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8 OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE NEXT DECADE 



moving much of oceanography from a focus on projects that use 

 the capabilities and interests of a single investigator for a limited 

 time to projects that require the involvement of many individu- 

 als, institutions, and governments for decades. Special attention 

 should be given to integrating mission agencies into the planning 

 and execution of these long-term programs. Mechanisms must be 

 developed to coordinate the plans of foreign nations, federal agen- 

 cies, academic institutions, and individual scientists, and to sus- 

 tain these large-scale efforts in a scientifically and technically 

 sound manner. 



The realization that global-scale studies are now not only pos- 

 sible but necessary is a major impetus for new partnerships in 

 oceanography. Indeed, the design and deployment of a long-term 

 global ocean observing system, now being planned, will be pos- 

 sible only if such partnerships are realized and the cooperation of 

 marine scientists and governments throughout the world is achieved. 



TOWARD NEW PARTNERSHIPS 



Traditional partnerships in the ocean sciences have consisted 

 primarily of academic scientists submitting proposals to the Na- 

 tional Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research for 

 funding. This funding system is powerful and flexible, allowing 

 the NSF and ONR to fund excellent scientists whose areas of 

 expertise are those necessary to solve problems at the forefront of 

 oceanography. Through their support of research and related in- 

 frastructure, these two agencies sustain the basic research pro- 

 grams at academic oceanographic laboratories. If significant progress 

 in our basic understanding of the ocean is to continue, the excel- 

 lent relationships of NSF and ONR with the academic commu- 

 nity must be maintained. Agencies that fund oceanography can 

 help maintain competence in the field as problem areas change. 

 Flexibility and variety in scientific approaches can be maintained 

 by an extramural funding strategy that both responds to changing 

 problems and needs, and maintains a strong overall base of scien- 

 tific activities in the field as a whole. It is more difficult for 

 agencies to respond quickly to change through their own laborato- 

 ries. 



Many other federal agencies are also involved in marine sci- 

 ence and policy, but their use of the marine science knowledge 

 and their responsibility to the academic community vary widely. 

 Agency responsibilities range from NSF's and ONR's active pro- 

 motion of the health of basic science to the highly specific and 



