liO 



Profile of the Continents and Oceans 



SEDIMENT LAYER 

 ABYSSAL PLAIN 



CONTINENTAL SLOPE 



CONTINENT 



CONTINENT SHELF 



KM SCALE 



\ 



VOLCANIC ISLAND 



MID-OCEAN 

 RIDGE 



TRENCH 



SEAMOUNT 



the current National Sediment Coring Pro- 

 gram sponsored by the National Science 

 Foundation. 



These activities will yield basic informa- 

 tion for scientific understanding of our conti- 

 nents and ocean basins and for future min- 

 erals development. Since coring is expensive, 

 it is important that the cores be analyzed not 

 only for mineralogical and geological data 

 but also for information regarding past cli- 

 mates, sedimentation, and aquifers. Provi- 

 sions must be made for prompt and complete 

 analysis of cores, a process that now takes too 

 long. 



The objective of the marine geological and 

 coring programs should be a complete geo- 

 logic analysis of the structure of the conti- 

 nental shelves and slopes on a mapping scale 

 of 1 : 250,000, refined to 1 : 62,500 in areas of 

 high interest. These scales are adequate to 

 identify mineral potentials in gross terms. 

 Completion of the surveys within 15 to 

 20 years should keep pace with an overall 

 program for marine mineral resources 

 development. 



The Commission recommends that the 

 National Oceanic and Atmospheric 



Agency provide the reconnaissance sur- 

 veys and analyses necessary to prepare 

 three-dimensional maps at a 1 : 250,000 re- 

 connaissance scale of the geological con- 

 figuration of the continental shelf and 

 slopes adjacent to the United States. This 

 program should be geared to achieving a 

 comprehensive analysis at reconnaissance 

 scale within 15 to 20 years. These surveys 

 should be conducted by the Government 

 and by industry and universities under 

 contract with the Government. Nonpro- 

 prietary information available from pri- 

 vate industry should be utilized to the 

 maximum extent to supplement informa- 

 tion gathered. 



Kesearch on geologic processes that form 

 and modify the earth's crust should be carried 

 out in critical areas concurrently with the 

 geologic mapping to develop new criteria 

 and methods of searching marine and terres- 

 trial resources. 



The geological mapijing and analysis pro- 

 gram is keyed to a 15- to 20-year completion 

 goal, while liasic bathymetric and geophysi- 

 cal mapping, which should precede geologic 

 analyses, is j^roposed for completion within 



