APPENDIX C— THE FRENCH-AMERICAN 

 MID-OCEAN UNDERSEA STUDY 



One of the most prominent topographic features of the deep ocean 

 floor is the midocean ridge or mountain system. In the new global 

 geophysical theories of seafloor spreading and continental drift, 

 material is believed to well up from deep within the earth at the axis 

 of this ridge system, creating fresh basaltic mountains and other 

 features on the ocean floor for which there are no parallels on land. 



The extent to which this creation of oceanic crust may be related to 

 geochemical interactions affecting mineral formation at subduction 

 zones is poorly understood. However, there is a trend toward using 

 tectonic plate concepts in exploration for minerals and petroleum on 

 land and on the continental shelves. 



The depth and vastness of the ocean has limited our ability to 

 perform the studies necessary to identify the geochemical and 

 geophysical processes of emplacement, although recent studies in 

 the Red Sea and North Atlantic have given some indication of the 

 range of phenomena likely to occur. In 1971, a detailed investigation 

 of part of the mid-Atlantic Ridge was initiated to concentrate on 

 these geologic processes at ridge axes-and the landforms that they 

 produce. 



The French-American Mid-Ocean Undersea Study (FAMOUS) 

 was established as a joint project by the governments of France and 

 the United States as a part of the U.S. -French Program for 

 Cooperation in Oceanography. The lead agencies under which this 

 agreement is being pursued are the Centre National pour 

 I'Exploitation des Oceans (CNEXO) for France and the National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the United 

 States. FAMOUS project activities of the French are being 

 coordinated at the Centre Oceanologique de Bretagne (COB) at Brest, 

 and U.S. activities at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. 

 Primary Federal agency participation and support for FAMOUS is 

 being provided by the National Science Foundation, NOAA, and the 

 Navy. Others participating include the U.S. Geological Survey, 

 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Scripps Institution of 

 Oceanography, Oregon State University, Dalhousie University 

 (Canada), the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences (England), the 

 Institute of Geological Sciences (England), and Centre 

 Oceanographique de Bretagne (France) and CNEXO (France). 



Project FAMOUS focuses on a section of the mid-Atlantic Ridge 

 about 400 miles Southwest of the Azores and encompasses two 

 major fracture zones that offset the Ridge. This section of the ridge is 

 characterized by a well-defined axial rift valley and a symmetrical 

 magnetic anomaly pattern. The overall plan of investigation began 



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