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Global Ocean Science Toward an Integrated Approach (1999) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Pages 1-6

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From page 1...
... With several of the present group of major oceanographic programs now nearing their conclusion, the Ocean Sciences Division of the National Science Foundation (NSF/OCE) has undertaken a number of steps to evaluate the present vitality of oceanographic research in this country, with the hope of developing a comprehensive research strategy to take ocean science forward into the next century.
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From page 2...
... As discoveries and advances attributable to these programs continue to influence research conducted throughout the ocean science community, the significance of these programs will become even more apparent. The usually high-quality, global, multiparameter data sets and time series developed by major oceanographic programs will be some of their most important and enduring legacies.
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From page 3...
... SCIENTIFIC AND GENERIC GAPS Given the extensive involvement of the academic community in recent activities undertaken by NSF/OCE to develop a research strategy for ocean science, the committee determined that attempting to specifically identify scientific gaps would be redundant and unnecessary. Yet, a number of mechanisms can help the ocean science community's planning process by identifying scientific and generic gaps in and among existing programs.
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From page 4...
... Federal agencies sponsoring oceanographic research programs, especially NSF/OCE, should make every effort to encourage and support a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary research activities, varying in size from the collaboration of a few scientists to programs perhaps even larger in scope than the present major oceanographic programs. There is no one procedure by which principal investigators with good ideas can start new programs.
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From page 5...
... Some tools for federal agencies and the scientific community to use to balance these two often competing needs, based on scientific requirements, are presented in this report. In addition, there are opportunities for some course corrections that will enable the federal agencies, including NSF, to better respond to the growing need of the ocean sciences community to conduct multi-investigator and interdisciplinary research.
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From page 6...
... The creation of such a unit could alleviate many of the real and perceived problems identified throughout this report related to coordination, collegiality, and planning, and thus help maximize the scientific return on the considerable investment this nation makes in ocean-related research. Ocean sciences must reach a new level in order to successfully meet the emerging needs for environmental science.
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Key Terms

  • major oceanographic
  • ocean science
  • major programs
  • ocean sciences
  • oceanographic research

  • major ocean
  • ocean programs
  • science community
  • scientific challenges
  • sponsoring agencies

  • research strategy
  • sciences community
  • ocean research
  • multiparameter data
  • ocean studies

  • develop mechanisms
  • including workshops
  • ocean scientists
  • scientists work
  • require major

  • programs continue
  • environmental science
  • national efforts
  • global environmental
  • observations initiated

  • future major
  • activities undertaken
  • ssc chairs
  • complementary activities
  • include input


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