337 



SUMMARY 



scientists. Many of these problems arise from the need to accom- 

 modate multiple uses of the ocean and from the ever-increasing 

 concentration of the U.S. population near our coasts. Oceano- 

 graphic research is important to many of the nation's social con- 

 cerns, including the following: 



• Global Change. The ocean is key to regulating both natural 

 and human-induced changes in the planet. The role of ocean 

 circulation and the coupling of the ocean and atmosphere are ba- 

 sic to understanding Earth's changing climate. Regional events 

 such as El Nino and ocean margin and equatorial upwelling influ- 

 ence climate on both seasonal and longer time scales. Earth's 

 population is now large enough to alter the chemical composition 

 of the ocean and atmosphere and to impact the biological compo- 

 sition of Earth. 



• Biodiversity. The ocean comprises a large portion of Earth's 

 biosphere. It hosts a vast diversity of flora and fauna that are 

 critical to Earth's biogeochemical cycles and that serve as an im- 

 portant source of food and pharmaceuticals. In addition to the 

 exciting discoveries of previously unknown biota near hydrother- 

 mal vents, many deep-ocean organisms have evolved under rela- 

 tively stable conditions. Their unique physiologies and biochem- 

 istries have not yet been explored adequately, and methods for 

 sampling the more fragile of these species have been developed 

 only in the past decade. Human influence on marine biota has 

 increased dramatically, threatening the stability of coastal ecosys- 

 tems. Some species have been overharvested; others have been 

 transported inadvertently to areas where they are not indigenous, 

 sometimes resulting in deleterious effects on native species. Still 

 other species are being cultivated commercially, and aquaculture 

 facilities along coastlines are becoming commonplace in some 

 countries. A better understanding of the ecology of marine organ- 

 isms is urgently needed to prevent irreversible damage to this 

 living resource. 



• Environmental Quality. Waste disposed of in coastal areas 

 has reached the open ocean, with broad ramifications for living 

 resources. This problem is compounded because many marine 

 species harvested for commercial and recreational purposes spend 

 a portion of their lives in coastal waters and estuaries. Thus, 

 local pollution can have far-reaching effects. 



• Economic Competitiveness. Economic prosperity in a glo- 

 bal marketplace depends increasingly on technical and scientific 

 applications. There is concern about the ability of the United 



