Download or read book Hydrographic Surveying NOAA Needs Better Cost Data and a Strategy for Expanding Private Sector Involvement in Data Collection written by and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NOAA is responsible for collecting hydrographic data--that is, data on the depth and bottom configuration of water bodies--to help create nautical charts. NOAA collects data using its fleet and also procures data from the private sector. The Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 requires NOAA to acquire such data from the private sector "to the greatest extent practicable and cost-effective." This report examines (1) how NOAA determines its hydrographic survey priorities, (2) NOAA's efforts to compare the costs of collecting its own survey data to the costs of procuring such data from the private sector, and (3) the extent to which NOAA has developed a strategy for private sector involvement in hydrographic data collection. GAO recommends that NOAA (1) ensure that its efforts to improve its cost comparison reports include actions to fully track asset and maintenance costs and (2) develop a strategy for expanding private sector involvement in the hydrographic survey program.
Download or read book Hydrographic Surveying NOAA Needs Better Cost Data and a Strategy for Expanding Private Sector Involvement in Data Collection Report to Congressional Requesters written by U.s. Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-07-12 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NOAA is responsible for collecting hydrographic data—that is, data on the depth and bottom configuration of water bodies—to help create nautical charts. NOAA collects data using its fleet and also procures data from the private sector. The Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 requires NOAA to acquire such data from the private sector “to the greatest extent practicable and cost-effective.” This report examines (1) how NOAA determines its hydrographic survey priorities, (2) NOAA’s efforts to compare the costs of collecting its own survey data to the costs of procuring such data from the private sector, and (3) the extent to which NOAA has developed a strategy for private sector involvement in hydrographic data collection. GAO recommends that NOAA (1) ensure that its efforts to improve its cost comparison reports include actions to fully track asset and maintenance costs and (2) develop a strategy for expanding private sector involvement in the hydrographic survey program.
Download or read book Hydrographic Surveying NOAA Needs Better Cost Data and a Strategy for Expanding Private Sector Involvement in Data Collection written by and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ocean and Coastal Exploration and NOAA Act written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book NOAA Plans for Contracting Services written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Navigation and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Noaa s Observing Systems Additional Steps Needed to Achieve an Integrated Cost Effective Portfolio written by U.s. Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-07-27 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: " NOAA operates and maintains a portfolio of observing systems to capture the environmental data needed to achieve its diverse missions. Some of these systems focus on the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes. An observing system is a collection of one or more sensing elements that measures specific environmental conditions and resides on fixed or mobile platforms, such as buoys or satellites. The House Appropriations Committee fiscal year report for the Department of Commerce's 2013 appropriations bill mandated GAO to review NOAA's ocean and coastal data collection systems. This report (1) identifies and describes the ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes observing systems NOAA operates; (2) identifies the annual operations and maintenance costs of these systems for fiscal years 2012 through 2014; and (3) examines the extent to which NOAA has taken steps to integrate and improve the cost-effectiveness of its observing systems portfolio. GAO analyzed agency documentation on, among other things, the characteristics and management of NOAA's observing systems, reviewed cost data from fiscal year 2012 through 2014, and interviewed NOAA officials. "
Download or read book Ocean Research Fleet written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Environmental Data written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Review of NOAA s National Geophysical Data Center written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2003-09-19 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The report reviews the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) and assesses how well the center is managing its holdings, serving its users, and supporting NOAA's mission. It concludes that NGDC is the natural place within NOAA and the nation for stewardship and dissemination of data related to the solid Earth and space environment. These subject areas are also relevant to NOAA's new priority on integrated environmental approaches. For NGDC to fulfill its potential, however, it must first rearticulate its mission and overcome some solvable problems, including obtaining effective feedback from its users and organizing the center to eliminate parallel activities and reduce scientific isolation among the divisions.
