session chaired by Ms. Rusty Lottiof the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observa-tory included the projected impacts ofnewly proposed national and interna-tional research projects, and the rela-tionship of databases maintained atparticipating institutions to the maindatabase at NGDC. Ms. Chris Mato ofthe Ocean Drilling Program led a ses-sion in which curation techniques wereshared, as were concerns about declin-ing funds available to the repositoriesto curate both existing collections andmaterial resulting from new projects.

Also as a result of the meeting,NGDC is considering becoming a mir-ror site for the Sediment and Paleo-climate Network (SEPAN) global marinesediment database, operated by theAlfred Wegener Institute in Germany.

A global database of seafloor samplesThe composition of seafloor sedi-

ment and underlying basement crustprovide researchers key information onthe evolution of life, ocean-atmospheredynamics, and Earth’s tectonic pro-cesses. Funding agencies, including NSFand NOAA, have spent millions of dol-lars collecting sediment and rocksamples from oceans to better under-stand how the Earth works. Oncesamples are collected and analyzed,they are stored in repositories, where, ifproperly curated and made available,existing sample material can reduce theneed for expensive new expeditions.

As late as 1976, there was no cen-tral database or common scheme fordescribing cores, grabs, dredges, anddrill samples available from curatorialrepositories. Researchers had to contactindividual institutions to discoverwhere sample material existed.

In 1977, Dr. Floyd McCoy of theLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory ofColumbia University, chaired a series ofCurators’ meetings(1) to design a com-mon “exchange format” to address thisneed. NGDC was asked to implementand maintain the resulting database. In1991, the Curators, led by Dr. StevenCarey of the University of Rhode Islandand Dr. Martin Fisk of Oregon StateUniversity (currently on assignment toNSF) reworked the format to provide amore detailed classification scheme forrock dredges.

In 1994, the IntergovernmentalOceanographic Commission (IOC) en-dorsed(2) the Curators’ database andurged member nations to join the ef-fort. Partially in response to this en-dorsement, the Curators’ group nowincludes representatives from theUnited Kingdom, Germany, Canada,Russia, and most recently, Australia.Twenty-two organizations worldwide(Table 1) currently participate in theCurators’ group and database.

The “Index to Marine GeologicalSamples Database” contains informa-tion for nearly 91,000 seafloor samplesworldwide and is constantly growing.

Carla MooreMarine Geology & Geophysics DivisionNational Geophysical Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS

On May 6-8, 1996 in Boulder, CO,the National Geophysical Data Center(NGDC) and the collocated World DataCenter-A for Marine Geology and Geo-physics (WDC-A MGG) hosted a meet-ing of the Curators of MarineGeological Samples. This landmarkmeeting begins the twentieth year ofcontinuous collaboration between theCurators’ group and NGDC/WDC-AMGG on the global “Index to MarineGeological Samples” database. The Cu-rators’ group is a unique forum for or-ganizations responsible for curation ofseafloor samples (Figure 1), originallyconvened by the National ScienceFoundation (NSF).

The May 1996 meeting includedrepresentatives from the AlfredWegener Institute for Polar and MarineScience and the GEOMAR ResearchCenter for Marine Geosciences in Ger-many, the Centre National de la Re-cherche Scientifique in France, theLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the

Twenty years of cooperation results in worldwide access to global ocean floor samples

Marine Geology and Geophysics DivisionNational Geophysical Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS E/GC3325 BroadwayBoulder, CO 80303-3328E-mail: [email protected]

▲ Figure 1. Sample core from the col-lection of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Ob-servatory, courtesy of the Observatory.


It is searchable by any parameter orcombination of parameters. Data arecoded at the curatorial facility and in-clude ship, cruise, sample identifier,latitude, longitude, water depth, date ofsample collection, sampling device,storage method, core diameter andlength, interval within core, geologicage, sediment or rock lithologic compo-sition, sediment texture, principal in-vestigator, physiographic province,rock mineralogy, and comments.

A few U.S. institutions continue toreceive funding from NSF to preparedata on their holdings, but fundingfrom all sources has decreased over thepast decade for both sample curationand data preparation.

