Environmental Quality Program 



This program, primarily through research in marine pol- 

 lution and geochemical processes, is designed to provide infor- 

 mation on the quality of the oceanic environment, and the 

 assessment and prediction of man's impact on this environ- 

 ment. The present program consists of three major investiga- 

 tions: the Geochemical Ocean Sections Study (GEOSECS), 

 which is concerned with detailed measurement of physical and 

 chemical characteristics of ocean waters along Arctic to Ant- 

 arctic sections; Pollutant Transfer Studies, which involve in- 

 vestigations of mechanisms and pathways by which pollutants 

 are transported to and within the oceans; and Biological Effects 

 Studies, which assess the impact of selected pollutants on 

 marine organisms and communities. 



Geochemical Ocean Sections (GEOSECS) 

 Study 



This international cooperative program involves detailed 

 measurement of physical and chemical characteristics of ocean 

 waters along Arctic to Antarctic sections (north-south track- 

 lines) in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Water samples, col- 

 lected at the selected geographic locations and depths, are being 

 analyzed for more than 40 physical and chemical parameters, 

 including: 



Temperature, salinity, pH, alkalinity, Pco„, 



Dissolved and trace gases, nutrients, trace metals, 

 dissolved and particulate organic and inorganic 

 matter, 



Natural radionuclides, 



Manmade radionuclides, and 



Stable isotopes. 

 One hundred twenty-one stations were sampled in the Atlantic 

 Ocean and one hundred and twenty were planned for the 

 Pacific. Information gained from study of the data will improve 

 our understanding of ocean mixing processes. The data also 

 will serve as baseline data for assessing future concentration 

 levels of radioactive and other pollutant wastes that are being 

 added to the sea. Sampling transects in the Atlantic and Pacific 

 were completed on June 10, 1974, but shore-based analyses 

 of collected samples at institutions throughout the world will 

 continue for several years. Projects in this program are listed 

 in table 1. 



Atlantic Cruises 



The first GEOSECS operational phase in the Atlantic 

 Ocean was completed with the RV Knorr of the Woods Hole 

 Oceanographic Institution. Cruises — between July 18, 1972 and 

 April 4, 1973 — were composed of nine legs. 



1. Woods Hole to Reykjavik, Iceland 



2. Reykjavik to Arctic Ocean to Reykjavik 



3. Reykjavik to Bridgetown, Barbados 



4. Bridgetown to Recife, Brazil 



5. Recife to Buenos Aires, Argentina 



6. Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, Argentina 



7. Ushuaia to Cape Town, South Africa 



8. Cape Town to Dakar, Senegal 



9. Dakar to New York 



One hundred twenty-one stations were occupied. Data from 

 shipboard analyses of physical and chemical parameters have 

 been reduced, inspected, and recorded on magnetic tape pro- 

 vided to the National Oceanographic Data Center. 



Pacific Cruises 



The first GEOSECS operational phase in the Pacific 

 Ocean by the RV Melville (based at San Diego) began 

 August 22, 1973, concluded June 10, 1974, and was composed 

 of 10 legs. 



Leg. 1. San Diego to Honolulu (fig. 1). Ten stations 

 were occupied on this leg. Vessel power failures severely 

 limited the work. Two stations had to be abandoned. 

 STD station No. 205 showed a triple in-situ temperature 

 minimum (fig. 2). 



Leg 2. Honolulu to Adak, Alaska (fig. 3). Work planned 

 for this leg was completed on schedule. Eight planned 



•O^; 



/ 



■204 



203 



202 



O Q CAST 



/ 



X> HONOLULU 



A LARGE-VOLUME STATIONS 

 O SPECIAL STATIONS 

 DSTD STATIONS 



\ \ 



Figure 1. — Track of RV Melville, Pacific 

 GEOSECS Leg 1. 



