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 Ocean Engineering 
 Programs in the National 
 Oceanic and Atmospheric 
 Administration 
 
 March 31, 1980 
 
 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 
 
 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
 

 r/ WfNT Of 
 
 Ocean Engineering 
 Programs in the National 
 
 Oceanic and Atmospheric 
 Administration 
 
 March 31, 1980 
 
 2» 
 3 
 
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 a 
 
 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 
 
 Philip M. Klutznick, Secretary 
 
 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
 
 Richard A. Frank, Administrator 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/oceanengineerinOOunit 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
 
 This report has been prepared in response to a letter of 
 May 30, 1978, from the late Congressman John M. Slack, former 
 Chairman of the Subcommittee on State, Justice, Commerce, the 
 Judiciary and Related Agencies of the House Appropriations 
 Committee, which requested the Department of Commerce (DOC) to 
 respond to the following question: 
 
 What are the NOAA plans for improving the 
 engineering support for the NOAA science 
 missions? 
 
 NOAA currently spends over $20 million per year and 
 devotes about 154 full time personnel to ocean engineering 
 activities. Although these activities take place in five 
 NOAA units, the major responsibility for ocean engineering is 
 delegated to two Major Program Elements, the Office of Ocean 
 Engineering and the Office of Marine Technology. Ocean 
 engineering activities in NOAA range from investigations of 
 airborne and surface remote sensing techniques to detect fish 
 stocks, to installation of oceanographic, charting and research 
 instrumentation, and maintenance of software for survey and 
 map processing techniques. Most of the current ocean engi- 
 neering work conducted in NOAA is in the form of engineering 
 
- 2 - 
 
 development and basic engineering support to NOAA 9 s science 
 mission. Little work is done on research and development 
 for advancing general ocean technologies. 
 
 There are indications that available resources could 
 be used in a more effective manner. NOAA's current organi- 
 zation is the product of a series of reorganizations that 
 have not been accompanied by a full redefinition of internal 
 roles and responsibilities. As a result, there has not 
 been a clear division of roles between the Office of Ocean 
 Engineering and the Office of Marine Technology. Ocean 
 engineering activities have also lacked integrated budgeting 
 and long-term planning. 
 
 Upon publication of the Stratton Commission Report in 1969, 
 many in the ocean community believed a new Federal government 
 fundamental technology program was needed to advance ocean 
 engineering. However, in the ten years since, no consensus 
 has developed within the Federal government as to appropriate 
 roles of government and private industry in the advancement of 
 civilian marine engineering and technolgy. This lack of 
 consensus about an appropriate federal role has resulted in a 
 lack of support both in the Executive Branch and Congress for 
 a national fundamental technology program such as that 
 recommended by the Stratton Commission. 
 
- 3 - 
 
 In order to define a clear and realistic mission for its 
 ocean engineering activities, NOAA made the policy decision 
 to adopt an ocean engineering role that will stress support 
 of NOAA missions. Although NOAA will continue to examine the 
 need for the creation of a broad national civilian ocean 
 engineering program, its current ocean engineering efforts 
 must remain focussed on its statutory responsibilities. 
 It will continue basic support activities directly connected 
 with its own missions, and will evaluate appropriate authorities 
 and resource requirements to conduct engineering development 
 activities that relate to other national objectives only in 
 a limited number of carefully selected areas. 
 
 NOAA is proposing organizational changes designed to 
 implement this policy decision because the existing organiza- 
 tional framework is not designed to address systematically all 
 of NOAA's ocean engineering needs. The proposal includes the 
 establishment of a new Major Program Element (MPE) in the 
 Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Services to provide ocean 
 engineering and development services to all NOAA Main Line 
 Components. The new MPE, when approved, will assume through 
 transfer the functions of the Office of Ocean Engineering 
 and the Office of Marine Technology. In addition, an Ocean 
 Engineering and Technology Council to provide oversight for 
 all NOAA ocean engineering activities will be established. 
 Integrated planning and budgeting for all ocean engineering 
 activities will be provided. The reorganized ocean 
 engineering program will further assess the adequacy of 
 
- 4 - 
 
 engineering support in NOAA and will develop long-range 
 plans. In this manner, NOAA will continue to analyze the 
 reliability and quality of its ocean engineering activities 
 
 This report outlines the new direction in NOAA's ocean 
 engineering activities. It is based on the work of a NOAA 
 task force headed by Deputy Administrator James P. Walsh 
 which reviewed NOAA's current ocean engineering activities, 
 and incorporates material from a Department of Commerce 
 internal working document, "An Evaluation of NOAA's 
 Engineering Support Capability". The report summarizes and 
 evaluates current ocean engineering activities, discusses 
 the recent policy decision to focus on support to NOAA's 
 missions, and describes NOAA's planned organizational 
 response to the new ocean engineering policy. 
 
