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expertise - Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Deep Submergence Group, U.S. Navy, MBARI, 

 and the NfURP facility of the University of Hawaii - that are ma^g, or hold a potential to make, 

 contributions to deep submergence science. 



PROBLEMS FACING DEEP SUBMERGENCE SCIENCE: I suggest that there is a short 

 term problem facing our National Deep Submergence Facility located at WHOI, and a more general 

 longer term problem facing the U.S. deep submergerKe effort as a whole. 



• Short Term - The problem facing the community in the short term has two primary components. 

 The nature of the tripartite interagency agreement that supports the National Deep Submergence 

 Facility at WHOI is subject each year to vagaries of funding specific to each one of the three 

 sponsoring agencies. For example, partitioning of the FY93 appropriation for NOAA/NURP 

 resulted in a last minute reduction in the expected NOAA contribution to the ALVTN program, 

 causing serious problems with the scheduling of the 1993 ALVIN program and allocation of 

 resources. A last minute funding problem is not unique to 1993. nor is it restricted to NOAA's 

 contributions; problems like this have been a recurrent theme for the last several years. The result is 

 that it is all too common that this country's premier probe into the deep inner space of this planet has 

 been seriously compromised . Such a recent history has not only effected usage of the vehicle by 

 U.S. scientists, but also the ability of the Deep Submergence Group at WHOI to incorporate new 

 and necessary technologies into the operational capability of the submersible. As a result. ALVIN 

 does not offer to the U.S. community the benefits of advanced technology that have been 

 incorporated into the deeper diving (6000-6500m) deep submergence systems operated by our 

 foreign colleagues (France, Japan arid Russia). ALVIN still is the premier system in toto because of 

 its reUability, Sie nearly three decades of accumulated expertise that resides with the ALVIN team, 

 and the iiuiovative nature of the scientists using the submersible. Nevertheless, our manned 

 presence in the deep sea is in jeopardy because we are loosing ground as other operators learn how 

 to operate in the abyss. To compound matters, this precarious fiinding situation, which has 

 characterized ALVfr^ for the last several years, is now made even more challenging because the new 

 JASON-MEDEA ROV system has been added to capabilities/offerings of the National Deep 

 Submergence Facility, but the bottom line has not significantly changed. On one hand, the 

 community of deep submergence scientists is excited by the new and expanded research 

 opportunities provided by tWs new ROV system, but on the other hand, it is not at all clear how 

 these two systems can be suppoited in a way to maximize utilization. During this time of transition 

 as the community grows into the new opportunities offered by ROVs and tries to upgrade the 

 capabilities of our existing manned ass^ ALVIN, the present funding mechanism does not 

 constructively serve the needs of deep submergerKe scieiKe. 



• Long Term - This country lacks a clear vision of how it wishes to go about probing the mysteries of 

 this planet's inner space and a plan to carry it out. The creation of a National E>eep Submergence 

 Facility at WHOI approximately twenty years ago. and a tripartite agency agreement to make it 

 happen, was an important step in giving this country a presence in the abyss. It is now time to 

 develop a deep submergence strategy and implementation plan that will carry this country forward 

 into the 21st century. This must be done if this country is to remain a leader in the exploration of 

 the abyss. 



CHALLENGE FOR THE FUTURE: I submit that, given the global scale of the oceans inner 

 space, the compelling nature of the scientific questions to be answered, and the societal gains to be 

 harvested from deep submergence science, we need nothing short of a national commitment to this 

 planet's last and best frontier. The scientific opportunities and the societal rewards are immense. Such 

 a program should, however, be developed with care arxl thought involving representatives from 

 industry, the research cotiununity. federal agencies and policy makers. To insure success, the 

 emphasis would have to be on peer-reviewed science. 



