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26 OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE NEXT DECADE 



tion among the world's ocean scientists and its governments. Such 

 a system will be necessary for obtaining enough long time-series 

 global data to understand the global climate system and predict 

 its response to human influence. 



Oceanography is changing rapidly from its focus on the capa- 

 bilities and interests of single or small groups of investigators 

 involved in studies of limited duration to a focus on scientific 

 questions of global scope, involving large numbers of individuals, 

 institutions, and governments; spanning decades; and having ma- 

 jor significance to society. The role of the individual investigator 

 in this context has not lessened. Mechanisms must be developed 

 by which these new large-scale efforts are sustained in a scientifi- 

 cally and technically sound manner and the plans of a variety of 

 federal agencies and nations are coordinated. 



A major reason for the preeminence of U.S. marine science is 

 the great diversity of institutions in the field. This diversity is a 

 key to future strength and it needs to be maintained. This state- 

 ment does not suggest, however, that the present numbers and 

 types of institutions are necessarily optimal for the future. 



GENERAL PARTNERSHIP THEMES 



The health of the marine sciences in the United States must 

 be maintained because of the continuous need for fundamental 

 knowledge as the basis for developing sound public policy. The 

 health of ocean science depends on a complex symbiosis that must 

 be constantly nurtured. The academic and private oceanographic 

 institutions, working with the federal government, have shown 

 remarkable ingenuity in developing mechanisms to coordinate multi- 

 institutional resources (e.g., the University-National Oceanographic 

 Laboratory System (UNOLS) and the Joint Oceanographic Institu- 

 tions, Inc. (JOI)). UNOLS is a multi-institution system for coordi- 

 nating scheduling, safety, refitting, and replacement of academic 

 oceanographic vessels. JOI, governed by representatives of 10 of 

 the largest oceanographic institutions, was founded initially to 

 manage the Deep Sea Drilling Project; JOI now undertakes broader 

 responsibilities for large programs and new technology. In addi- 

 tion, several research programs (e.g., the Tropical Ocean-Global 

 Atmosphere program, Mid-Ocean Dynamics Experiment, Geochemical 

 Ocean Sections, and Coastal Upwelling Ecosystem Analysis) suc- 

 cessfully combined the efforts of U.S. government agencies, agen- 

 cies of other countries, and federal and nongovernmental scien- 

 tists, both domestically and internationally. 