Cross-platform and WWW accessTo encourage cooperation between

repositories, the Curators’ group oper-ates a list server at NGDC for discus-sions related to sample curation. AWorld Wide Web (WWW) page pro-

vides global access to thedatabase (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/cura-tor) at NGDC. Data areavailable for online selec-tion, viewing, subsettingand download through aforms-based graphic in-terface (Figure 2). In thepast year, over 6250 indi-vidual users from 58countries connected oneor more times to theCurators’ WWW page.Over 80 online searchesper month were made onthe database.

Any field or combina-tion of fields can besearched. Data browseand download optionsinclude a variety of formsfrom delimited, codedfiles to plain Englishdescriptions. Lists of val-ues from which users canchoose are offered foreach parameter in thedatabase. For maximumflexibility, there is a“power user” optionwhere search strings canbe hand-edited for cus-tom searching. Sites se-lected can be plotted on

the screen, providing a powerful visual-ization tool, or saved as a graphics file.Online help is available.

The same search libraries that pro-vide online access to the database areused to provide CD-ROM and local ac-cess for bothPC-compatible andMacintosh plat-forms. The SEADAS(SEAfloor Data Ac-cess System) WWWand Macintosh in-terfaces were devel-oped at NGDC incooperation withDataware Technolo-gies, Inc., based ontheir RecordReferenceBook(tm)

libraries(3). Databaseand view files arecreated on a PCusing Dataware

authoring tools, and are also used bythe Mac and UNIX SEADAS interface.The access software offers similar fea-tures across platforms, including pull-down menus and multiple browse andoutput views.

Access is constantly under develop-ment. NGDC is working on a new en-hanced Java interface for WWW accessand an Oracle version of the database.The Oracle version will provide moresearching flexibility and online cross-correlation of Curators’ data with otheranalytical data available from NGDC.A CD-ROM of the Curators’ databasewith cross-platform access software isexpected in late 1996.

For more information about theCurators’ database, please contact:

Carla Moore National Geophysical Data Center

NOAA/NESDIS E/GC3325 BroadwayBoulder, CO 80303Phone: 303-497-6339Fax: 303-497-6513E-mail: [email protected].

Notes(1) McCoy, Floyd W., 1977, At Scripps, MarineCurators Gather, Geotimes, December 1977, p.26-28.(2) The International Oceanographic Commis-sion (IOC) Committee on InternationalOceanographic Data & Information Exchange(IODE), Resolution IODE-XIV.2(3) Record ReferenceBook(tm) is copyrighted byDataware Technologies, Inc. ■

Table 1. Participating institutions, May 1996.(* = new member with no data in database)

• Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research• Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility,

Florida State University• Australian Geological Survey Organization*• Bedford Institute of Oceanography• Centre Des Faibles Radioactivites,

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique*• GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences,

Christian Albrechts University• Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University• Limnological Research Center, University of Minnesota*• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration• Ocean Drilling Program/Deep Sea Drilling Project• College of Oceanic & Atmospheric Science, Oregon State University• Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami• Scripps Institution of Oceanography,

University of California• School of Ocean and Earth Science & Technology,

University of Hawaii• Southhampton Oceanography Centre• United States Geological Survey• Graduate School of Oceanography,

University of Rhode Island• University of Southern California• University of Texas Institute of Geophysics• University of Wisconsin• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution• WDC-B Marine Geology & Geophysics, Russia*

▲ Figure 2. Geographic WWW search screen for the “Index toMarine Geological Samples,” May 1996.


NOAA/NSORS/GOESInternet information system

WWW site provides user access to GOES-8 and GOES-9 imagery and information

David TrushSatellite Services DivisionOffice of Satellite Data Processingand DistributionNOAA/NESDIS

The Interactive Processing Branch(IPB) of NOAA’s National Environmen-tal Satellite, Data, and Information Ser-vice (NESDIS) currently maintains aWorld Wide Web (WWW) site on theInternet to make available images andinformation regarding the GOES-8 andGOES-9 satellites. This Internet Infor-mation Server (IIS) was created for theNOAA CoastWatch program and thecurrent NOAA Satellite Ocean RemoteSensing (NSORS) Mission. The NSORS/GOES IIS serves as a central location fordisseminating geostationary satelliteimages and information. It uses aneasy-to-read graphic and text combina-tion format that has been tested to per-form on multiple Internet WWWbrowsing platforms (Figure 1).

The NSORS/GOES IIS system pro-vides quick and direct access to imageryfrom the coastal areas of the mainlandcontiguous United States as well as theGulf of Alaska and Hawaii on a timelybasis. Automated networking and im-age enhancement code was created torun in conjunction with the McIDAS(Man computer Interactive Data AccessSystem) workstation software programmade available by the Space Scienceand Engineering Center (SSEC) of theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison.

