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U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy - Joint Ocean Commission Initiative

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Figure 25.1 Proposed Structure for the Coordinati<strong>on</strong> ofFederal <strong>Ocean</strong> Science ActivitiesCommittee <strong>on</strong> <strong>Ocean</strong> Science, Educati<strong>on</strong>,Technology, and Operati<strong>on</strong>s(formerly NORLC)Chair: OSTP DirectorMembership: Current NORLC members and othersInteragency Working GroupAdvisory Panel(formerly ORAP)<strong>Ocean</strong>.US<strong>Ocean</strong>.ITFederal<strong>Ocean</strong>ographicFacilitiesCommittee<strong>Ocean</strong>.ED(including the existingCOSEE CentralCoordinating Office)Staff Staff Staff■ Existing Entities■ New EntitiesReporting linesCommunicati<strong>on</strong> LinesAdvisory LinesRelati<strong>on</strong> to OverallStructure (Appendix E)Regi<strong>on</strong>alCOSEECentersShown here are the instituti<strong>on</strong>al comp<strong>on</strong>ents that should be established under the Nati<strong>on</strong>al <strong>Ocean</strong>Council’s Committee <strong>on</strong> <strong>Ocean</strong> Science, Educati<strong>on</strong>, Technology, and Operati<strong>on</strong>s (COSETO) recommendedin Chapter 4. COSETO’s purpose is to improve federal leadership and coordinati<strong>on</strong> in ocean science,educati<strong>on</strong>, technology, and marine operati<strong>on</strong>s. This diagram also illustrates the organizati<strong>on</strong>al linksbetween existing and planned units under COSETO, discussed in subsequent chapters. Entitiesshaded in gray are discussed in Chapters 4 and 8.Reviving the Federal InvestmentThe United States has a wealth of ocean research expertise spread across a network ofgovernment and industry laboratories and world-class universities, colleges, and marinecenters. With str<strong>on</strong>g federal support, these instituti<strong>on</strong>s made the United States the worldleader in oceanography during the 20th century. However, a leader cannot stand still.<strong>Ocean</strong> and coastal management issues c<strong>on</strong>tinue to grow in number and complexity, newfields of study have emerged, new interdisciplinary approaches are being tried, and thereis a growing need to understand the planet <strong>on</strong> a global and regi<strong>on</strong>al scale. All this has createda corresp<strong>on</strong>ding demand for high-quality scientific informati<strong>on</strong>.Significant federal investments by the Navy and NSF during the cold war years of the1960s and 1970s enabled scientists to help promote the U.S. ec<strong>on</strong>omy and security bysupporting research <strong>on</strong> the fundamental physical, chemical, biological, and geologicalproperties of the oceans. During that period, funding for ocean-related research c<strong>on</strong>stituted7 percent of the federal research budget. However, the federal investment began to stagnatein the early 1980s (Figure 25.2), so that ocean research now comprises a meager 3.5 percentor less of the federal research portfolio. Due to this decrease, the NSF must reluctantly turn376 A N O CEAN B LUEPRINT FOR THE 21ST C ENTURY

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