ni 



would serve to protect life and property. The 

 data feathered for these various purposes also 

 will be available to the scientific community 

 for research purposes. 



Better environmental data will yield im- 

 portant dividends in the efficiency and reli- 

 ability of the materials and structures we use 

 in the sea, and in the engineering of marine 

 and atmospheric systems, including the sys- 

 tem to observe the sea itself. Determining the 

 feasibility of such intriguing long-term pos- 

 sibilities as generating power from the sea, 

 creating upwellings for fish farming, and 

 using underwater currents to dissipate pollut- 

 ants similarly requires detailed knowledge 

 which is not yet in our hands. 



Much evidence summarized in recent re- 

 ports of the National Academy of Sciences 

 and the National Science Foundation Com- 

 mission on Weather Modification indicates 

 that man is on the verge of being able to alter 

 the behavior of the atmosphere. In addition 

 to the likelihood in the near future of signifi- 

 cantly changing natural patterns of rain, 

 hypotheses have been advanced for altering 

 the intensity of a hurricane, reducing hail, 

 and redistributing snowfalls. To test these 

 hypotheses, greatly expanded data collection 

 networks are required. 



The need to understand man's effects on his 

 environment also is great. Pollutants affect 

 the photosynthetic life in the sea and thereby 

 may influence the oxygen balance in the at- 

 mosphere. Carbon dioxide generated by fos- 

 sil fuel consumption may lead to a warming 

 of the earth. These global processes must be 

 understood, for they govern man's existence. 

 Thus, the problems of environmental modi- 

 fication, both conscious and inadvertent, are 

 inseparable from the problems of under- 

 standing and predicting the state of oceans 

 and atmosphere. 



Finally, the oceans and the atmosphere 



provide a unique stage for international co- 

 operation. Continued participation in these 

 international efforts will advance the com- 

 mon interests of mankind in mastering its 

 environment. 



The Commission recommends that the 

 National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Agency initiate and lead an intensive na- 

 tional program to explore the global en- 

 vironment, monitor its motions and 

 physical and biological characteristics, 

 and investigate the feasibility and conse- 

 quences of its modification. The programs 

 should be focused on: 



• Exploration of the biology, geology, 

 geophysics, anJ geochemistry of the 

 deep seas 



• Development of a comprehensive na- 

 tional system to monitor and predict 

 the changes of the sea, the air, andi cer- 

 tain aspects of the solid earth, inte- 

 grated with the systems maintained by 

 other nations 



• Conduct of a systematic program of 

 theoretical and experimental research 

 into problems of environmental modifi- 

 cation 



• Advancement of international coopera- 

 tion in oceanic and atmospheric ac- 

 tivities 



• Encouragement of the maximum free- 

 dom of scientific research 



Exploring and Understanding the 

 Global Oceans 



The Nation seeks to explore and under- 

 stand the deep ocean to advance knowledge 

 and to "bring closer the day when the people 

 of the world can develop and use the re- 

 sources of the seas." 



This is easily stated, but difficult of at- 

 tainment. The oceans are vast and highly in- 

 accessible. No single scientific discipline can 