“McIDAS...is a sophisticated, video-interactive set of tools for acquiring,managing, analyzing, displaying andintegrating environmental data.” Moredetails regarding the current work andfuture plans for McIDAS can be re-trieved from SSEC’s home page site:http://www.ssec.wisc.edu. Currently, cus-tomers are able to view remapped

▲ Figure 1. The NSORS/GOES Internet Information Server (NSORS/GOES IIS) asviewed via Netscape and two grayscale renditions of color-enhanced GOES satellite im-agery. This World Wide Web (WWW) site was designed to perform on multiple browsingplatforms, and provides quick, direct access to recent imagery from the coastal U.S.,including Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands.

Satellite Services DivisionNOAA/NESDIS/OSDPDNOAA Science Center5200 Auth Road, Room 510Camp Springs, MD 20746E-mail: [email protected]


GOES-8 and GOES-9 imagery (Figure 1),view new releases (Figure 2) such asimage loops of special events as well asa colorized GOES-9 image, check forupdates on image production statusand the state of each satellite, transferdata directly back to their own sites,and find out how the data was createdand made available on the WWW.

For further information about theNSORS/GOES IIS system, please contactthe NSORS IPB Central OperationsTeam at 301-763-8142 or send e-mailto: [email protected]. An interac-tive e-mail module is also availablefrom the parent NSORS home page:http://psbsgi1.nesdis.noaa.gov:8080/nsors.html which will automatically sendcompleted messages to the NSORS IPBCentral Operations Team. ■

and sea surface temperature. Somebuoys also report wave data, includingdirectional wave spectra. The NODCnow makes the more recent buoy andC-MAN data available through theNODC Home Page on the World WideWeb (at URL http://www.nodc.noaa .gov/BUOY/buoy.html). Therefore, it is nolonger necessary to issue these data onCD-ROM so frequently to make themaccessible to users.

To order either of these new NODCdata products, contact:

National Oceanographic Data CenterUser Services GroupNOAA/NESDIS E/OC1SSMC3, 4th Floor1315 East-West HighwaySilver Spring, MD 20910-3283Telephone: 301-713-3277Fax: 301-713-3302E-mail: [email protected]

CD-ROM NODC-68

NODCTaxonomic Code

Version 8.0

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCENational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information ServiceNational Oceanographic Data Center

Silver Spring, MD 20910

Compiled byJerry D. Hardy, Jr.

NationalOceanographicData Center

COMPACT

DATA STORAGE

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NICAND ATMOSPHERIC

ADMIN

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The National Oceanographic DataCenter (NODC) is pleased to announcethe release of Version 8.0 of the NODCTaxonomic Code. The NODC Taxo-nomic Code is the largest, most flex-ible, and widely used of the variouscoding schemes developed to adapt theLinnean system of biological nomencla-ture to modern methods of data storageand retrieval. Version 8.0 contains ap-proximately 244,000 records, about38,000 more than version 7.0, whichwas released in 1993. This version ofthe NODC Taxonomic Code is designedto serve as a transition to a new systemand includes both the older numericalcodes (up to 12 digits) as well as newcodes that are referred to as TaxonomicSerial Numbers (TSNs).

In the older system taxonomicinformation was built into the codesthrough the use of 2-digit couplets to

Meteorological,wave spectra, and

oceanographic datafrom moored buoysand Coastal-MarineAutomated Networkstations operated bythe NOAA NationalData Buoy Center

COMPACT

DATA STORAGE

CD-ROM NODC-67

NOAA MarineEnvironmentalBuoy Database

Update Disc1995

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

(Jan. - Dec. 1995)All areas

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCENational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information ServiceNational Oceanographic Data Center

Silver Spring, MD 20910

NA

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represent one or more levels of thetaxonomic hierarchy. Over the yearsthe problems and shortcomings createdby this approach have become moreapparent. Therefore, no new codes be-ing added to this older system and Ver-sion 8.0 presents the final state of theold code numbers. As new taxa areadded from now on, they will be as-signed only a TSN under the new sys-tem. The Taxonomic Serial Numbersremain with each taxon even if thattaxon goes in or out of synonymy or isentirely reclassified. This new systemallows the inclusion of multiple levelsof taxonomy and greatly improves theoverall management of the NODCTaxonomic Code.

