SIGNIFICANCE OF OCEANOGRAPHIC 

 STUDY TO DOE POLICIES AND 

 PROGRAMS 



Energy and Weapons Issues 



The marine waters surrounding the U.S. provide 

 food and resources on the one hand while assimilating 

 discharges from various sources on the other. Dif- 

 ferent energy-related technologies can have similar 

 impacts on the marine system, such as causing shifts in 

 marine populations due to nutrient changes, disrup- 

 tion of breeding areas, and the like. The functioning 

 and dynamics of the marine system need to be studied 

 to understand which impacts can cause serious or long 

 lasting injury and which ones can be assimilated with 

 minimum perturbation and to develop technologies to 

 forestall or reduce serious damage. Furthermore, un- 

 derstanding these processes could aid in technological 

 development of innovative energy sources derived 

 from the ocean system. 



At present, the ocean is being used as a 

 repository of low level radioactive wastes by numerous 

 countries. While the U.S. stopped this practice many 

 years ago, concerns surface periodically about the 

 isolation of the wastes disposed of decades ago. The 

 continuing research program on the ocean margins 

 identifies the major sinks and reservoirs of different 

 materials, including radionuclides and the paths by 

 which humans might be exposed. The same studies 

 reveal that significant input of natural radionuclides 

 are brought on to the shelf from deep ocean upwelling. 

 An analysis of the isotope ratios provides the key to 

 deciphering the source of the radionuclides. 



Transportation routes of oil and liquified gas 

 have become congested near major coastal 

 metropolitan areas. Although accidents are rare, basic 

 information on dynamics of coastal ecosystems is 

 crucial in minimizing or containing accidents when 

 they do occur. The best time for research is before an 

 accident occurs so that maximum scientific knowledge 

 can be used to mitigate effects of accidents. The same 

 basic information can also be used to evaluate environ- 

 mental concerns in areas targeted for petroleum ex- 

 ploration. 



By focusing on processes, DOE's Coastal Ocean 

 Margins Program provides information on existing 

 and unanticipated energy- and defense-related issues. 

 For example, the Southeast Regional Program in- 

 itiated in 1975 was aimed at determining the effects of 

 floating nuclear power plants in the coastal region. 

 While these plants were never developed, because of 

 the fundamental nature of the program's research, it 

 has provided important scientific input into environ- 

 mental evaluations on the extent of contaminant river 

 discharges into the South Atlantic Bight, disposal of 

 nuclear-powered submarine reactors off the continen- 

 tal shelf, and drilling for oil on the Blake Plateau. It has 

 served other — sadder — purposes, too, when this re- 

 search provided the necessary information about 

 oceanic currents to pinpoint the location of the Chal- 

 lenger booster rocket. 



Global Change 



Energy- and weapons-related problems are not 

 the only targets for the DOE oceanographic program. 

 A major energy policy issue facing the U.S. is that of 

 global change. In this regard, DOE's program 

 provides input to at least two areas of biogeochemical 

 cycling (figure 1). 



Given the present concern over carbon dioxide 

 (CO2) and other trace gases discharged from energy 

 generation, the trade-offs among fossil fuel, renewable 

 resources, conservation, and nuclear power need to be 

 reevaluated. While much emphasis is focused on the 

 buildup of these gases in the atmosphere, there is 60 

 times more CO2 in the ocean than in the atmosphere. 

 Furthermore, the single greatest unknown in carbon 

 cycling and CO2 atmospheric buildup is the role of the 

 oceans in absorbing or buffering the CO2 and other 

 carbon compounds. 



Coastal Ocean Margins Program 



December 1988 



