336 



OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE NEXT DECADE 



resources. Fiscal support in the United States has not kept up 

 with scientific progress, whereas other countries have increased 

 their capacities to conduct oceanographic research. To respond to 

 these challenges, federal agencies and the academic oceanography 

 community need to establish productive new partnerships. Key 

 elements in such partnerships are encouraging individual scien- 

 tists to take intellectual risks in advancing basic knowledge, pro- 

 viding support that is tied to solving present problems, and en- 

 couraging scientists to cooperate in the development of large shared 

 research endeavors. These new partnerships will be the basis of a 

 national oceanographic effort that balances the necessity for a 

 robust program in basic research against the need for research 

 directed at important societal problems. 



This report has three major objectives. The first is to docu- 

 ment and discuss important trends in the human, physical, and 

 fiscal resources available to oceanographers, especially academic 

 oceanographers, over the last decade. The second goal is to present 

 the Ocean Studies Board's best assessment of the scientific oppor- 

 tunities in physical oceanography, marine geochemistry, marine 

 geology and geophysics, biological oceanography, and coastal ocean- 

 ography during the upcoming decade. The third and principal objec- 

 tive is to provide a blueprint for more productive partnerships 

 between academic oceanographers and federal agencies. The board 

 attempts to do this by developing a set of general principles that 

 should provide the basis for building improved partnerships and 

 by discussing critical aspects of the specific partnerships for each 

 federal agency with a significant marine program. 



OCEANOGRAPHY AND SOCIETY 



The ocean dominates Earth's surface and greatly affects daily 

 life. It regulates Earth's climate, plays a critical role in the hydro- 

 logical cycle, sustains a large portion of Earth's biodiversity, sup- 

 plies food and mineral resources, constitutes an important medium 

 of national defense, provides an inexpensive means of transporta- 

 tion, is the final destination of many waste products, is a major 

 location of human recreation, and inspires our aesthetic nature. 



Today's sense of urgency about ocean studies is precipitated 

 by human impacts on oceanic systems and the need for a better 

 understanding of the ocean's role in controlling global chemical, 

 hydrological, and climate processes. The nation is faced with 

 pressing marine research problems whose timely solution will re- 

 quire increased cooperation between federal agencies and academic 



