Appendix 3. Request from the 

 Director, NSF, for Review of the 



IDOE by NACOA. 



NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20550 



OFFICE OF THE FEB 19 1974 



DIRECTOR ^^^- ^^ ^^' 



Dr. \VilIiam NIerenberg, Chairman 



National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere 



Department of Commerce 



Washington, D.C. 



Dear Bill: 



As you know, the International Decade of Ocean Exploration (IDOE) 

 is approaching its fifth year as an NSF program. I believe that this 

 half-way point is an appropriate time to rc\iew the status of the IDOE 

 and to consider its future. For example, what should be done about those 

 projects which might be productively extended beyond the nominal 10- 

 year life of the program? Should the IDOE be extended beyond 1980 

 or should these projects be transferred to other programs? Extension of 

 the IDOE beyond its currently planned termination date requires a clear 

 rationale and description of program content. 



NACOA has the disinterested perspective needed to review the scientific, 

 budgetary, and managerial aspects of the program, and more generally. 

 IDOE's compatibility with national priorities in marine and atmospheric 

 sciences. I would like to ask NAC^OA's assistance in conducting such a 

 review with the evaluation and recommendations for the future of the 



43 