The NODC has also released theeighth in a series of update discs thatfollow the original 14-disc set of CD-ROMs holding the NOAA Marine Envi-ronmental Buoy Database through July1992. The new update disc contains allthe data from the network of mooredbuoys and Coastal-Marine AutomatedNetwork (C-MAN) stations operated bythe NOAA National Data Buoy Centerfor 1995. The data files on this disc arecompressed to enable all the data for1995 to fit on one CD-ROM. Each filewas compressed separately and decom-pression software is included.

Parameters reported by bothmoored buoys and C-MAN stationsinclude air temperature and pressure,wind speed and direction, wind gust,

NODC announces new CD-ROMs

▲ Figure 2. Greyscale rendition of color-enhanced satellite imagery of cloud coverapproaching western coast of U.S.


new way of doing things. Agencies, thatoperated more or less on their ownprior to the Interagency Work Groupconfiguration, have become aware ofwhat their colleagues are doing, andnow are working to avoid overlappingtasks. Increased communication is tak-ing place across agency lines, making itpossible for restoration to proceed with-in an environment of mutual support.

Investing now in the south Floridaecosystem—determining necessarychanges to current practices and thebest ways to carry them out— helps toensure that this region of sawgrass andsloughs, wading birds, and open skywill retain its regional character whileproviding more equally for the plants,animals, and human living within itsboundaries.

Priorities of Interagency Task ForcePriorities established by the Task

Force include:1) Provide consolidated federal objec-tives on ecosystem restoration to theCorp of Engineers reconnaissancestudy for the redesign of the Centraland South Florida Project and continueto provide timely support.2) Establish research priorities andimplement a process for coordinatingresearch on the south of Florida ecosys-tem, including Florida Bay, which in-cludes development of a base linescientific condition assessment andindicator monitoring program, andappropriate biological and hydrologicalmodeling to evaluate ecosystem restora-tion objectives and programs (Table 1).3) Establish partnerships with the stateand local agencies to support land ac-

quisitions initia-tives in the southFlorida ecosystem.4) Support devel-opment of aneffort to integrateactions essentialfor the recoveryof threatened andendangered spe-cies, and under-take a multi–species recoveryplan with theSouth FloridaEcosystem Resto-ration Program.5) Support expe-dited implemen-tation of Corpsprojects in theEverglades ecosys-tem includingShark Slough,Taylor Slough,and KissimmeeRiver.6) Support devel-opment of a com-prehensivewetlands permitmitigation strat-egy for southFlorida that fur-thers ecosystemrestoration.7) Develop an

Everglades, from page 5Table 1. Researchers in the FloridaRestoration Project.

Current research activities listed beloware part of a multi–agency program torestore the Everglades.

• Zooplankton StudyDr. Peter Ornter, NOAA/AOMLDr. Michael Dagg, LUMCON

• Water Quality StudyDr. Geoffrey Scott, NOAA/NMFS

• Mercury Assessment andModeling ProjectDr. David Evans, NOAA/NMFSDr. David Engel, NOAA/NMFS

• Currents Survey ofFlorida Bay ChannelsDr. Elizabeth Johns, NOAA/AOMLDr. Douglas Wilson, NOAA/AOML

• Habitat Assessment ProjectDr. Donald Hoss, NOAA/NMFSDr. Gordon Thayer, NOAA/NMFSDr. Michael Robblee, NOAA/NBS

• Phytoplankton Measurement,Habitat Assessment ProjectDr. Patricia Tester, NOAA/NMFS

• Rainfall Modeling ProjectDr. Mark Powell, NOAA/AOML

• Rainfall Validation ProjectDr. Paul Willis, CIMAS

• Coral Reef Assessment ProjectDr. Larry Brand, Univ. of Miami, RSMASDr. Alina Szmant, Univ. of Miami, RSMAS

• Circulation Modeling ProjectDr. Frank Aikman, NOAA/NOSDr. George Mellor, NOAA/GFDL

• History Climatology Projectwith Sediment CoresDr. Terry Nelson, NOAA/AOML

• Ocean Modeling ProjectDr. Chris Mooers, Univ. of Miami, RSMAS

• Water NutrientsDr. Wayne Gardner, NOAA/GLERL

AMOL– Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological LaboratoryCIMAS - Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric StudiesGFDL - Geophysical Fluid Dynamics LaboratoryGLERL - Great Lakes Environmental Research LaboratoryLUMCON - Louisiana Universities Marine ConsortiumNOS – National Ocean ServiceNBS - National Bureau of StandardsNMFS - National Marine Fisheries ServiceRSMAS – Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences

– continued on page 16▲ Park ranger naturalists escort visitors on one of the manynature trails in Everglades National Park.


