Thirty-three countries have expressed willingness to participate in this 

 activity scheduled to run for 2 years. 



A new IGOSS General Plan and Implementation Program for the 

 period 1976-1980 has been prepared to guide the further development of 

 IGOSS. It is anticipated that such program development will occur 

 through the incorporation into oceanographic analyses and predictions 

 of oceanographic data gathered via satellites and buoys; the automation 

 of shipboard observation techniques; the implementation of a near-real- 

 time analysis and prediction system; and the monitoring of marine 

 pollutants. The final draft of the IGOSS General Plan and Implementa- 

 tion Program will have to be presented to the IOC and WMO governing 

 bodies for approval. 



The IOC has also undertaken a Global Investigation of Pollution in 

 the Marine Environment (GIPME), which is intended to be a major proj- 

 ect. GIPME provides an international framework within which national 

 and regional research programs on various aspects of marine pollution 

 may be coordinated to contribute to an understanding of global pollution 

 problems. A first priority in GIPME is the accomplishment of baseline 

 studies on three levels — national, regional, and open ocean. Equal 

 priority is given to a number of research activities dealing with pollution 

 sources, pathways, sinks, effects, and the dose/response relationship. 

 Studies are also proposed on pollution carried by rivers to the ocean and 

 on the exchange of pollutants between the atmosphere and the ocean 

 and between the ocean and the floor beneath. These tasks, when suc- 

 cessfully completed, will provide a systematic picture of the quantitative 

 understanding of the transfer to and within the marine environment of 

 major pollutants and will act as a base for the development of a predic- 

 tive capacity to assess the potential effects of pollutants on the marine 

 environment, and, lastly, the studies will provide a sound basis for 

 measures to control the introduction of pollutants to the ocean. 



The IOC's International Coordination Group (ICG) for GIPME held 

 its third session in May 1975. During this session, the ICG established a 

 Task Team on Marine Pollution Monitoring to define the requirements 

 and provide the scientific basis for the IGOSS marine pollution monitor- 

 ing program. 



A Task Team on Marine Pollutant Input Data was also established. 

 This task team will evaluate the need for and quality of pollutant input 

 data for mass-balance studies; recommend necessary actions required to 

 obtain quantitative data on rates, locations, and releases to the marine 

 environment of potential pollutants; and recommend research on 

 transfer processes as such processes affect pollutant inputs into the 

 marine environment. DDT will be used as the test base for obtaining in- 

 put data. 



25 