- 5 - 
 
 II. CURRENT OCEAN ENGINEERING ACTIVITIES IN NOAA 
 
 "Ocean engineering" has not yet been defined with 
 the same degree of precision or acceptability as other engi- 
 neering disciplines. Opinions vary as to whether ocean 
 engineering should be defined as a "discipline" at all, or 
 if it is simply the application of all other recognized 
 engineering disciplines to ocean activities. 
 
 In a broad sense, most of NOAA's marine activities 
 involve ocean engineering. For example, surveying and mapping 
 is a field of civil engineering aimed at enhancing the utili- 
 zation of the ocean. In 1972, the National Academy of Engi- 
 neering stated: "Central to our nation's advancement in marine 
 affairs is a systematic review of our marine resources and the 
 means available to extract, preserve, manage, expand, and 
 enhance them for the maximum long term benefit to all our citi- 
 zens - a process that is the basis of engineering in its broadest 
 professional sense: the utilization of resources and the develop- 
 ment of equipment and systems for the advancement of the quality 
 of life." 
 
- 6 - 
 
 As the term "ocean engineering" has been used in public 
 debates over the last decade regarding the appropriate role of 
 the Federal government, however, it refers to a narrower spec- 
 trum of engineering functions, ranging in size and complexity 
 from simple small-scale repair and maintenance activities to 
 design and construction of large ships, offshore structures or 
 artificial islands. 
 
 This review of NOAA's ocean engineering activities uses 
 the following descriptions of three broad categories of ocean 
 engineering activities: 
 
 1. Basic engineering support. Basic engineering support is 
 simple day-to-day repair, maintenance and minor modification of 
 oceanographic instruments and systems. This type of activity 
 provides the scientist or data gatherer with instruments and 
 systems that work, and includes assistance concerning availabi- 
 lity of systems to make desired measurements and advice on the 
 expected quality of the data observed. This support is normally 
 considered a function of operational units and, in most cases, is 
 provided at the field level by both technicians and engineers. 
 
 2. Engineering development. Engineering development covers 
 the span of engineering activities between basic research and the 
 operational use of new equipment and systems. It includes applied 
 research, prototype or pilot model development, and demonstration 
 of new capabilities. This type of activity provides the scientist 
 
- 7 - 
 
 with new systems or techniques for acquiring information, or 
 with the equipment or systems required to meet new responsi- 
 bilities. The Marine Board of the National Academy of 
 Engineering, in a forthcoming report on ocean engineering, 
 terms these kinds of activities, "product improvement" and 
 "new product development." Applied to NOAA, engineering 
 development activities would include matters such as develop- 
 ment of laser technology for hydrographic measurements, 
 development of long-range underwater acoustics for determin- 
 ing fish species, and development of new instruments and 
 systems for long-term monitoring of the ocean environment. 
 
 3. Research and development for advancing technology. 
 
 This area is similar to engineering development in 
 the sense that it covers the entire range of activities from 
 basic research through operational systems. It differs because 
 the primary emphasis is on advancing technology in general 
 rather than focusing on specific engineering applications to 
 meet existing or new responsibilities. This kind of work is 
 often characterized as least likely to be duplicated in the 
 private sector, either because it lacks immediate foreseeable 
 application or involves high risks for which there may be little 
 immediate payoff. Examples are development of methods of acous- 
 tic control of underwater vehicles, investigation of the proper- 
 ties of the seafloor and of metals in the marine environment, and 
 development of portable underwater power supplies. 
 
- 8 - 
 
 For purposes of this report, NOAA's ocean engineering activi- 
 ties are described on a functional basis. NOAA currently spends 
 over $20 million per year and devotes about 150 full time 
 personnel (FTP), including about 90 engineers, to ocean engineering 
 activities in its Offices of Research and Development (RD), 
 Fisheries (F), and Oceanic and Atmospheric Services (OA) . The 
 monetary and personnel resources of the various activities are shown 
 in Table 1. A description of other federal and private ocean engi- 
 neering and development activities is included as an Appendix. 
 
