Office of the Historian

177. Action Memorandum From Robert E. Service of the Department of State Falklands Working Group to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Eagleburger)1

Washington, April 26, 1982

SUBJECT

  • UK Request to NOAA for Additional Weather Satellite Data

REFERENCE

  • My Memo of April 25, 19822

UK Request

The British Meteorological Office has made two formal requests and one telephone request for changes in the type of information they receive from the polar-orbiting satellite. One of the requests clearly comes under the bilateral agreement signed in 1974 between the Meteorological Office, NASA and NOAA, and can be implemented quickly. This is a request for satellite low altitude selection which would permit them to see through the clouds and make some estimates of sea state. The other two requests would require additional effort by NOAA, but still could be read as coming under the agreement. One is for mathematical data to permit them to properly analyze the satellite information. The third request is for all the raw data from the satellite’s infrared sounding unit for the South Atlantic area. Implementation of these requests could take 1–2 man-months, unless given priority handling by NOAA. The British have not asked for expedited treatment, but may when they find out how long some of the requests could take.

Bureau Positions

ARA, EUR and PM agree that we should tell NOAA the Department has no objection to fulfilling the UK’s requests. The requests fall within the range of continuing cooperation covered by international agreements.

EUR and PM would also like to ask NOAA to take whatever steps necessary to implement the requests as soon as possible, on grounds that this is what the UK expects and requires.

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ARA believes the Department should not go beyond approval, leaving the timing and priority to be worked out between NOAA and the British Meteorological Office. A Department recommendation for priority handling would be viewed by the GOA as going beyond the formal requirements of existing agreements and the USG position as previously enunciated.

Recommendations

1. That we inform NOAA the Department has no objection to its implementing these requests (supported by ARA, EUR and PM).

2. That we go a step further and urge NOAA to meet the requests as quickly as possible (EUR and PM support; ARA opposes).3

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, P820071–1389. Secret. Drafted by S. O’Connell (FWG); cleared by Bosworth, Kanter, and J. Earl (L/ARA) and in substance by Holmes. Service initialed for the clearing officials. A stamped notation at the top of the memorandum indicates that Eagleburger saw it on April 27.↩
  2. Not found.↩
  3. Eagleburger initialed his approval of both recommendations on April 27.↩