facilities required for important oceanic in- 

 vest ifratioiis and experiments of a basic char- 

 acter. The Commission proposes that a small 

 jrroiip of institutions, including the present 

 leaders in ocean research, he designated by 

 tiie Federal Government as ITniversity-Na- 

 tional Laboratories and be equipped to un- 

 dertake major marine science tasks of a 

 global or i-egional nature. The laboratories 

 should be distributed geographically for ade- 

 (|uate coverage of all parts of the oceans and 

 would be expected to connnit their facilities 

 to serve the needs of scientists affiliated with 

 otliei- institutions. The funds granted should 

 i)e sufficient to support each laboratory, its 

 facilities, and its staff as an on-going institu- 



Tlie Chesapeake Bay Institute's 

 research catamaran and the 

 ocea>i^frmit campus of the Scripps 

 InxtUiitiitn nf Oceanography 

 exemplifii the far-ranging nature of 

 l.'.S. marine science research. 



tion and to enable it to carry out broad pro- 

 grams of research on a continuing basis. 



With such continuity assured, the labora- 

 tories also could seek additional funds for 

 specific projects from the National Science 

 Foundation, the Navy, and other public and 

 private agencies. 



Establishment of the University-National 

 Laboratories should not, however, preclude 

 support of marine science research in other 

 institutions, for a divei"sity of institutions 

 and individuals working in these fields is es- 

 sential to the health of marine science and 

 should be maintained. 



The Department of Defense for its part 

 must continue to recognize the vital relation- 

 ship of basic marine science to its own mis- 

 sion and support such scientific research as 

 it has in the past. 



Marine Technology 



The Commission urges that the proposed 

 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency 

 initiate a major program to stimulate the 

 development of fundamental marine technol- 

 ogy and engineering in order to expand the 

 scope and to lower the costs of undersea 

 operations. 



The Commission proposes two goals for a 

 national effort : 



• The development of the necessary technol- 

 ogy to make jwssible productive work for 

 sustained periods at depths to 2,000 feet. 



• The development of a technical capability 

 sufficient to allow useful access to depths 

 to 20,000 feet, comprising more than 98 per 

 cent of the world's ocean floor. 



It is recommended that these two objectives 

 be sought simultaneously. 

 Fundamental Technological Development 

 Fundamental technology is comparable to 

 basic science in that it provides a foun- 

 dation for man}' uses, and a lack of this 

 basic technology currently limits potential 



