The National Oceanographic Data Center acquires, processes, archives, analyzes, and disseminates oceanographic data; develops analytical and descriptive products to meet user requirements; and provides facilities for the World Data Center-A (Oceanography). It was the first NODC established and houses the world's largest usuable collection of marine data.

(a) Oceanographic data available from NODC include:

(1) Mechanical and expendable bathytheremograph data in analog and digital form.

(2) Oceanographic station data for surface and serial depths, giving values of temperature, salinity, oxygen, inorganic phosphate, total phosphorus, nitrite-nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen, silicate-silicon, and pH.

(3) Continuously recorded salinity-temperature-depth data in digital form.

(4) Surface current information obtained by using drift bottle or calculated from ship set and drift.

(5) Biological data, giving values of plankton standing crop, chlorophyll concentrations, and rates of primary productivity.

(6) Other marine environmental data obtained by diverse techniques, e.g., instrumented buoy data, and current meter data.

(b) Queries should be addressed to: National Oceanographic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington, DC 20235, tel. 202-634-7500.