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priority of program efforts and the funding expected to be available this fiscal 

 year, we will not be able to fund this effort. 



Your interest in the Navy's problems is appreciated. 

 Sincerely yours, 



H. A. O'Neal, 

 Director, Ocean Science and Technoloffy Group 



(By direction of Chief of Naval Research) . 



Proposal to Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy 



1. Name and Address of Institution. — Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 

 D.C. 20560. 



2. Principal Investigator. — Dr. William I. Aron, Deputy Head, Office of Ocean- 

 ography and Limnology. 



3. Title of Proposal. — Productivity of the North Pacific. 



4. Desired Starting Date and Time Period. — September 1, 1967 for one year. 



5. Summary. — The Smithsonian Institution in cooperation with the University 

 of Washington and the Fisheries Research Board of Canada proposes a series 

 of 24 transects of the North Pacific Ocean using merchant ships to obtain data 

 to develop a model of phytoplankton production. These cruises would obtain 

 data on standing crop of plankton, vertical temperature profiles, solar radiation, 

 salinity, and temperature. The data would be related to information being col- 

 lected at Canadian Ocean Weather Station "P" and in addition would be made 

 available to the Navy for their ocean prediction and biological programs and also 

 to pertinent studies in the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. 



6. Background. — The feasibility of using merchant ships for gathering ocean- 

 ographic data has been well demonstrated ; in fact, programs are currently in 

 progress at the Naval Oceanographic Office and the Bureau of Commercial 

 Fisheries which depend on the data gathering capabilities of "Ships of Oppor- 

 tunity." These studies are aimed primarily at descriptions of the physical en- 

 vironment, and with the exception of work being pursued in the North Sea by 

 the United Kingdom, little biological information is being collected by merchant 

 ships. 



The Smithsonian Institution proposes, in cooperation with the University of 

 Washington and the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, to undertake a re- 

 search program, utilizing merchant ships during their transects of the North 

 Pacific, to collect both biological and physical data for developing a model to 

 predict the timing of the spring phytoplankton bloom. The need for the develop- 

 ment of critical indices of primary and secondary production was discussed by 

 T. R. Parsons and R. J. LeBrasseur, in a paper presented at the Symposium on 

 Large Scale Ocean Surveys at San Diego in 1965. The development of such 

 indices would simplify the observations required during large scale surveys and 

 thus increase operational efficiency and reduce costs. To develop models, how- 

 ever, more time series and synoptic data are required than can be presently 

 attained through the use of oceanographic research vessels. 



This work will be accomplished in close cooperation with the AEC sponsored 

 University of Washington study of the "Columbia River Effects in the North 

 Pacific" and with the Canadians studies at their Oceian Weather Station "P." 



By being able to sample regularly during all times of the year, including the 

 winter, it is expected that the study will provide new insight on seasonal changes 

 and on the influence of physical and chemical features on the biota of the North 

 Pacific. 



7. Procedure. — One round trip crossing per month (24 transects during the 

 year) between Seattle and Yokohama is planned. Each transect normally follows 

 the 'Great Circle Route and takes about 10 days. 



A team of 5 technicians will be assigned to the program. They will be rotated 

 to permit their involvement in all stages of the work both at sea and ashore. 

 When scheduling permits it is anticipated that suitable arrangements can be 

 made to allow them to accomplish initial data processing while waiting in Japan 

 for the return trip to Seattle. 



At the start of each cruise Dr. George Anderson of the University of Wash- 

 ington or one of his associates w^ill brief each new participant and either he 

 or his representative will accompany the ship from Seattle to Port Townsend 

 (where he will disembark with the pilot) to assure that all systems are func- 

 tional and that rigid standards are maintained throughout the program. 



