entific advice to the project. This has been the 

 most successful large-scale study of the earth 

 ever attempted, and it has provided the basic 

 results on which proof of continental drift and 

 sea-floor spreading is based. Over 50 separate 

 cruises have now been completed. To date, 36 

 volumes detailing concise results have been 

 published. A wide range of current literature 

 in geology, geophysics, geochemistry, and 

 their marine counterparts is based on the re- 

 sults of the project. 



Current and future research emphasis. Current 

 earth sciences support reflects a continuing refine- 

 ment of the implications of a mobile crust for the 

 origin of earthquakes and the production of lateral 

 variations in the structure of the earth's crust. 



Identification of research priorities for the next 

 decade can be made only in the broadest terms. 

 The Division of Earth Sciences can, however, an- 

 ticipate the development of massive scientific justi- 

 fication for an expanded Ocean Sediment Coring 

 Program (OSCP) using technological advantages 

 that could be provided, for example, by such a 

 vessel as the Glomar Explorer. Such a drilling 

 program would, in addressing the mysteries of the 

 region between the true continent and typical 

 ocean floor, find itself simultaneously providing 

 the scientific basis for what may become the final 

 great energy exploration endeavor left for man. 

 Whether or not the vast fraction of the planet that 

 is transitional between continent and ocean was 

 formed under conditions suitable for hydrocarbon 

 accumulation is a question of major significance 

 for today's society. The Division of Earth Sci- 

 ences anticipates support from the scientific com- 

 munity to obtain deep core samples from this re- 

 gion for a wide series of analyses involving many 

 branches of the science. The Division also believes 

 it essential to work closely with the Division of 

 Ocean Sciences on the refinement of drill site 

 selections which can be made only on the basis of 

 an intensification and technological maturing of 

 submarine geology and geophysics. 



The continental drilling program, which is yet to 

 be initiated, would occupy center stage in earth 

 sciences research on the continent. Another major 

 effort is the work of the Consortium for Continen- 

 tal Reflection Profiling. This should result in in- 

 creased understanding of the continental basement 

 structure and aid in the efficient selection of sites 

 for deep holes to be drilled by OSCP. In addition, 

 a substantial initiative will be required in the up- 

 grading of instrumentation, particularly in the geo- 

 chemistry program. 



With the reservation that there is always the 

 possibility that future trends can change drastically 

 in response to exciting new concepts, maximum 

 scientific returns from funding of research in the 



200 NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 



following fields (in addition to the expanded ocean 

 drilling program) can be expected: 



• Research in isotopic and high-pressure geo- 

 chemistry related to the origin of ores 



• Research aimed at improving understanding 

 of processes involved in earthquakes 



• Support of a large-scale seismic reflection 

 profiling survey to determine the fine struc- 

 ture of the crust and upper mantle 



• Initiation of support for the continental drill- 

 ing program and an increase in studies of 

 those parts of the continent that have resulted 

 from interaction between continental and 

 oceanic crust. 



International research. The Division of Earth 

 Sciences supports field work by U. S. scientists in 

 several foreign countries as dictated by scientific 

 priorities. 



On a larger scale, the Ocean Sediment Coring 

 Program has substantial foreign participation. Five 

 foreign governments each contribute up to $1 mil- 

 lion annually to the operating costs of the Deep 

 Sea Drilling Program, in which the annual United 

 States contribution is about $18 million. Foreign 

 scientists participate in the formulation of scientif- 

 ic advice to DSDP and form part of the scientific 

 parties during cruises of Glomar Challenger. 



Whether problems materialize during 

 international cooperative programs frequently 

 depends upon relations between the scientists in- 

 volved. Each new initiative in international re- 

 search projects must be closely examined prior to 

 making substantial commitments, including solici- 

 tation of advice from active U. S. scientists who 

 have directly experienced scientific cooperation 

 with scientists from the country involved. • 



Division of Ocean Sciences 



Goals and objectives. The overall objective of the 

 Division of Ocean Sciences is to improve man's 

 understanding of the nature of the ocean, its 

 influence on man's activities, and man's impact on 

 the marine environment. This is accomplished 

 through three major programs: Two basic research 

 programs — one to support projects of individual 

 scientists at the oceanographic institutions, the 

 other to support a limited number of large, man- 

 aged projects — and a program that provides for the 

 acquisition and operating costs of the ships and 

 other oceanographic facilities needed to carry out 

 these research programs. 



The Oceanography Section provides grants to 

 individual scientists for developing fundamental 

 knowledge about the oceans, their contents, and 

 the sea floor. Investigations concentrate on these 

 areas of study: Physical oceanography, marine 

 chemistry, submarine geology and geophysics, and 

 biological oceanography. 



