deep-sea sediments are formed, the chemical history of seawater, and the 

 transfer of heat from the Earth's interior into the oceans. 



Two programs, the Geochemical Ocean Sections Study (GEOSECS) and 

 the Manganese Nodule program, assumed new directions during the past 

 year. In late 1977, GEOSECS will embark on its final phase in the Indian 

 Ocean. Scientific techniques that were developed and applied to analysis 

 of data collected during the Atlantic and Pacific phases have resulted in a 

 large data base. An eight volume set of atlases displaying the data is now 

 under preparation. 



The Manganese Nodule program entered a new phase of research in 

 early 1977. Begun in 1972, the initial stages were successful in providing an 

 inventory of the existing knowledge and data related to manganese nodules. 

 As a result of that work, a series of maps were prepared showing worldwide 

 distribution of nodules and their chemical composition. The second phase of 

 the program began in 1974 and was designed to initiate field work in the 

 central Pacific. Detailed surveys, nodule sampling, and chemical analyses 

 were done during this phase. The program has determined the mineralogy 

 of ferromanganese minerals in the nodules as well as the crystallographic 

 locations of the economically important transition elements. Work on the 

 age of nodules has shown that introduction of young material along cracks 

 in nodules can produce spurious growth rate data. During 1975, first-genera- 

 tion bottom ocean monitors were deployed in the central Pacific. Current 

 meters, nephelometers, and time-lapse cameras operated for 120 days on 

 the monitors. Photographs showed high biological activity on the sea floor 

 around manganese nodules. 



The program is now using bottom ocean monitors for geochemical studies 

 on how the chemical composition of nodules relates to (1) the fluxes of 

 transition metals at a range of nodule sites, (2) the chemistry of the solutions 

 in which nodules grow, and (3) the reactions between nodule-forming ferro- 

 manganese minerals and enclosing pore waters and bottom waters. 



A Marine Science Affairs program was set up within IDOE to provide a 

 link between scientific findings and their social, economic, and political 

 implications. It will provide research support for a small number of projects 

 in two broad areas: (1) to analyze the implications of new knowledge gen- 

 erated by IDOE scientific programs for public policy; and (2) to improve the 

 conduct and management of IDOE scientific programs. Guidelines for re- 

 questing project grants are available from the NSF IDOE office, Washington, 

 D.C. 20550. 



A major effort during the past year was devoted to designing a program 

 to succeed the current IDOE, which ends in 1980. This effort reflects the 

 recommendations of the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmos- 

 phere (NACOA) in its midterm review of the IDOE, an ad hoc panel from 

 the National Academies of Science and Engineering, and the IDOE Advisory 

 Panel. 



During spring 1977, the University of Rhode Island's Center for Ocean 

 Management Studies sponsored five workshops to consolidate the ideas of 

 the oceanographic community for the post-1980 program. Each workshop in- 

 volved about 20 specialists in physical, chemical, biological, and geological 

 oceanography. Letters inviting ideas were also sent to participants in these 

 disciplines and to professional journals. 



The National Academies of Science and Engineering have assisted 

 the IDOE Office in these activities through the appropriate groups within the 

 Academies, including the Ocean Sciences Board, the Marine Board, and 

 the Ocean Policy Committee. NAS, NAE also organized a major workshop 

 for September 1977 to consolidate and synthesize ideas from the earlier let- 

 ters and workshops into a framework for an oceanographic research program 

 for the 1980's. The results of these efforts will be described in next year's 

 "Progress Report." 



