NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 
Andaman Sea. The actual tracklines in the An- 
daman Sea will depend in part on the results of 
the work of the ARGO which returns from this 
area in the early summer of 1963. In general, 
however, there will be a series of sawtooth 
crossings of the Andaman Sea carrying out all 
of the standard underway observations with 
special attention paid to the bathymetry and the 
gravity work. Sediment cores and bottom photo- 
graphs will be taken in the Andaman Sea along 
these lines. Rock dredgings will be attempted 
at places where the topography suggests that 
rock outcrops might be present. Planned track- 
lines in this area will be modified in the field 
as dictated by the bottom topography and gravity 
anomalies encountered. The pattern will include 
at least two crossings of the Andaman-Nicobar 
Ridge into depths of at least 3000 meters ~’est 
of the ridge. These could conceivably be through 
Ten Degree Channel and Duncan Pass. At the 
northern end of the Andaman Sea, special lines 
shall be run to determine if submarine channel- 
ling extends seaward of the mouths of the Irra- 
waddi River. 
From the Andaman Sea, the ship will pass 
into the Bay of Bengal where the underway op- 
erations, cores (or dredgings), and bottom 
photography will continue along a series of 
East-West lines at approximately two-degree 
spacing from the coast of Burma out to approx- 
imately 88°E. Topographic, gravimetric, or 
magnetic anomalies found along these lines will 
be developed more fully. Special care will be 
taken along the more northerly of these lines to 
look for any southerly extension of the Ganges 
Canyon. This has been surveyed in some detail 
by the Pakistan Navy as far as the edge of the 
continental shelf. The GALATHEA'S lines 
showed that it extends south into the Bay of 
Bengal beyond the shelf, but its extent is not 
known. It is possible that the valley found by 
the ALBATROSS east of Ceylon may be the ex- 
tension of this Ganges Canyon. After a stop at 
Calcutta, the PIONEER will carry out a detailed 
survey of the Ganges Submarine Canyon sea- 
ward of the continental shelf. The canyon will 
be traced as far seaward as is possible. Cores 
will be obtained from the canyon floor where 
possible and attempts will be made to dredge 
the canyon walls. Bottom photographs will be 
obtained where camera lowerings appear feasi- 
ble. If the canyon terminates well north of the 
latitude of Ceylon, the east-west lines previously 
65 
563 
run in the eastern Bay of Bengal shall be con- 
tinued westward from 88° to the coast of India. 
If the canyon continues south to or beyond Cey- 
lon, it shall be followed to its termination with 
cross sections run at frequent intervals. 
On the termination of this project, the ship 
will proceed to Trincomalee, Ceylon. 
Leg III - Trincomalee to Djakarta 
HO Charts 2523 and 3689 show hard ridges 
through which has been cut a submarine canyon 
that heads in Trincomalee and Goddiyar Bays 
on the northeast coast of Ceylon. The canyon 
has apparently been cut in quartzite and other 
hard Pre-Cambrian rocks. The canyon extends 
seaward to depths of at least 800 fathoms where 
the soundings terminate. As the ship leaves 
Trincomalee, this canyon will be traced seaward 
with a set of profiles, and an attempt will be 
made to dredge the steep walls. Sediment cores 
and bottom photographs will be obtained where 
possible. 
Upon the completion of the canyon survey, 
three north-south sections of oceanographic 
stations will be occupied from 5°N to 5°S along 
84°E, 88°E, and 92°E. Stations will be at 5°, 
4°, and 3°, and at 1/2-degree intervals to the 
Equator for a total of 17 stations along each 
profile. The stations at 5°, 3° and 1°N andS 
will be deep stations to the bottom, the others 
will be to 2000 meters. Standard bottle spacing 
will be used, except that depth of stations and 
bottle spacing may be modified in the light of 
other results obtained before the PIONEER 
sails. 
From the southern end of the easternmost 
line (5°S, 92°E), the track to Djakarta is tenta- 
tively planned to accomplish two crossings of 
the northwestward extension of the trend of the 
Java Trench. These would be underway obser- 
vations as described above. The first line 
would approach the Sumatra coast near Padang 
and then turn southwest continuing to the latitude 
of the Sunda Strait, thence due east through the 
Sunda Strait to Djakarta. The tracklines be- 
tween the end of the oceanographic stations and 
Djakarta are only tentative and will be changed 
to supplement the work of the ARGO currently 
operating in this area. ; 