Download or read book NOAA Plan for Increasing Public Access to Research Results written by NOAA Research Council (U.S.) and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 23 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plan to increase Public Access to Research Results (PARR) describes activities that will be undertaken by NOAA in order to meet the goals and requirements of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Memorandum Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research issued 2013 February 22 (hereafter referred to as the OSTP PARR Memo). The goal of the OSTP PARR Memo is to increase the public accessibility of publications and digital data produced by federal researchers or by recipients of federal funds. These results were funded by taxpayers, and improving access to them should help move science and our economy forward. The OSTP objectives for digital data are in excellent agreement with those expressed in the NOAA Environmental Data Management Framework. To the extent feasible and consistent with applicable law and policy, agency mission, resource constraints, and U.S. national, homeland, and economic security, the NOAA PARR plan supports the objectives of the OSTP PARR Memo regarding publications and data. The NOAA PARR Plan also supports the provisions of the US Open Data Policy regarding public agency data inventories and the use of machine-readable and open formats, data standards, and common core and extensible metadata for all new information creation and collection efforts. Specific NOAA actions are described in Section 7, below, of the NOAA PARR plan, and each action includes reference(s) to the corresponding objective of the OSTP PARR Memo. The NOAA PARR plan is designed to promote the goal of maximizing the impact and accountability of the Federal research investment"--Page 2.
Download or read book NOAA Fleet written by United States. General Accounting Office. General Government Division and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO addressed congressional concerns regarding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), focusing on: (1) the management challenges facing the Department of Commerce in its administration of NOAA; (2) whether GAO reviewed the latest available studies of NOAA's fleet and modernization efforts or NOAA's fisheries research acquisition plan; (3) whether GAO examined the cost efficiency or effectiveness of NOAA's ships or compared the costs of NOAA's ships with those of private or other available ships; (4) whether GAO reviewed NOAA's fisheries research ship replacement plans; (5) why replacing the NOAA fleet is entwined with the issue of the NOAA Corps; and (6) whether GAO reviewed NOAA's downsizing of the NOAA Corps. GAO noted that: (1) GAO has concerns about the Department's implementation of Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76, performance of commercial activities, the adequacy of NOAA's ship cost comparisons with private sector and other available ships, and its inherent preference for operating its own ships, rather than contracting out more with the private sector and other public entities and relying more heavily on them to come up with the ships and marine data that NOAA needs; (2) GAO has not had an opportunity to review the latest study of NOAA's fleet modernization or NOAA's acquisition plans for fisheries research and hydrographic missions; (3) GAO has not reviewed NOAA's current cost claims; (4) GAO's work in the costs area, which is about 5 years old now, faulted NOAA for setting unrealistic conditions for its evaluation of outsourcing alternatives and raised serious questions about NOAA's claims and the basis on which NOAA founded those claims; (5) GAO has found that, once federal assets like ships and airplanes exist, it seems cheaper to operate them than to contract for services, since the capital and associated fixed operating costs are already sunk; (6) although GAO has not reviewed NOAA's construction plans or supporting cost justifications, GAO understands that the Commerce Inspector General (IG) has reviewed at least some of them; (7) the Commerce IG has criticized certain NOAA rotational patterns as not critical to or paid for by other NOAA missions; (8) if there were no NOAA fleet, there would be no justification for the NOAA Corps as a separate service; (9) in 1995, the National Performance Review, noting that the NOAA Corps was the smallest uniformed service and that the fleet it commanded was obsolete, recommended that the NOAA Corps be gradually reduced in number and eventually eliminated; (10) GAO has not reviewed NOAA's reported downsizing of its NOAA Corps; (11) however, in 1996, GAO: (a) reported on the anomaly of NOAA being paid military benefits and allowances while not meeting the Department of Defense's criteria and principles for a military compensation system; and (b) compared the costs of the NOAA billets that existed at the time with civilian pay and benefits for the same positions; (12) while GAO has not reviewed NOAA's downsizing of the NOAA Corps and claimed cost savings, the Commerce IG did review NOAA's 1997 plan and legislative proposal to downsize and civilianize the NOAA Corps; and (13) the IG recommended downsizing the NOAA Corps to achieve significant cost savings and management efficiencies.