 According to the Department of Commerce working document, in 
 FY 1978 NOAA 6 s professional and technical staff could be classified 
 in the following occupational categories: 
 
 o Scientists - 4,544 (32.5% of total NOAA employees) 
 
 o Engineers - 341 (2.4%) 
 
 o Science Technicians - 3,106 (21.6%) 
 
 o Engineering Technicians -1,056 (7.5%) 
 
 There are an additional 122 NOAA Corps officers with engineering 
 degrees. This distribution has remained similar through FY 1980.. | 
 
- 9 - 
 
 Table I 
 
 Unit 
 
 Current FTP FY 1980 Engineering 
 
 Personnel 
 
 Budge t 
 
 RD-Office of 
 
 Ocean Engineering 
 
 26 engineers 
 
 $13.5 million 
 
 RD-Sea Grant 
 
 $ 3.2 million 
 
 F-National 
 
 Fisheries Eng. Lab 
 
 4 engineers 
 
 $ 0.8 million 
 
 OA-Office of Marine 
 
 Technology 
 
 46 engineers 
 22 technicians 
 
 $ 2.2 million 
 
 OA-Atlantic & Pacific 
 
 Marine Centers 
 
 13 engineers 
 41 technicians 
 
 $ 1.0 million 
 
 Total 
 
 152 engineers $20.7 million 
 
 and technicians 
 
-10 - 
 
 The five units in NOAA which undertake major efforts in 
 ocean engineering are: 
 
 1. RD - Of fi ce of O ce an Engineering 
 
 The Office of Ocean Engineering (OOE) was 
 formed in 1976 by combining three existing NOAA programs — 
 the NOAA Data Buoy Office (NDBO), a portion of the National 
 Ocean Instrumentation Center (then a part of the Office of 
 Marine Technology) , and the Manned Undersea Science and 
 Technology Office (MUS&T) . In FY 1980 OOE has a total of 
 68 FTP and a budget of $13,484,000. In addition, the office 
 has 15 U.S. Coast Guard and 4 IPA personnel assigned to it, 
 and uses 57 employee-years of support contractor services 
 annually . 
 
 OOE has been assigned three basic functions: 
 o To exercise functional review over and recommend 
 policy and plans for all of NOAA's ocean 
 engineering and instrumentation programs; 
 o To conduct an integrated program of research, 
 technology development, and services related 
 to ocean engineering and undersea operations; 
 o To serve as a national focal point for know- 
 ledge related to civil ocean engineering, 
 a catalyst for industrial ocean development, 
 and a mechanism for technology transfer from 
 the military and space fields. 
 
- 11 - 
 
 OOE's activities can be broken down into the three 
 categories of ocean engineering as follows: 
 
 Basic Engineering Support 
 
 Engineering Development 
 
 R&D for Advancing 
 
 Technology 
 
 Total 
 
 Personnel Funding ($000) 
 4 4 f 233 
 
 (plus 5 USCG) 
 
 21 
 (plus 5 USCG) 
 
 14 
 (plus 4 IPA) 
 
 39 
 
 4,148 
 
 2,861 
 
 11,242 
 
 The remaining OOE personnel and funding resources are devoted to 
 management, administration, and support services (e.g. facilities) 
 activities, with involvement in all three of the ocean engineering 
 categories. These activities account for 29 personnel (plus 5 USCG) 
 and $2.28 million. 
 
 2. RD-Sea Grant 
 
 The Sea Grant Program is not a primary ocean engineering 
 organizational component; however, some of its activities fit in the 
 category of research and development for advancing ocean technologies 
 The portion of the FY 1980 Sea Grant budget identified with ocean 
 engineering research and development is about $3.2 million. 
 
- 12 - 
 
 3 • Z~Nat ional Fisheries Engineering Labora tor y 
 
 Overall technology coordination responsibility 
 for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is assigned 
 to the Office of Science and Environment in NMFS headquarters. 
 The formal "fishery engineering" effort in NMFS is found pri- 
 marily in the National Fisheries Engineering Laboratory (NFEL) 
 in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. 
 
 NFEL has the responsibility for monitoring and 
 applying technological advancements, developing new methods, 
 and increasing the accuracy and efficiency of old methods for 
 assessment and utilization of living marine resources. This 
 responsibility is implemented through the development of samp- 
 ling, monitoring and tracking systems to increase data return, 
 coverage and accuracy; and the development of data management 
 systems and techniques for efficient data storage, retrieval, 
 display and analysis. Current activities include? (1) satellite 
 investigations to use measurable oceanographic parameters to 
 predict distribution and abundance of fish species; (2) investi- 
 gations of airborne, surface and subsurface remote sensing tech- 
 niques to detect, identify and quantify fish stocks; (3) develop- 
 ment of sampling and analysis systems; (4) development of data 
 systems capable of assimilating, integrating, analyzing and dis- 
 playing vast amounts of information; and (5) program planning and 
 analysis . 
 
