NOAA oversight of employee Internet activities is primarily the responsibility of supervisors within NOAA program and staff offices. NOAA has taken disciplinary actions against three employees for improper use of their Internet access. The NOAA WWW presence includes meteorological data and satellite images of the earth's geography and weather. In a recent report to the Congress, NOAA described the information it provides through the Internet. For example, in 1995 NOAA provided information, such as National Weather Service surface and upper air observation data from its system of satellites, aircraft, and buoys, to about 15,000 users per month.
Internet users are able to search for, view, and obtain satellite data and images.
NOAA estimates that user demand for its data will approach a half million inquiries each month by the beginning of the 21st century. NOAA reported that, from 1991 to 1995, requests for digital data increased a hundredfold and online inquiries grew to over 200,000 per month. According to NOAA, about 95 percent of its employees have Internet e-mail access, and about 44 percent have access to the WWW at their workstations. As an example, NOAA said its employees use their WWW access to connect with 13 separate NOAA offices through the Campus Connectivity Demonstration project. This Internet project allows employees to freely share databases and information of differing formats, procedures, and protocols over a common information infrastructure.