1.0. Introduction 
A number of reports have been written about. the oceans and their 
vast resources. This report differs in that it views oceanography, 
broadly defined, as those activities in the ocean having significant 
scientific and technological content. The report is concerned with 
the marine activities of the Nation and how these activities contribute 
to the national well-being. Opportunities for the future are identi- 
fied and discussed. However, the relative importance of these oppor- 
tunities can be judged only when the national goals for the total ocean 
program are clearly defined. 
1.1. GOALS FOR A NATIONAL OCEAN PROGRAM 
Goals for a national ocean program must, of course, be based on 
marine interests of the United States. These interests are threefold: 
social, economic, and strategic. Science and technology supports 
these three concerns. 
Marine science interests of the United States, which are shared by 
scientists around the world, involve observation, description and un- 
derstanding of physical, chemical, and biological phenomena of the 
marine environment. Once adequately served by conventional ocean- 
ography, today marine science converges with meteorology and solid- 
earth geophysics so that consolidation into environmental science is 
required for progress in both research and education. This conver- 
gence is most advanced in programs aimed at environmental long-range 
prediction, modification, and control. 
Similarly, technological—or engineering—needs of many environ- 
mental science programs are so extensive that the line between marine 
science and ocean engineering must be largely abolished, in practice if 
not in theory, if many important projects are to proceed effectively. 
Marine economic interests of the United States entail shipping, food, 
minerals, and recreation. As on land, complex, interacting factors 
affect the profitability of efforts to exploit the seas’ resources: access 
to markets, legal ownership of resources, availability of relevant tech- 
nology and capital, strength of competition, safety of operations, and 
inadvertent or uncontrolled interference from other human activities 
such as waste disposal or warfare. Despite the many uncertainties, 
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