- 13 - 
 
 In addition to this formal organizational aggregation of 
 engineering responsibility, engineering support and minor 
 engineering development functions are conducted throughout 
 NMFS * Each regional fisheries center has its own engineering 
 programs. Engineering support is also performed by technicians 
 at the various NMFS labs and by scientists who maintain and 
 modify their own equipment. 
 
 NFEL has 13 personnel engaged in the current activities 
 described above* FY 1980 funding, for personnel salaries and 
 support costs only, is $546,200. Funding to undertake specific 
 projects is transferred to NFEL on a case-by-case basis from 
 both NMFS and non-NMFS activities. For FY 1980, total project 
 funds of $350,000-$400,000 are expected. 
 
 The total NMFS ocean engineering effort for FY 1980, including 
 engineering development programs is $1.6 million and 29 person years 
 
 4 . OA-Office of Mari n e Technolog y 
 
 The Office of Marine Technology (OMT) was created with- 
 in the National Ocean Survey (NOS), in 1971 and charged in part 
 with providing NOAA with marine systems, including data buoy 
 development and some ocean instrumentation development. When 
 the data buoy and certain instrumentation development functions 
 
- 14 - 
 
 were removed to help form 00E in 1976, OMT continued in exis- 
 tence with an informal understanding that its functions would 
 be limited to support of NOS missions, but there was no formal 
 change in its broad ocean engineering mission. 
 
 OMT acts as the focal point for NOAA technology in the 
 development testing, evaluation, and calibration of ocean 
 sensing systems. It enhances the quality of these systems by 
 disseminating operational results and technical information 
 to the national oceanographic community. 
 
 OMT has three primary organizational components: the 
 Engineering Development Laboratory ( EDL) ; the Systems Analysis 
 Division (SAD); and the Test and Evaluation Laboratory (T&EL). 
 In FY 1980 OMT consists of 89 personnel and has a budget of 
 $2,206,000. 
 
 OMT activities, in terms of the three categories of ocean 
 engineering, can be broken down as follows: 
 
 Personnel Funding ($000) 
 
 Basic Engineering Support 10 225 
 
 Engineering Development 36 1,332 
 
 R&D for Advancing Technology-EDL 2 20 
 
 Total 48 1,577 
 
- 15 - 
 
 The remaining OMT personnel and funding resources, 41 
 personnel and $629,000, fall in the management, adminis- 
 tration, and support services categories. 
 
 5. QA-Atlantic and Pacific Marine Centers _(_AMC 
 and PMC) 
 
 The Atlantic and Pacific Marine Centers each have 
 a Marine Engineering Division and an Electronics Engineering 
 Division supporting the NOAA Atlantic and Pacific fleets. 
 AMC and PMC also have a secondary mission of providing 
 "technical support for. . .other assigned field data acquisi- 
 tion, transmission, processing, recording, and general 
 electric equipment used for land, sea, and air investigations." 
 
 The personnel (13 engineers and 41 technicians) and 
 funding (approximately $1 million annually) resources are 
 devoted to activities in the "basic engineering support" cate- 
 gory such as management of vessel repairs and modifications, 
 installation of oceanograhic, charting, and research instrumen- 
 tation, equipment and systems, and maintaining software for 
 survey and map processing techniques. 
 
-16- 
 
 To summarize NOAA* s activities in terms of the three cate- 
 gories of ocean engineering, it is evident that most of the ocean 
 engineering work currently done in NOAA falls in the engineering 
 support and engineering development categories. 
 
 Basic engineering support work in NOAA is conducted primarily 
 in the field, at locations such as the Atlantic and Pacific Marine 
 Centers, the four Fisheries Centers, and at various laboratories. 
 Some centralized engineering support projects are carried out 
 by OMT (for NOS operations) and by 00E in direct support of 
 buoy operations. 
 
