PREFACE 



The Office of Undersea Research of the National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) supports in situ research 

 utilizing a variety of systems including manned submersibles, 

 saturation habitats, remotely operated vehicles ( ROVs ) , and air 

 and mixed gas scuba. There are currently five National Undersea 

 Research Centers ( NURCs ) that operate on grants from NOAA. These 

 centers are located at the Caribbean Marine Research Center, 

 Riviera Beach, Florida, the University of Connecticut at Avery 

 Point, Fairleigh Dickinson University at St. Croix, USVI, the 

 University of Hawaii at Manoa, and the University of North 

 Carolina at Wilmington. 



NOAA's Office of Undersea Research provides facilities for 

 scientists to conduct research supporting NOAA's mission 

 objectives in the areas of: global oceanic processes, pathways 

 and fate of materials in the ocean and Great Lakes, coastal 

 oceanic and estuarine processes, ocean lithosphere and mineral 

 resources, biological productivity and living resources, diving 

 safety and physiology, and ocean technology. 



The series of papers presented in this and a companion 

 volume are the result of a symposium held at the National 

 Undersea Research Center, University of Connecticut at Avery 

 Point on October 21-23, 1987. The symposium addressed four major 

 research themes: marine resources in the Gulf of Maine, global 

 vent processes, deep-water ecology, ocean technology, and 

 biological productivity. Papers presented at the symposium are 

 published in two volumes: 1) Benthic Productivity and Marine 

 Resources of the Gulf of Maine and 2) Global Venting, Midwater, 

 and Benthic Ecological Processes. As editors, we undertook to 

 standardize elements of the papers, clarify statements, and in 

 other ways assist the session chairman in the work they performed 

 in assembling these papers. The papers presented herein meet 

 requirements of grantees to the Office of Undersea Research. 



We acknowledge Marcia Collie with special thanks for her 

 assistance with the final preparation of these volumes. Her 

 talent for and experience with preparation of the manuscripts to 

 camera-ready copy are sincerely appreciated. 



Ivar G. Babb Michael P. De Luca 



Science Coordinator Program Scientist 



Gulf of Maine Office of Undersea Research 



National Undersea Research Center NOAA 



University of Connecticut 6010 Executive Boulevard 



at Avery Point Suite 805 



Groton, CT 06340 Rockville, MD 20852 



