SEA GRANT COLLEGES 43 



It is interesting to note that some of the equipment we are developing for 

 the exploration of outer space can also apply to our deep-sea explorations. 

 Sophisticated electronic devices that will help chart the topography and content 

 of the ocean floor, as well as having the applicability to the realms of outer 

 space, are within the reach of our ingenuity. Here is where industrial research 

 and development and the sea- grant college concept go hand in hand- -for the 

 trained technician helps the industry find new avenues for expansion, and these 

 in turn create a demand for the greater skills which our educational process can 

 provide. 



Not long ago we celebrated Columbus Day. We thought in terms of dis- 

 coveries made almost five centuries ago, and of man's quest across an ocean 

 which men once thought flat and demon- surrounded, of watery abysses and 

 plunges into a limitless unknown. We may have exorcised the demons and the 

 myths; but we are still only on the threshold of plunging into that unknown. The 

 great White Whale of Herman Melville's imagination, the image of mystery and 

 fascination, continues to travel the deeps. We know only that the plunge can be 

 richly rewarding- -in terms of man's increasing knowledge, in terms of the tan- 

 gible benefits to our society. 



We can estimate with considerable exactness for example, that with mod- 

 ernized vessels, equipment and gear, the harvest of our off-shore fisheries can 

 be increased ten-fold. 



We know that our petroleum engineers and geologists believe we have only 

 commenced to tap the vast submarine oil reserves which lie along portions of 

 our coasts where the water is relatively shallow- -and that vast additional oil 

 reserves can be predicted at greater depths, and that their economic benefits 

 simply await the development of our technology. 



We know that gold is being mined off the Alaskan coast, and phosphorite 

 for fertilizers off the coast of California. 



We know that glauconite, used as a soil conditioner and water softener and 

 as a source of potash, has been discovered off the east coast of our country. 



We know that platinum, iron, chromium, tin and tungsten are among other 

 valuable minerals to be mined from the ocean floor. 



These are among the "known" factors in the great unknown area of the 

 seas. And in a fashion we are like Columbus, on the threshold of new discover- 

 ies. We travel on different vessels in a different time- -but let us make sure 

 that we don't "miss the boat"--that we voyage forward in the best possible way. 

 That is really what this conference is all about- -and why I am so pleased to have 

 had this opportunity of sharing with you my own views. 



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