 Ocean engineering development efforts in NOAA are conducted 
 primarily in NOS (OMT), in the Fisheries Engineering Lab and at 
 the Fisheries Centers, and in 00E. OOE's 1977 Report on NOAA's 
 Ocean Engineering Baseline study identified nearly 79 separate 
 development projects throughout NOAA in FY 1977. They varied from 
 specific applications (such as design of new shrimp trawl equipment 
 and techniques or bathymetric swath sonar development) to general 
 applications of new technologies (such as acoustic fish stock 
 assessments and underway sampling systems). Although much of this 
 work is done in-house, the majority is contracted to industrial 
 companies, universities, and the laboratories of other government 
 agencies . 
 
-17- 
 
 Research and development for advancing ocean technologies 
 is currently a small part of the total NOAA ocean engineering 
 effort. Some Sea Grant Program activities would fit in this 
 category: design of manipulators for manned and unmanned 
 underwater vehicles and underwater welding and cutting tech- 
 niques at MIT; materials research at Florida Atlantic 
 University, MIT, and LSU; and seafloor sampling techniques 
 at Texas A&M, and Oregon State University. Other activities 
 are of a "special project" nature, such as the Ocean Thermal 
 Energy Conversion (OTEC) work for the Department of Energy 
 and NOAA's undersea research program. 
 
- 18 - 
 
 III. EVALUATION OF CURRENT OCEAN ENGINEERING ACTIVITIES 
 
 There are indications that NOAA's present ocean 
 engineering structure does not utilize existing resources 
 as effectively as possible. For a variety of reasons, the 
 existing organizational components have not always been 
 able to fulfill their stated missions. Consequently, 
 improvements need to be made to the organization of the 
 ocean engineering programs. 
 
 NOAA's current ocean engineering organization is 
 the product of a series of reorganizations that have not been 
 accompanied by a full redefinition of internal roles and 
 responsibilities. The Stratton Commission's 1969 recommenda- 
 tion for the creation of a new federal "fundamental technology" 
 program resulted in the creation of the Office of Marine 
 Technology (OMT) within NOS in 1971, charged in part with 
 providing NOAA with marine systems. However, rather than 
 assuming a broad national role, OMT instead provided data 
 buoy engineering, some ocean instrumentation work, and 
 engineering development for NOS. The Office of Ocean 
 Engineering (00E) , reporting directly to the Administrator, 
 was formed in 1976 by combining three existing units with 
 a stated mission of performing broader ocean engineering 
 functions. OMT continued in existence without any formal 
 
-19- 
 change in its equally broad statement of ocean engineering 
 mission, but with an informal understanding that its 
 functions would be limited to support of NOS missions, 
 primarily of a near-term nature. 
 
 00E has not assumed the broad role envisioned for it 
 at the time of its creation. 00E was to review function- 
 ally all of NOAA's ocean engineering and instrumentation 
 programs. However, it does not have clear authority with 
 respect to engineering programs in other NOAA elements, 
 and suffers from a lack of clear division from OMT. In 
 addition, it does not have the legislative authority to 
 concentrate on advancing ocean technology. 
 
 As a result, OOE's activities have continued to 
 reflect the variety of initial elements from which it 
 was assembled, rather than the "fundamental technology" 
 activities envisioned by the Stratton Commission or the 
 engineering oversight program envisioned at its creation. 
 Because the buoy programs and manned undersea activities 
 were established and recognized programs with some legis- 
 lative support, adequate resources to carry them out have 
 been justified and received. Specialized instrument 
 activities tailored to NOAA programs were received in 
 FY 1980 ($300,000) and are proposed in FY 1981 ($900,000). 
 
-20- 
 
 The failure to accompany past internal ocean 
 engineering reorganizations with a full redefinition 
 of roles and responsiblities within NOAA has resulted 
 in misunderstandings and disagreements at all levels 
 in NOAA and confusion outside of NOAA. This con- 
 fusion about organizational roles has created communi- 
 cations difficulties, lack of understanding of organi- 
 zational goals and of the reasons for success and 
 failure of budget initiatives, and attendant feelings 
 of isolation at lower levels in the organization. 
 In light of these problems, NOAA is proposing a new 
 direction for ocean engineering implemented through 
 the reorganization of existing programs* 
 
 * 
 
-21- 
 
 IV. PROPOSED CHANGES IN OCEAN ENGINEERING PROGRAMS 
 
 A. Recent NO A A Ocean Engin eering Policy Decision 
 
 On November 15, 1979, NOAA Administrator Richard A. 
 Frank announced the policy decision to adopt an ocean engineering 
 role that will stress support of NOAA missions in order to 
 strengthen NOAA e s ocean engineering activities and correct 
 existing problems. The policy decision can be summarized in 
 these major points: 
 
 o NOAA will continue the basic engineering support and 
 
 engineering development activities necessary to maintain 
 and improve NOAA's capability to provide products and 
 services directly connected with its own missions, 
 including development of advanced technologies where 
 required. 
 
