activities, (3) management strategies for ecologically important 

 areas like marshlands, and (4) methods for restoring damaged areas. 

 The goal is to define workable strategies for resolving conflicts 

 between regional growth and development and environmental 

 quality. 



Knowledge about the origin and history of the oceanic basins and 

 the continents is the objective of the Ocean Sediment Coring 

 Program (OSCP). The major activity of the OSCP is the Deep Sea 

 Drilling Project (DSDP), which uses the scientific drilling ship, 

 Glomar Challenger, to obtain samples by drilling and coring the 

 sedimentary layers of the seabed. 



Lead responsibility for polar research rests with the Office of 

 Polar Programs (OPP), which coordinates and supports research in 

 the Arctic and Antarctic. Fundamental objectives are: the 

 determination and prediction of the role played by sea-ice in 

 influencing oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns (hence on 

 the world climate), marine ecosystem studies, population dynamics 

 of marine mammals, and low-temperature research on marine 

 organisms in Antarctic waters. 



Support for the equipment and ships necessary to conduct these 

 programs is provided by the Office of Oceanographic Facilities and 

 Support (OFS). With the exception of ship support provided by the 

 Offices of Polar Programs and the Ocean Sediment Coring Program, 

 all Foundation funds for ship support are programmed through the 

 OFS. Support is also provided for the operation of facilities other 

 than ships, and for the acquisition of capital equipment and 

 improvement of shore facilities. The objectives are to maintain and 

 improve a cooperative system of academic facilities with operational 

 capability at key locations and to promote the shared use of such 

 facilities through the University National Oceanographic 

 Laboratory System (UNOLS). 



In addition, the Foundation, through the Educational Directorate, 

 provides support for developing instructional programs and training 

 students and teachers in the marine sciences. 



Department of Transportation 



The U.S. Coast Guard, maritime arm of the Department of 

 Transportation, has as its main mission safety of life and property at 

 sea, and the enforcement of maritime laws and treaties, particularly 

 as they relate to pollution prevention and fisheries conservation. 



The former mission includes search and rescue, aids to navigation, 

 merchant marine safety, and recreational boating safety. Ancillary 

 to and in support of both of the main missions are the collection of 

 oceanographic data by ocean station vessels, oceanographic vessels, 

 and polar icebreakers, the processing of such data, and the entire 

 Coast Guard Research and Development program. 



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