Download or read book Hydrographic Manual written by Noaa and published by . This book was released on 2019-06-22 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: July 4, 1976 In this fourth edition, extensive changes have been introduced in both format and content; the major changes are, of course, based on the use of modern automatic data collection and processing techniques. Few of the basic requirements of hydrography have been altered. An attempt has been made to identify stringent specifications for hydrographic surveys and to describe survey methods and techniques of accomplishment that result in the most effective utilization of manpower and equipment. Why buy a book you can download for free? We print the paperback book so you don't have to. First you gotta find a good clean (legible) copy and make sure it's the latest version (not always easy). Some documents found on the web are missing some pages or the image quality is so poor, they are difficult to read. If you find a good copy, you could print it using a network printer you share with 100 other people (typically its either out of paper or toner). If it's just a 10-page document, no problem, but if it's 250-pages, you will need to punch 3 holes in all those pages and put it in a 3-ring binder. Takes at least an hour. It's much more cost-effective to just order the bound paperback from Amazon.com This book includes original commentary which is copyright material. Note that government documents are in the public domain. We print these paperbacks as a service so you don't have to. The books are compact, tightly-bound paperback, full-size (8 1/2 by 11 inches), with large text and glossy covers. 4th Watch Publishing Co. is a HUBZONE SDVOSB. https: //usgovpub.com
Download or read book Deactivating Research Vessels written by U S Government Accountability Office (G and published by BiblioGov. This book was released on 2013-06 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) proposal to deactivate a number of its marine research vessels and increase the use of private-sector vessels. GAO found that: (1) in fiscal year (FY) 1985, NOAA operated 22 ocean-going research vessels to support its fisheries, oceanographic, and hydrographic programs; (2) NOAA programs and projects have averaged 4,872 days at sea annually over the last 3 years; (3) private-sector vessels accounted for about 16 percent of NOAA days at sea during that period; and (4) NOAA wants to deactivate half of its fleet, which could save up to $11 million of its annual $61 million in fleet support costs. GAO also found that: (1) NOAA officials at different research centers had differing views on the desirability, safety, and cost-effectiveness of increasing private-sector fleet support; (2) while some NOAA officials believe that chartering private-sector vessels would be advantageous because they are more modern, more readily available, and manned by more experienced crews, other officials believe that NOAA vessels are safer and more readily available; (3) NOAA vessels' daily costs range from $1,000 to $22,000, compared to $465 to $4,955 for private-sector ships, but it noted that the comparison may be geographically skewed because one NOAA research center charters most NOAA private-sector fleet support; and (4) costs for NOAA vessels also tend to be higher because it owns larger, more expensive multi-purpose vessels, whereas most of its charter vessels are smaller, single-purpose vessels, such as fishing boats.
Download or read book NOAA s Leadership Role in Environmental Information Services for the Nation written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Urban Stormwater Management in the United States written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2009-03-17 with total page 611 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The rapid conversion of land to urban and suburban areas has profoundly altered how water flows during and following storm events, putting higher volumes of water and more pollutants into the nation's rivers, lakes, and estuaries. These changes have degraded water quality and habitat in virtually every urban stream system. The Clean Water Act regulatory framework for addressing sewage and industrial wastes is not well suited to the more difficult problem of stormwater discharges. This book calls for an entirely new permitting structure that would put authority and accountability for stormwater discharges at the municipal level. A number of additional actions, such as conserving natural areas, reducing hard surface cover (e.g., roads and parking lots), and retrofitting urban areas with features that hold and treat stormwater, are recommended.
Download or read book Review of NOAA Working Group Report on Maintaining the Continuation of Long Term Satellite Total Irradiance Observations written by Committee on Evaluating NOAA's Plan to Mitigate the Loss of Total Solar Irradiance Measurements from Space and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Annotation. Solar irradiance is a vital source of energy input for the Earth's climate system and its variability has the potential to mitigate or exacerbate a human-created climate. Maintaining an unbroken record of Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) is critical in resolving ongoing debates regarding the potential role of solar variability in influencing Earth's climate. Space-borne instruments have acquired TSI data since 1978. Currently, the best calibrated and lowest noise source of TSI measurements is the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) onboard NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE). These TIM-era data are of higher quality than the older data in the full record. Thus, the TSI climate data record (CDR) has two components. There is the shorter, but more accurate record of the TIM era and the full (33+ year) space-based TSI measurement record. Both are important and require preservation. Review of NOAA Working Group Report on Maintaining the Continuation of Long-Term Satellite Total Irradiance Observations evaluates NOAA's plan for mitigating the loss of total solar irradiance measurements from space, given the likelihood of losing this capacity from instruments currently on the SORCE satellite in coming years and the short term/experimental nature of the currently identified method of filling the data gap. This report evaluates NOAA's plan for mitigating the gap in total solar irradiance data.
Download or read book NOAA s Leadership Role in Environmental Information Services for the Nation written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