 o NOAA will attempt to obtain appropriate authorities, 
 
 funding and personnel to conduct engineering development 
 activities in a limited number of areas, carefully 
 selected by its senior management and approved by DOC and 
 the Administration, that relate to other national objec- 
 tives. In this regard, NOAA will continue to engage 
 in ocean engineering development work for other Federal 
 agencies where it is consistent with NOAA's 
 overall plans and would strengthen NOAA expertise, and 
 where sufficient financial reimbursement and personnel 
 ceilings are made available for NOAA to do so. 
 
- 22 - 
 
 o NOAA's ocean engineering efforts, while stressing NOAA 
 mission support, will continue to evaluate the need 
 and support for an expanded Federal role in ocean 
 engineering. 
 
 The policy decision is based on the consideration of two 
 factors: recent public expressions of concern about NOAA ocean 
 engineering activities; and a lack of consensus within the 
 federal government about the role government should play in 
 ocean engineering. 
 
 1. Public Expressions of Concern about NOAA's Ocean 
 Eng ineering Activities 
 
 NOAA's ocean engineering activities have been the 
 subject of a series of studies and reviews over the last decade. 
 After completing its internal review and evaluating the infor- 
 mation compiled in the DOC working document, NOAA concluded that 
 a number of the concerns expressed about its programs were 
 valid and could begin to be remedied through administrative means 
 
 Public interest in federal civilian ocean engineering 
 and technology development had its early beginnings in the 1969 
 report of the Stratton Commission, Our Nation and the Sea. 
 
-23- 
 
 The Commission urged the Federal government to "initiate a dy- 
 namic and comprehensive fundamental technology program" in order 
 to advance marine technology and to house this program in the 
 newly-created NOAA. Public interest in ocean engineering has 
 continued, fueled by the publicity that attended the establish- 
 ment of the Office of Ocean Engineering. Recently, several 
 additional advisory reports have been published or proposed: 
 
 o The 1978 Department of Commerce (DOC) Ocean Policy Study 
 covered ocean engineering in the Federal Government in 
 general, and noted the lack of a central Federal civilian 
 focus . 
 
 o The DOC working document reviewed the size and distribu- 
 tion of NOAA staff with engineering backgrounds and 
 analyzed current activities, recommending several general 
 steps that might be taken to improve NOAA's engineering 
 support. 
 
 o The Marine Board of the National Academy of Engineering 
 is preparing a study of the role of ocean engineering in 
 NOAA and the broader Federal role. In its deliberations, 
 the study panel concluded that the kind of "fundamental 
 technology" role envisioned by the Stratton Commission 
 is still needed and has not yet been accomplished within 
 NOAA. 
 
-24- 
 
 o NACOA has proposed a study of the Federal and private 
 roles in ocean engineering. 
 
 o The Committee on Atmosphere and Oceans is surveying 
 current Federal ocean engineering capabilities and 
 assessing the advantages of increased interagency 
 coordination in the area. 
 
 o The Office of Technology Assessment recently initiated a 
 study of the future needs for platforms to conduct oceano- 
 graphic research and of new platform technologies. 
 
 Several major areas of concern have emerged in the public 
 commentary. First, there is concern about the absence of a lead 
 federal civilian ocean engineering agency. Several groups per- 
 ceive the potential for an important federal role in research 
 and development for advancing technology. They are disappointed 
 that the role has not materialized within NOAA. 
 
 Second, a lack of adequate funds and personnel within NOAA 
 has been cited both by those commentators who perceive NOAA's 
 role as covering the entire spectrum of ocean engineering acti- 
 vities, and by those with a narrower focus on the basic engi- 
 neering support and development requirements of NOAA's current 
 programs. 
 
-25- 
 
 Finally, reviewers also have noted deficiencies in the 
 existing organization of engineering activities in NOAA, which 
 NOAA's review and the DOC working document have confirmed . 
 