Data productsand services

Complete magnetic datacollection released on CD-ROM

The National Geophysical Data Cen-ter (NGDC) has released the completeProject MAGNET data collection on CD-ROM. Project MAGNET, a U.S. Navy pro-gram conducted from 1951 to 1994,collected vector aeromagnetic survey datato support the U.S. Defense MappingAgency‘s world magnetic modeling andcharting program. The compact disc con-tains approximately 640 megabytes (4.1million statute miles) of tracking data inbinary form and over 9000 metadata files.Geo-Vu browse and selection softwareaccompanies the CD, permitting access onSUN UNIX, PC, and Macintosh platforms.Contact: NGDC

Joint NCDC and NWS/NDBCCD-ROM set released

The National Climatic Data Center(NCDC) is now distributing a 2-disc CD-ROM set entitled “C-Man and Buoy Re-ports and Summarized Elements“(dubbed “Sea breeze.“) This joint NCDC–National Weather Service/National DataBuoy Center (NWS/NDBC) product con-tains data and summaries for 197 marinestations. The data include all availablehourly buoy and Coastal Marine Auto-mated Networks (C-MAN) station ele-ments (except for spectral wave data)through 1993. The summaries includetables of frequency of occurrence of ele-ments, bivariate distributions of windspeed and direction and wave period andheight (by month and season,) and year-month time series means and extremes.Contact: NCDC

NGDC announces first release ofdata from GLOBE Project

The National Geophysical Data Cen-ter (NGDC) is pleased to announce thefirst release of data from the Global LandOne-Kilometer Base Elevation (GLOBE)Project. This project is an internationaleffort to develop a global digital elevationmodel (DEM) on a nominal 1-kilometergrid. The goal is to represent Earth‘s en-tire land surface. Project scientists willcompile available DEMs at a gridding of1-km or smaller; the remaining areas willbe covered by the best available data.

GLOBE Version 0.1 covers approxi-mately 60% of Earth’s land surface, usinga 30 arc-second latitude-longitude grid(somewhat finer than one kilometer spac-ing on the ground.) These data were de-

CONTACT POINTS

National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)704-271-4800

Fax: 704-271-4876E-mail: Climate Services - [email protected] Satellite Services -

[email protected]: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/

National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC)303-497-6958

Fax: 303-497-6513E-mail: [email protected]

WWW: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/

National Oceanographic Data Center(NODC)

301-713-3277Fax: 301-713-3302

E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.nodc.noaa.gov

NOAA Environmental Services Data Directory

301-713-0572(Gerry Barton)

Fax: 301-713-1249E-mail: [email protected]

WWW: http://www.esdim.noaa.gov/#data-products

NOAA Central LibraryReference Services:

301-713-2600Fax: 301-713-4599

E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.lib.noaa.gov/

veloped cooperatively between the U.S.Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) andNGDC for the GLOBE Project.

The data are available on a set of twoCD-ROMs, and consist of 11,478 indi-vidual file blocks, each covering one de-gree by one degree of latitude and longi-tude. Each 30-arc-second GLOBE grid cellis based on 100 original 3-arc-secondDTED grid cells. The highest, lowest, andaverage values from these 100 originalDTED values are stored in three separatedirectories of data on the compact discs.GLOBE goes beyond traditional DEMs byproviding three parameters describingterrain for each currently available 30-arc-second squared area on the land surface.

The release of Version 0.1 is appropri-ate for people who want early access toGLOBE data. Users who want to workwith areas larger than one-degree by one-degree file blocks may mosaic theseblocks with various computer programs.

A global mosaic of these data should beavailable from NGDC later in 1996. By1997, the GLOBE Project hopes to haveits first completed hybrid global 1-km grid.Contact: NGDC

NOHRSC completes production ofsnow water equivalent CD-ROM

The National Operational HydrologicRemote Sensing Center (NOHRSC) hasrecently completed production of the1995 airborne snow water equivalent andsatellite snow cover data CD-ROM. Thedata coverage includes major portions ofthe United States, including Alaska, andCanada. CD-ROMs are also available forthe 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994snow mapping seasons.

