Depth contours at 10 meter intervals 

 of the 22° isotherm 



CICAR, the Cooperative Investigation of the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions, has 

 begun to produce significant new data. Here, data from a CICAR cruise by NOAA's 

 Discoverer reveal characteristics of the Gulf "loop current" between the Yucatan 

 Channel and the Florida Straits. 



tonic framework for the Avis Ridge, the Lesser Antilles Arc, and the south- 

 eastern Caribbean area where the boundaries of crustal plates make the 

 area particularly significant from a scientific point of view. Meteorological 

 work has concentrated primarily in standardizing observations aboard ships 

 taking part in the operations. 



International Decade of Ocean Exploration 



The IDOE program in the United States is planned, managed, and sup- 

 ported by NSF as part of the U.S. contribution to the Long-Term and Ex- 

 panded Program of Ocean Exploration and Research adopted by the IOC 

 in 1969. The initial funding year for the U.S. IDOE program was Fiscal 

 Year 1971. 



The NSF Oflfice of the International Decade of Ocean Exploration sup- 



100 