 2. Lack of Consensus about the Federal JRqle in Ocean 
 Engineering 
 
 Despite the long-standing interest of the ocean commu- 
 nity, no consensus has developed within the federal government 
 as to the appropriate roles of government and private industry in 
 the advancement of civilian marine engineering and technology. 
 The expansion of the offshore oil and gas industry and the plans 
 of the ocean mining industry have demonstrated the ability and 
 willingness of private enterprise to advance ocean technology 
 where a profit potential exists. Consequently, the wisdom of 
 federal expenditures on some technology such as nuclear power 
 plants on the continental shelf or large ocean platforms, as the 
 Stratton Commision recommended, is being questioned. This lack 
 of consensus about an appropriate role translates into lack of 
 adequate support both in the Executive Branch and Congress for a" 
 program such as that suggested by the Stratton Commission,, 
 Historically NOAA has had little success in funding engineering 
 programs that are not directly related to NOAA's statutory 
 missions. Until a consensus is reached, NOAA has determined 
 that its ocean engineering efforts should be primarily 
 directed to carrying out effectively its missions. 
 
-26- 
 In light of these factors, NOAA will concentrate on 
 improving its own mission - related ocean engineering pro- 
 grams. However, in other limited cases NOAA will seek support 
 for programs of applied research, prototype or pilot model 
 development, and demonstration of ocean engineering products 
 that relate to other agreed Federal objectives. In proposing 
 such areas, NOAA will consider several factors: whether the area 
 coincides with existing agency technical strengths; whether 
 the work duplicates other agencies' programs; and whether it 
 would compete with private industry. NOAA will work closely with 
 other agencies in their ocean technology efforts, where finan- 
 cial reimbursement and personnel availability allow it to do so. 
 
 B. O rganizational Response to the Ocean Engineering Pol icy 
 Decision 
 
 The policy decision on the focus of NOAA's ocean engi- 
 neering activities has organizational implications. Based on the 
 evaluation of current ocean engineering activities, it is evident 
 that the existing organizational structure will not adequately 
 serve the re-directed ocean engineering effort, and that new struc- 
 tures are needed. Although any reorganization will have some negative 
 impacts on affected NOAA elements, the benefits of some further 
 program centralization will outweigh the costs. Integrated ocean 
 engineering planning and budgeting will be required as well. 
 
- 27 - 
 
 After a review of various organizational alternatives, 
 a reorganization plan and recommendations aimed at strengthening 
 NOAA's ocean engineering activities have been proposed. Specific 
 recommendations are now being prepared for the approval of the 
 Secretary of Commerce. 
 
 The recommendations include : 
 
 o The Establishment of a new Major Program Element (MPE) 
 in the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Services to 
 provide ocean engineering and development services to 
 all NOAA Main Line Components. The new MPE would also 
 be responsible for planning and budget integration for 
 all NOAA ocean engineering activities, including the 
 development of a long-range ocean engineering program 
 to achieve NOAA priority needs and the evaluation of 
 the reliability and quality of information gathering 
 systems, 
 o The new MPE would assume, through transfer, the functions 
 of the Research and Development Office of Ocean Engineering 
 (other than those functions which are research-oriented) , 
 and the functions of the Office of Marine Technology of 
 the National Ocean Survey, 
 o The establishment of an Ocean Engineering and Technology 
 Council, to provide oversight for all NOAA ocean engi- 
 neering activities, to review the long-range ocean 
 engineering program developed by the new MPE, and to 
 establish NOAA priority needs. 
 
-28- 
 
 With the concurrence of the Secretary of Commerce, OMB, 
 and the Congress, these changes will be implemented as soon 
 as possible. The new MPE, if approved, would initially consist 
 of up to 160 personnel and an annual budget of approximately 
 $12 million from existing resources. 
 
-29- 
 
 V. CONCLUSION 
 
 The proposed changes in NOAA's ocean engineering acti- 
 vities, if approved, will strengthen NOAA's mission-related 
 ocean engineering programs by consolidating resources from 
 two ocean offices which had similar functions and programs, 
 and by establishing a formal planning and budgeting process 
 These changes will improve engineering support for NOAA's 
 science missions, and will provide a basis for implementa- 
 tion of programs with broad national objectives if such a 
 Federal role is established. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 OCEAN ENGINEERING IN OTHER FEDERAL 
 AGENCIES AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR 
 
 The two major organizations involved in ocean engineering 
 activities (other than simple support engineering) are the U.S. 
 Navy and the oil industry. In their recent plan for the study 
 of the Federal role in civil ocean engineering, NACOA credits 
 the Navy for laying "the foundation for U.S. ocean engineering 
 and ocean technology in general," and indicates that oil and 
 gas exploration by the private sector "led to advances in 
 offshore technology of marine construction and operation and 
 to the establishment of U.S. leadership in offshore technology." 
 The Navy and the oil industry are still the major, but not the 
 only, organizations involved. 
 
