The field projects began with several small arrays of moored instruments 

 in November 1971. These will be followe'd by tests and trials of new instru- 

 mentation during 1972, culminating in the intensive MODE-I experiment 

 from March through June of 1973. In addition to bottom pressure gages, in- 

 verted echo sounders, and geomagnetic electric-field recorders, instrumenta- 

 tion will consist of fixed-moored arrays for recording current and tempera- 

 ture, free-floating instruments situated at about the 1,200-meter depth and 

 tracked acoustically, and vertical-profiling instruments launched from ships 

 and aircraft to measure salinity, temperature, and horizontal currents. 



Meteorological and physical oceanographic studies of coastal upweHing 

 were initiated last year. The Coastal Upwelling Experiment (CUE) investi- 

 gators have concentrated on strengthening theoretical and numerical models 

 and on preparing instruments required for the 1972 field study. The study, 

 carefully designed to evaluate existing theoretical and numerical upwelling 

 models, will take place in a well-studied upwelling area oflF the Oregon coast. 



Researchers are doing detailed stratigraphic analyses on existing deep-sea 

 cores in a Paleo-Oceanography Study started last year. The objectives are to 

 determine, in detail, oceanic and climatic fluctuation that vAW help evaluate 

 man's impact on observed environmental changes. 



Seabed Assessment 



A reconnaissance-scale geophysical survey of the stratigraphy and struc- 

 ture of the west coast of Africa, one of the world's major unexplored wide 

 continental margins, began during the past year. The project involves 

 oceanographic laboratories from the United States, Europe, and Africa. The 

 4-year project includes two 6-month field expeditions spread over 2 years. 

 The first field efl"ort, after 1 year of preparation, started in January 1972. 

 Similar studies off the east coast of South America are proposed as part of the 

 program during 1972. 



Surveys of rift valleys and trenches were initiated in 1971 to investigate 

 processes responsible for producing heavy mineral concentrations along mid- 

 oceanic ridges and for assessing the potential of deep oceanic trenches for 

 disposal of manmade waste. A study of the Nasca lithospheric plate off the 

 west coast of Peru focused on its active boundaries, which include the rift 

 valley of the East Pacific Rise and the Peru-Chile Trench. The major effort 

 was begun by two U.S. university and Government laboratories with assist- 

 ance from South American scientists. It has been expanded to include an 

 examination by Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the extension of the 

 East Pacific Rise in the Gulf of California. 



Living Resources 



Programs in this area will concentrate on the study of marine ecosystems. 

 Although no specific projects were started last year, research efforts were 

 supported under other IDOE programs. The CUE, of major importance to 

 the living resources investigation, will be expanded in 1972 to support com- 

 prehensive physical, chemical, and biological research of the total upwelling 

 ecosystem. Examination of the more complex marine ecological systems, such 



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