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Given the emergence of advanced robotic technology, fiber-optics, 

 micro-processors, autonomous vehicles, telecommunications, and 

 many other nev/ advances, the oceans will no longer be a barrier 

 of human activity. 



Given our exploding population and given the continued develop- 

 ment of advanced technolog}^ I truly believe the 21st century will 

 usher in an explosion of human activity in the sea. 



I am convinced that the next generation will explore more of 

 earth — that is, the 71 percent that's underwater — than all previous 

 generations combined. 



And just as Lewis and Clark's exploration of the Louisiana Pur- 

 chase led to the settling of the west, the exploration of the sea will 

 lead to its subsequent colonization. 



The gathering and hunting of the living resources of the sea, an 

 rctivity of primitive societies on land and which have led to the 

 near extinction of important fisheries in our oceans, will be re- 

 placed at sea by farming and herding. 



High-tech barbed wire in the form of acoustic, thermal and other 

 barrier techniques will emerge to control and manage the living re- 

 sources of the sea. Oil and gas exploration and exploitation will 

 continue moving into deeper and deeper water. Underwater parks, 

 memorials and reserves will expand in size and scope until the TI- 

 TANIC and other historic ships like her are easily visited by tour- 

 ists using tele-operated robots in the comfort of their home on the 

 information highway. 



When ships and other pieces of human history fall into the deep 

 sea, they enter a deep freeze, characterized by eternal darkness, 

 freezing temperatures, and enormous pressures. Some estimate 

 that there is more human history preserved in Davy Jones's locker 

 than all the museums of the world combined. 



The Black Sea and its anaerobic bottom water will give up some 

 of the oldest and best preserved ships of ancient history, perhaps 

 lost at a similar time when Jason and the Argonauts traversed 

 these same waters in search of the Golden Fleece. 



In recent years, we have discovered mineral deposits in the deep 

 sea similar to those mined for centuries on islands like Cj^Drus. 

 They contain high concentrations of copper, lead and sulfur, as well 

 as silver and gold. And their formation continues today in the vast 

 hydrothermal vent systems of the Mid-Ocean Ridge. These long lin- 

 ear mineral deposits may some day prove important resources for 

 the next generation. 



And the unique ecosystems, the chemosjmthetic life forms that 

 live around these hydrothermal vents, are processing toxic mate- 

 rials which are associated with that venting phenomenon. Perhaps 

 some day we'll be able to bio-engineer those organisms to convert 

 a portion of our waste products into less harmful, or even commer- 

 cially valuable, b3qDroducts. 



Now whether this occurs during the next generation's time on 

 earth, time will only tell. But I am convinced that much of what 

 I have just outlined will come to pass. 



The question is not will these things come to pass. The question 

 is what nation will lead the way? 



