Non-Living Resources 



Thorough analyses and maps are currently available for only a very 

 small fraction of our Continental Shelf. In view of the rapidly increasing im- 

 portance of geological, bathymetric, and geophysical information to the 

 development and management of offshore resources, studies are planned by 

 the Geological Survey and ESSA leading to the publication of maps of the 

 following areas: (a) all of the Shelf at a reconnaissance scale of 1 : 1,000,000 

 or smaller utilizing information from all cooperating agencies, from private 

 institutions, and from private industry as available; (b) the most significant 

 areas of the Shelf at a scale of 1 : 250,000; and (c) selected areas of the Shelf 

 of high economic potential at a scale of 1 : 62,500. A longer-range goal of 

 ESSA is bathymetric and geophysical mapping of the entire Shelf at a scale 

 of 1 : 250,000, a task requiring about 70 ship years. The maps will not only 

 add impetus to private investment in offshore minerals, but will also provide 

 an information framework for Federal management of offshore resources 

 and a far more adequate scientific description of the Shelf than now exists. 



Priorities for selecting areas and problems to be investigated for each 

 region vrill depend on the results of analyses and offshore reconnaissance 

 work and on knowledge of the adjacent dryland geology. Among the geo- 

 logical projects of particular interest are : several lines of drill holes along the 

 Atlantic Shelf; reconnaissance core drilling off Washington-Oregon (petro- 

 leum) ; and intermediate scale mapping off southern New England (gravel, 

 petroleum), the Carolinas (phosphates, petroleum), Washington-Oregon- 

 California (earthquake hazard) , and the Gulf of Alaska (petroleum) . Also, 

 the joint Geological Survey-ESSA mapping program in the northern Ber- 

 ing Sea will continue in 1969. 



Mapping and resource delineation along our coasts could be one of the 

 major activities during the early years of the International Decade of Ocean 

 Exploration which is described in Chapter IX. 



In no area of marine sciences is the necessity for and benefits from a 

 public-private partnership more evident than in the development of non- 

 living resources. The resources will be developed by the private sector. At the 

 same time the resources are on public lands and must be developed in the 

 overall national interest. The policies and programs of the Federal Govern- 

 ment must thus take into account the rapidly evolving technology becom- 

 ing available to industry, the economic incentives that motivate private 

 industry to move seaward, and the many factors that comprise the national 

 interest in the development of public lands. 



Ill 



