terranean Sea, many new questions are raised about the history of the 

 ocean basins and previous estimates of mineral potential of the deep oceans 

 may have to be revised upward. 



Another example of spinoff to the marine minerals area from the Navy's 

 military-oriented program is the identification of what may be one of the 

 most prolific oil reserves in the world on the continental shelf between the 

 Republic of China and Japan as the result of a survey undertaken with 

 the contract vessel R/V F. V. Hunt. Three small basins beneath the Yellow 

 Sea were also found to be highly promising areas for petroleum deposits. 



The Army Corps of Engineers, through its Coastal Engineering Research 

 Center and Lake Survey District, has been conducting a sand inventory pro- 

 gram since 1964 as part of a beach replenishment effort. To date, some 

 7,300 statute miles of seismic profiles and 1,000 cores have been collected, 

 in large part under contract with private industry. A cooperative inventory 

 program with the U.S. Geological Survey is currently underway to assess 

 sand deposits in areas of mutual interest such as Long Island Sound. 



The U.S. Coast Guard conducts oceanographic surveys off Alaska which 

 involve geophysical measurements and bottom sediment samples. The "Polar 

 Profile — 1969" program in the Chukchi Sea, carried out jointly by the Coast 

 Guard, the Geological Survey, and ESSA, has been previously mentioned. 

 As the development of the mineral resources of the polar regions intensifies. 

 Coast Guard supporting services involving the maintenance of transporta- 

 tion routes, logistic support for bases, and safety-at-sea will become increas- 

 ingly important. 



The National Science Foundation annually funds some $1.5 million in 

 university research on the origin, evolution, structure, lithology, and sedi- 

 mentology of the U.S. continental margins and the deep ocean basins. 

 Knowledge of the sources of known mineral deposits, the distribution of 

 sediments by waves and currents, and the formation and movement of 

 the oceanic crust is fundamental to the efficient location and exploitation of 

 seabed minerals. 



Under the Sea Grant Program administered by the National Science 

 Foundation, offshore oil and gas studies were conducted last year on the 

 geochemistry of offshore petroleum and the deposition of sediments; grad- 

 uate education programs developed in the area of marine minerals; inven- 

 tories prepared of coastal sand and deep sea mineral deposits; and geo- 

 physical studies of the Great Lakes undertaken to assess economic potential. 



The Foundation is also supporting the Deep Sea Drilling Project (ch. XI) 

 which has not only demonstrated the feasibility of new navigational systems 

 and drilling techniques, but is adding a wealth of valuable new information 

 to our limited knowledge of the sediments and potential mineral provinces 

 of the deep oceans. Although virtually all accomplishments of this project 

 are significant to the future of the offshore mining industry, several findings 

 related to seabed mineral occurrences are particularly noteworthy: 



1. The discovery of oil and gas at unexpected depths in the Gulf of 

 Mexico associated with intrusions of salt. 



2. Identification of large amounts of iron and other metal oxide precipi- 

 tates in sediments at one site. 



76 



