Marine Science Affairs 



New Research Programs 



/. A New Emphasis on Arctic Research. 



The scientific and strategic importance of the Arctic region has long been 

 recognized. Now as shipping and air travel increase in the polar latitudes, and 

 the Arctic becomes a more attractive potential source of oil, minerals, and 

 seafood, Arctic research is taking on added significance. 



In recognition of this importance, the development of capabilities to con- 

 duct oceanographic research in polar and sub-polar areas was selected by the 

 Marine Sciences Council as an area deserving priority attention during FY 

 1 969. Last year the Council recommended that a replacement Coast Guard 

 sliip authorized for the International Ice Patrol be especially designed and 

 equipped so that oceanographic research in the high latitudes could be ex- 

 panded. However, funds were not appropriated for the ship in FY 1968 and 

 the Council has recommended that $14.5 million be provided in FY 1969. 

 During the past year construction began on a new research facility for the 

 Navy Arctic Research Laboratory at Point Barrow, Alaska. The FY 1969 

 budget contains $2 million to improve this facility. 



In addition, the Council requested its Committee on Marine Research, 

 Education, and Facilities to undertake a study of Federal research activities 

 in the Arctic and future needs. 



2. Marine Pharmacology. 



In the last few years the sea has become the source of a number of sub- 

 stances used in medicine, and there has been growing attention to marine 

 sources of pharmaceuticals. The value of biochemical studies of marine 

 plants and animals is indicated by certain antiviral, antimicrobal, and an 

 array of pharmacological effects found in toxins and chemicals recovered 

 from marine sources. The future value of these sources for medicinal pur- 

 poses is almost entirely unknown; research is just beginning. 



During 1967 an ad hoc Committee on Marine Pharmacology and Toxi- 

 cology was established by the Marine Sciences Council as a basis for stimulat- 

 ing the development of a more broadly based marine pharmacology 

 program. 



3. Air-Sea Interaction. 



The Federal Council for Science and Technology has assigned the re- 

 sponsibility for developing a Federal Program for Air-Sea Interaction Re- 

 search to the Department of Commerce. This task was accomplished in 

 1967 in consultation with all interested agencies. As part of the program, a 

 Barbados Oceanographic Meteorological Experiment — BOMEX — will be 

 conducted from May to July 1969 in the area east of Barbados with funding 



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