 1. Ocean Engineering in the Federal Government . The most 
 recent compilation of information about Federal ocean engineering 
 programs is the 1978 DOC Ocean Policy Study. The Study indicates 
 that "Federal ocean engineering and technology programs encompass 
 a wide gamut of activities as diverse as the missions of the 
 sponsoring agencies." The major programs are summarized as 
 follows : 
 
 o Department of Defense . The Navy program is the largest 
 and most diversified, although directed to the develop- 
 ment of weapons and systems in support of naval opera- 
 tions. The Navy lists 15 laboratory facilities for 
 ocean engineering and related technology. The U.S. 
 Army Corps of Engineers has three lab facilities 
 directed toward improvement of coastal waterways and 
 harbors and the protection of beaches and seashore. 
 
 o Department of Commerce . In addition to NOAA programs, 
 the Maritime Administration has a program designed to 
 develop advanced technology to rebuild the U.S. mer- 
 chant fleet so that it can compete effectively with 
 foreign shipping. 
 
 o Department of the Interior . The U.S. Geological Survey 
 has substantial programs to assist its regulatory 
 mission. R&D programs are directed toward improving 
 technology for detecting problems in offshore oil 
 production systems; including the development of under- 
 water vehicles to be used for inspection. 
 
 o Department of Transportation . The U.S. Coast Guard 
 programs in ocean engineering are primarily in the 
 areas of search and rescue, marine environmental 
 protection, aids to navigation, and regulating the 
 construction and operation of deepwater ports. 
 
o Department of Energy . DOE's ocean engineering and 
 technology efforts are directed toward development 
 of alternate energy systems, such as OTEC, for 
 commercial applications. DOE also has responsibilities 
 for disposal of radioactive waste and is conducting a 
 long-term investigation of the feasibility of seabed 
 disposal. Three laboratory facilities are involved in 
 the ocean energy and nuclear waste disposal programs. 
 
 o Environmental Protection Agency . EPA programs are 
 
 developing the technology necessary to determine marine 
 water quality standards, including the development of 
 criteria for the packaging of nuclear waste materials. 
 Most of the EPA ocean engineering activities are accom- 
 plished by contract. 
 
 o National Aeronautics and Space Administration . NASA's 
 "ocean applications program" engineering efforts revolve 
 mainly around the development and use of remote sensing 
 systems to observe ocean phenomena from aircraft and 
 satellites. NASA has recently become involved in the 
 development of undersea vehicles and long-term, deep 
 ocean monitoring systems. 
 
 The last Federal Ocean Program Report, issued in 1975, 
 indicated a total estimated FY 1976 budget for "general purpose 
 ocean engineering" of $52 million, of which DOC programs 
 accounted for $15.5 million. 
 
 Despite the apparent heavy activity in ocean engineering 
 and technology development, the DOC Ocean Policy Study and 
 NACOA have concluded that most current programs are narrowly 
 focused and mission-oriented. As NACOA stated, "Federal support 
 for the development of the foundations of ocean engineering and 
 ocean technology, which traditionally had been carried out by 
 the U.S. Navy, has declined substantially. The many Government 
 agencies dealing with control and regulation of ocean activities 
 undertake very restricted and often narrow research and develop- 
 ment programs in ocean engineering and technology. These 
 programs are in many cases marginal for their intended purposes." 
 
 2 . Ocean Engineering in the Private Sector. The vast 
 majority of ocean engineering and technology development is 
 carried out by the oil industry or in response to oil industry 
 requirements. Large platform design, construction, operation 
 and maintenance activities have provided significant advances 
 in engineering and technology. At the same time, the move 
 further offshore has created a demand for newer technologies 
 and engineering techniques — site surveys for both exploratory 
 and regulatory purposes, manned and unmanned vehicles for under- 
 water inspection and maintenance, and safety related equipment 
 
and techniques. Because of proprietary or patent rights, 
 technological advances produced by industry are not always 
 available to other industries or to scientists and engineers 
 in government and academia. 
 
 Other "industries" in which there are ocean engineering 
 and technology development activities are offshore mining, 
 transportation, deep-water ports development, and aquaculture. 
 General industrial activity has slowed, however, due to uncer- 
 tanties of Federal regulations, particularly environmental 
 protection regulations, and international negotiations such as 
 the Law of the Sea discussions on ocean mining and the London 
 Ocean Dumping Convention. 
 
 <r U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1980 -311-046/96 
 
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