Each CD-ROM includes: 1) airbornesnow water equivalent data and the digi-tized flight line network; 2) calibratedAVHRR and GOES satellite data; 3) classi-fied snow cover images based on AVHRR,GOES, and SSM/I satellite data; 4) na-tional and regional areal extent of snowcover and snow water equivalent prod-ucts; and 5) national surface air tempera-ture products. For more information,including prices, please contact NOHRSCat 612-361-6610 ext. 232 or [email protected]. NOHRSC prod-ucts for the 1996 snow season are avail-able through a World Wide Web site at:http://www.nohrsc.nws.gov.Contact: NOHRSC

NGDC’s surface of the Earthicosahedron globe

The National Geophysical Data Cen-ter (NGDC) is offering Surface of theEarth Icosahedron Globe, a cut-out andfold-up model in full color which demon-strates the utilization of flat, regular poly-gons to create a solid object (the icosa-hedron, composed of 20 triangles, is thebest “flat” sphere available.

Each face of the Icosahedron displaysa part of the (nearly-spherical) Earth’ssurface as a flat map in the GnomonicProjection, tangent at the centroid of thetriangle. The relief of the continental sur-face and the sea floor is depicted byshaded colors representing slope andelevation. Overall size of an assembledglobe is approximately 4.5 inches. Thefigure is available for viewing in a minia-ture form on the World Wide Web at URL:http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/an-nouncements/announce_icosahedron.html.Contact: NGDC


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integrated, long-term proposal and bud-get for ecosystem restoration, mainte-nance, and protection detailing currentactivities, achievements, and projectedaccomplishments.8) Implement a continuing process thatidentifies and integrates immediatemanagement goals, priority projects,and funding needs for south Floridaecosystem.9) Fully integrate the state and SouthFlorida Water Management District intothe task force and build partnershipswith appropriate local and tribal gov-ernments.

To date the Task Force has beensuccessful in accomplishing several ofthese initial goals. Priority 9 in list hasbeen accomplished by amending thecharter to add these new members. Eachof the other goals have been assigned tosubgroups for implementation. Progressis being made on all priority tasks. ■

Hydrographic surveys, from page 7• migration and habitat studies of fishand marine mammals;• delineation of bottom features forcommercial fishermen;• earthquake and fault studies;• sediment and pollutant studies;• studies of storm surge and tsunamieffects;• oil, gas and mineral exploration;• coastal planning and ecosystemevaluations;• color imaging and animation (fly-bys).

The NOS data are well suited forGeographic Information System (GIS)and mapping applications. Data caneasily be downloaded from the CD-ROMand imported as a layer in a GIS. Dataare represented in geographic coordi-nates so points can be plotted indepen-dent of scale and projection.

Because the data are historical andmay not reflect current conditions, thedatabase cannot be used for naviga-tional purposes. Consult the NOS Nauti-cal Chart series for navigational needs.For on-line WWW access to informationon bathymetry data and other data atthe National Geophysical Data Centeruse URL: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/mggd.html.

For more information or purchasesof the NOS hydrographic CD-ROM set,contact:Orders

National Geophysical Data Center325 Broadway E/GC4Boulder, CO 80303-3328 U.S.A.Telephone: (303) 497-6338Fax: (303) 497-6513Internet: [email protected]

Technical details:Todd Berggren (303) 497-6376 orDan Metzger (303) 497-6542325 Broadway E/GC3Boulder, CO 80303-3328 U.S.AInternet: [email protected] [email protected] ■

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900R21956), and Arizona State Univer-sity. It is a WMO Global Baseline dataset and is currently funded, as is theColonial Archive Project, by NOAA’sClimate and Global Change and Envi-ronmental Science Data and Informa-tion Management programs.

A beta release of GHCN version 2’smaximum, minimum, and mean tem-perature data bases will soon be avail-able online at NCDC (http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ghcn/ghcn.html). This releasewill incorporate data from about 100Colonial Era Archive stations, mostly inAfrica. More stations are continuing tobe digitized from Africa, Central andSouth America, Asia, and various is-lands and will be incorporated intofuture versions of the Global HistoricalClimatology Network. ■

Archive data project, from page 10

EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR · 2 EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR June 1996 EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR The Earth System...

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