Marine Science Affairs 



domestic production of heavy metals that are in short supply, including 

 gold, silver, platinum metals, mercury, tin, bismuth, antimony, and tantalum. 

 The initial emphasis is on gold, a resource for which the demand is un- 

 usually acute. Apart from Government purchases, industrial demand for 

 gold in 1966 in the United States was over three times the domestic output. 

 Projected requirements over the next few decades, considering industrial 

 uses only, indicate a widening gap between demand and domestic supply. 



The area off the southern Seward Peninsula near Nome, Alaska, was 

 sampled for undersea placer deposits during the summer of 1967. The test 

 samples contained low but repeated finds of gold in every drill hole, but due 

 to unknown costs of mining offshore in this area, the commercial significance 

 is uncertain. 



4. Development of water resources is a major activity of the Geological 

 Survey. It investigates offshore fresh water sources and interaction of fresh 

 and salt water in estuaries. Particular attention has been given to the Atlan- 

 tic Continental Shelf, off Florida, where fresh water was identified in off- 

 shore drill holes. Although desalting technology has not been included within 

 the scope of the marine science program, the oceans are an increasingly at- 

 tractive source of fresh water in some coastal areas. Also, corrosion-reduction 

 technologies developed for desalting programs have broad applications to 

 marine engineering. 



Resource Management 



The Federal program for exploration, leasing, and development of oil, gas, 

 sulfur, and other minerals of the submerged lands of the Outer Continental 

 Shelf was first authorized by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 

 August 7, 1953. The Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to approve 

 geological and geophysical explorations in the OCS and to grant oil and gas 

 and other mineral leases for further exploration and development of these 

 deposits. Regulation of leasing is administered by the Bureau of Land Man- 

 agement, and the supervision of drilling and production is a function of the 

 Geological Survey. 



The Bureau of Land Management prepares leasing maps, recommends 

 lease sales, holds lease sales, issues leases, and approves assignments of lease 

 interests. The Bureau also issues rights-of-way for pipelines and other needed 

 facilities and furnishes technical information for securing final determi- 

 nations of boundaries between Federal and State jurisdictions. The Bureau's 

 leases contain standard provisions for conservation practices and for pro- 

 tection of aquatic and environmental resources, and any special stipu- 



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