22 



about 4.5 on the standard Richter scale, which is a logarithmic 

 scale. 



Using just one ocean sensor with primitive data processing, we 

 are now down to a detection sensitivity of about 2.4. 



The people in the business believe that with a little more sophis- 

 tication and more channels coming in, you would get down to two. 

 So that is an enormous improvement. 



What we can look at now is essentially the heartbeat of the 

 earth instead of just observing cataclysmic events as we have had 

 to in the past. 



So if you take a medical analogy, I suppose it is like the differ- 

 ence of being able to measure the heartbeat versus waiting until 

 the patient goes into spasms. It is really very dramatic. 



Mr. Green. That is a good analogy. 



Dr. Daugherty. Let me speak to the charting question you had, 

 sir. We are concerned that much of the base data that is under, I 

 would say, roughly, 50 percent of the NOS charts in U.S. waters, 

 collected before World War II, with lead line measurements and 

 wire drag kinds of technology. With deep-draft vessels, as was illus- 

 trated by the QE-2 grounding, areas that you would think are well 

 traveled and well known can still pose hazards to navigation in 

 today's age. The technology exists in terms of swath width acoustic- 

 sounding devices and surveys to rectify that, but the National 

 Ocean Service does not have the resources to go out there and run 

 the vessels over the area and collect that data. 



We believe that it does pose risk. And as ships go to deeper draft, 

 we will see more risk to vessels in U.S. waters because of that 

 shortcoming in basic survey data. 



Mr. Green. What would you suggest for us to — and obviously, it 

 is resources. And this week particularly, we recognize the limita- 

 tion on our resources. But you know, to improve that, because with 

 the deeper-draft vessels — and again the problem in the Gulf of 

 Mexico is normally man-made, from some of our structures we 

 leave there, or is left there, whereas I know in other places it is 

 because of the topography. 



Dr. Daugherty. So there is no cheap and simple solution, be- 

 cause even with the swath surveys you have got to go out there in 

 a vessel and occupy the space and collect the data. But I think that 

 my recommendation would be that you ask the National Ocean 

 Service to look at the application of the latest technology and tell 

 you what it would cost this Nation to put that data base in shape 

 to support our nautical requirements into the next century. It is 

 long overdue, sir. 



Mr. Green. Thank you. 



Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. Ortiz. Mr. Hochbrueckner from New York, do you have an- 

 other question? 



Mr. Hochbrueckner. No, I am finished. 

 Thank you. 



Mr. Ortiz. I just have one more question, and this is for the 

 entire panel. Several of you mention in your testimony that you 

 have been involved with the Environmental Task Force. If you 

 could tell us a little bit more about what it does and the way it is 

 developing, anybody that can answer that? 



