uses of tlie sea. For example, materials tech- 

 nolojify lias failed as yet to produce structures 

 for deep ocean use wliich possess the required 

 low ratio of weight to displacement. There 

 are few high-strength, corrosion- and foul- 

 ing-resistant components for sea use. The ma- 

 terials for supplemental buoyancy are inade- 

 Huatc. I'ndersea operations are handicapped 

 by undependable power sources, electrical 

 systems, and free-flooding external equip- 

 ment for vehicles and habitats. Instrumen- 

 tation to observe and measure marine phe- 

 nomena in the course of surface operations 

 is generally inefficient, unreliable, and 

 inadequate. 



'Die Commission recommends that the Fed- 

 eral (xovernment assume the task of over- 

 conung these deficiencies through develop- 

 mental contracts and grants to industry and 

 universities and by Government-supported 

 nuiUipurpose pi'ojects in which private 

 industry and tlie universities would 

 participate. 



National Projects The Commission recom- 

 mends a series of National Projects to stimu- 

 late and support the advance of marine sci- 

 ence, technology, and uses of the sea. The 

 (jrojects should be Federally supported but 

 performed l)y industry and universities. They 

 sliould be designed to serve a variety of needs 

 and purposes. The Xational Projects are 

 intended to create new facilities, to test 

 and evaluate the economic and technical 

 feasil)ility of new marine operational meth- 

 ods and systems, and to put technology at 

 the service of scientific research and re.source 

 exploi'ation. 



The following projects merit consideration 

 for early implementation : 



• Test Facilities and Ocean Ranges (Chap- 

 ter -2) 



• Great Lakes Restoration Feasibility Test 

 (Chapters) 



• Continental Shelf Laboratories (Chapter 



• Pilot Continental Shelf Nuclear Plant 

 (Chapter 4) 



• Deep Exploration Submersible Systems 

 (Chapter .5) 



• Pilot Buoy Network ((^hapter 5). 



Role of the U.S. Navy in Marine Tech- 

 nology The U.S. Navy has been the Federal 

 leader in marine technology, particularly in 

 deep submergence and deep ocean technology. 

 As Navy mission requirements permit, pro- 

 vision should be made for other agencies to 

 use Navy facilities on a reimbursable basis. 

 The Commission recognizes that military and 

 civil needs do not always coincide; never- 

 theless, because some elements of marine tech- 

 nology are common to both, cooperative ef- 

 forts between civil and Navy technologists 

 should be pursued to the maximum possible 

 extent. Opportunities to spin off civil appli- 

 cations from defense projects should be 

 identified. 



Scientific and Technical Information 



Improved communications throughout the 

 marine community are essential to a success- 

 ful national ocean effort. Available infonna- 

 tion should be compiled in the most readily 

 usable form for the various marine user 

 groups and supplemented in some cases by 

 extension services. 



Marine data present a special problem, for 

 they are too extensive and diverse to be han- 

 dled through a single c-enter. A number of 

 general and specialized data centers exist, 

 including the National Oceanographic Data 

 Center, the National AVeather Records Cen- 

 ter, and the Smithsonian Oceanographic 

 Sorting Center. There are also specialized 

 collections in private institutions. It is im- 

 portant that relationships and resix)nsibili- 

 ties among the various centers be better de- 



