administrative tasks, which may have the effect of deterring some capable 

 scientists from participating in IDOE programs. 



A final point that has been raised by those whose interests lie in 

 the international arena is that the original hopes for a truly international 

 program have not been realized. They charge that too many IDOE 

 projects appear to be essentially U.S. projects with some foreign collabo- 

 ration, rather than being truly international. (Bilateral efforts, like the 

 French-American FAMOUS and the Russian-American POLYMODE, 

 are exceptions.) Further, the IDOE Office does not support individual 

 scientists wishing to participate in IDOE projects of other nations. 



Accomplishments 



The IDOE program thus far has produced findings of scientific 

 significance, findings having direct significance for ocean resource de- 

 velopment and utilization, data collections that will prove valuable in 

 many present and futu.re studies, and technical and managerial methods 

 of approach which will have considerable impact on the practice of 

 oceanography. 



Examples of specific scientific results include the measuring and 

 mapping, in MODE, of a mesoscale ocean eddy for a significant portion 

 of its lifetime, and the construction in CLIMAP of a map of sea surface 

 temperature during the last ice age 18,000 years ago. Results affecting 

 ocean utilization include the gathering of comprehensive geophysical and 

 geological data on the continental margins of the South Atlantic, and 

 the preparation of a series of maps showing the world wide distribution 

 of manganese nodules and their metallic content, with emphasis on the 

 regions of greatest concentration in the North Pacific. Data sets providing 

 a needed base for future studies include the compilation of background 

 levels of pollutant concentrations in many portions of the world ocean, 

 with emphasis on U.S. coastal waters, and the collection and analysis of 

 seawater samples from all depths to determine the chemical constituents 

 of the global ocean in GEOSECS. Technical methods of approach include 

 a substantial eflfort in data standardization and data exchange which has, 

 for the first time, made data collected in diflferent regions truly inter- 

 comparable (GEOSEC^S and NORPAX are prime examples), and foster- 

 ing the use of industrial multi-channel seismic reflection systems, which 

 have not previously beeen available to academic institutions, in the 

 continental margin studies. 



In addition, the IDOE has created an environment in which 

 scientists have come to think in terms of multidisciplinary, multi-institu- 

 tional endeavors far more readily than has been the general rule. An 

 atmosphere has been established that is conducive to the cooperative 

 studies that will be increasingly needed as we integrate small bits of 

 knowledge into a comprehensive imderstanding of the nature and 



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