carrying out similar programs coordinated by 

 the United States. The U. S. program in- 

 volved the occupation of 121 oceanographic 

 stations in the Atlantic, and 147 stations in the 

 Pacific. These stations were located along 

 north-south survey tracks and generally coin- 

 cided with the paths of bottom-water cur- 

 rents. Comparable work will soon begin in the 

 Indian Ocean. The data are being used to 

 determine the stirring and reaction processes 

 in the deep sea, the interchange of material 

 between deep and surface waters, and the 

 exchange of water and gases with the atmos- 

 phere. 



• Galapagos rift zone. Scientists at Oregon 

 State University, Scripps Institution of 

 Oceanography, Massachusetts Institute of 

 Technology, Woods Hole Oceanographic In- 

 stitution, and the U.S. Geological Survey are 

 cooperating in a study of hydrothermal circu- 

 lation of seawater through newly formed sea- 

 floor on the Galapagos Rift Zone. Bottom 

 water at a temperature of 2°C circulates down 

 into the oceanic crust, removes both heat and 

 metals from the rock, and returns to the over- 

 lying seawater through vents on the seafioor. 

 Using the research submersible Alvin, scien- 

 tists in the program have recently sampled 

 three of these vents. The discharging water of 

 one vent had a temperature of 12°C and 

 showed high concentration of silica, hydrogen 

 sulfide, and other metals. Such hydrothermal 

 circulation systems may provide a long-term 

 control on the chemistry of seawater and are 

 responsible for the formation of metal-rich 

 sediments on the seafloor. Quite unexpected- 

 ly, large communities of organisms were 

 found clustered around the vents. Some 

 clams in these communities were as much as 

 10 inches across! It is not presently known 

 whether nutrients or merely the elevated tem- 

 perature of the discharging water supports 

 these organisms. 



Areas of future emphasis. The research priorities 

 for the next 3 years are: 



• Investigations of the chemical, physical, bio- 

 logical, and geological processes occurring at 

 the deep-sea floor 



• Paleoenvironmental studies of the recent evo- 

 lution of the oceans, ocean basins, and global 

 climate 



• Increased application of manipulative field- 

 experimental approach to ecological studies 

 of a variety of marine shallow water habitats 



• Dynamics of circulation, mixing, and trans- 

 port processes in estuarine and continental 

 shelf waters and in adjacent boundary cur- 

 rents such as the Gulf Stream 



• Increased application of geochemical and 

 geophysical techniques to understanding the 

 structure and properties at the oceanic crust 



• Physical oceanography of the equatorial Pa- 

 cific in conjunction with the first GARP global 

 experiment 



• Expanded and interrelated studies of marine 

 organic materials, biochemical processes, and 

 surface reactions on particulate matter 



For the next 10 years, the research priorities are: 



• Structure and function of open-sea biological 

 communities emphasizing the role of nekton 

 (free-swimming aquatic animals) 



• Physical processes involved in air-sea interac- 

 tions with emphasis on large-scale interac- 

 tions in the equatorial regions 



• In situ marine chemical experimentation and 

 manipulation 



• Deep structure and geologic evolution of con- 

 tinental margins and the ocean basins 



• Refinement of models of the general ocean 

 circulation 



• Determination of the driving forces for plate 

 tectonics. 



International research. Although the Division 

 supports few research projects in foreign 

 countries, many oceanographers from the United 

 States conduct their basic research in the coastal 

 waters of foreign countries. The major problem in 

 conducting oceanographic research in foreign wa- 

 ters has been receiving timely clearance from 

 coastal states to conduct research in their waters. 

 These problems are likely to increase rather than 

 decrease in importance over the next five years, 

 particularly if the current "Law of the Sea" 

 negotiations result in the kinds of requirements now 

 being discussed as conditions for access to coastal 

 waters. Additional problems include those asso- 

 ciated with productive scientific collaboration be- 

 tween countries difi'ering widely in resources and 

 sophistication, and the difficulty many nations 

 have in committing resources over long periods of 

 time for extensive and costly research programs. 



Division of Polar Programs 



Goals and objectives. The Division of Polar Pro- 

 grams (DPP) supports basic research programs in 

 both the Arcti'. and the Antarctic. 



The goal of the Arctic. Research Program is to 

 extend environmental and resource-related re- 

 search in the Arctic in cooperation with other Fed- 

 eral agencies, the State of Alaska, industry, and 

 other countries, as necessary. 



NSF has been assigned overall management re- 

 sponsibility for executing the national program for 

 Antarctica within the context of the Antarctic 



202 



NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 



