Descriptive Entry
Descriptive Entry
This record unit documents the administration and programs of the SOSC during its entire thirty year history. Included is correspondence, memoranda, proposals, and reports documenting SOSC contracts with agencies of the Federal Government, especially the United States Arctic Research Program of the National Science Foundation and the National Marine Fisheries Service, United States Department of Commerce; correspondence of SOSC Directors; administrative records, including budget files; annual reports of the SOSC and the Mediterranean Marine Sorting Center; and correspondence with specialists studying SOSC geological and photograph collections.
Historical Note
Historical Note
The Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center (SOSC) was established in 1962 as a unit of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) reporting to the Assistant Director for Oceanography. In 1966, administrative responsibility for SOSC was transferred to the newly created Office of Oceanography and Limnology (OLP). OLP was abolished in June 1974, and SOSC again became an administrative unit of NMNH. SOSC was terminated in 1992.
The purpose of SOSC was to assist the international oceanographic effort by processing biological and geological specimens for scientists throughout the world. Other objectives of SOSC included environmental analyses of biological specimens, and support services for field activities of the Smithsonian and other organizations. Directors of SOSC included H. Adair Fehlmann, 1962-1973; Betty J. Landrum, 1973-1978; Frank D. Ferrari, 1978-1981; Leslie W. Knapp, 1981-1988; and Ernani G. Menez, 1988-1992.
Prefered Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 610, Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center, Records
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Washington, D.C.
Contact us at osiaref@si.edu
