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BACKGROUHD MBIORANDDM 



TO: Members, Subcommittee on Oceanography, Gulf of Mexico, 

 and the Outer Continental Shelf 



FROM: Subcommittee and Committee Staff 



SUBJ: Hearing on National Undersea Research Program (NURP) 



On Wednesday, March 24, at 2:00 PM in Room 1334 of the Longworth 

 House Office Building, the Subcommittee will meet to: 1. review 

 U.S. civilian undersea research efforts; and 2. evaluate how NURP 

 is meeting U.S. civilian undersea research needs. Witnesses will 

 include representatives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration (NOAA) , NURP academic users, and other 

 oceanographic and academic representatives. 



BACKGROUND 



History of U.S. Undersea Research Efforts 



NOAA's involvement in undersea research began in 1971 with the 

 establishment of the Manned Undersea Science and Technology 

 Office (MUSfcT) . The purpose of this office was: (1) to provide 

 operational support for NOAA investigations that required manned 

 subsurface observations and data collection; (2) to foster and 

 coordinate manned undersea projects with other federal and state 

 agencies, industry, research institutions, and universities; and 

 (3) to develop scientific and technical criteria for civilian 

 undersea facilities and platforms, through the experience gained 

 by using available habitats and submerslbles. 



Early HUS&T studies made extensive use of existing public and 

 private deep-diving submersibles, including PC-8, DEEP DIVER, 

 DEEP STAR 2000, DEEP QUEST, NEKTON GAMMA, and ALVIN. These 

 submersibles were used to survey the Outer Continental Shelf, 

 assess the distribution and abundance of marine resources, and 

 study the fate and effects of toxic wastes disposal at sea. The 

 primary submersible used by MUS6T was ALVIN, which is operated by 



TMS STATlONf MV nUHTEO ON PAPER UAD€ Of RECYCLED EtBERS 



