Marine Science Affairs 



the Federal Government support reconnaissance mapping, research and de- 

 velopment, and other forms of assistance? What levels of these different 

 activities will, in the next few years, be in the national interest? 



Federal Marine Minerals Programs 



The Federal program in marine minerals is intended to promote the 

 development of a domestic mineral extraction industry, and to that end 

 the Federal Government plays several distinct roles: It serves as mediator 

 between public and private interests, and it is a source of incentives, economic 

 assistance, and services to industry, as outlined in Chapter XIII. 

 Facilitating services include : 



— mapping and charting; 



— weather and ocean prediction; 



— measures to protect safety of life and property; 



— geological surveys to identify potential resources; 



— mining research to develop techniques to evaluate potential 

 resources ; 



— instrumentation development. 

 Federal programs specifically directed at the development of non-living 

 resources from the marine environment include the marine minerals pro- 

 grams of the Geological Survey and the Bureau of Mines, marine water re- 

 source studies of the Geological Survey and the Office of Saline Water, and 

 the resource management functions of the Bureau of Land Management 

 with technical assistance from the Geological Survey.- As shown in Figure 

 IV.2, these programs amount to $9.8 million requested for FY 1969, com- 

 pared with $8.1 million appropriated for FY 1968. Environmental measure- 

 ments and chartirig by Environmental Science Services Administration and 

 Navy described in Chapter VIII also contribute significantly to marine 

 minerals development. 



Apart from oil, gas, and sulfur, marine mineral deposits of possible eco- 

 nomic importance include placer accumulations of the heavy metals (gold, 

 silver, and platinum) , iron, titanium, chromium, and tin, and accumulations 

 of phosphorite, glauconite, manganese nodules, and sand and gravel, among 

 others. Marine mineral technology is at such an early stage of development, 

 however, that the resource potential of the seabed has yet to be meaning- 

 fully defined. Current efforts of the Geological Survey and the Bureau of 

 Mines are thus directed primarily toward identifying the minerals available 

 from the marine environment, in economic as well as geologic terms. 



"The Office of Saline Water programs of development and demonstration of 

 desalting methods are not included herein. 



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