FLARE, which began early in 1972. The FLARE should provide informa- 

 tion on the ecological effects of ocean dumping and other problems of 

 coastal zone management. 



NSF Oceanographic Facilities and Support 



The NSF Office for Oceanographic Facilities and Support (OFS) was 

 established in 1971 to improve management support for academic oceano- 

 graphic facilities. The objective is to provide support for large and expensive 

 facilities which are appropriate for shared usage in accordance with the 

 demonstrated needs of the total academic oceanographic community. Insti- 

 tutions qualifying to operate shared facilities will be required to demon- 

 strate the logistic capability to carry out all related tasks. 



Support is provided through partial or total funding of ship operating 

 costs and the operating cost of facilities other than ships. Included on a 

 shared basis with Navy are the administrative costs of the University-National 

 Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) . 



The UNOLS will provide a considerably improved communitywide co- 

 ordination and review of the utilization and opportunity for access to facili- 

 ties. It will assess the current match of facilities to the needs of academic 

 oceanographic programs and recommend priorities for replacement, modifi- 

 cation, improvement, and augmentation of facilities. Further, it will assist 

 Federal agencies in achieving more effective ship and other facility 

 utilization. 



At present, the academic fleet operated by 18 academic oceanographic 

 institutions includes 32 ships; 11 are Navy ships bailed to institutions, 20 are 

 directly owned, and one is chartered. The estimated fleet operating cost for 

 Fiscal Year 1972 is $16.8 million, shared by NSF (63 percent), Navy (29 

 percent), and other primarily non-Federal sponsors (8 percent). 



The OFS is currently placing emphasis on the replacement of 13 ships 

 ranging in age from 23 to 49 years, on upgrading the capability of ships 

 planned for continued service, and onshore construction and equipment 

 acquisitions necessary to sustain ongoing ship operations. 



Ocean Sediment Coring Program 



The objective of the Ocean Sediment Coring Program is to acquire knowl- 

 edge of the nearly three-quarters of the earth's crust that is covered by the 

 sea. The major activity, the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) , commenced 

 in 1966 under an NSF contract with the University of California. Actual 

 operations began in 1968 with the completion of the drilling ship Glomar 

 Challenger, the only ship in the world with the capability to perform rotary 

 drilling in the very deep oceans (to 20,000-foot ocean depths). During 4 

 years of operations, cores have been taken from the Atlantic, Pacific, and 

 Indian Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean, Mediterranean, 

 Bering, and Red Seas. Cores have been obtained from the ocean bed in water 

 up to 20,000 feet deep, with some samples taken from holes drilled more 

 than 4,000 feet into the ocean floor. 



The scientific results of the Project have contributed to significantly new 



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