271. CYANA-MEXIQUE : CYAMEX 



An exploration of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) with participants 

 from France, Mexico, and the United States. CYAMEX is patterned 

 after FAMOUS and utilizes the French submersible Cyana . The first 

 phase of CYAMEX, a study of the Rivera and Tamayo faults and known 

 as RITA, was conducted in 1978. 



272. EARTHWATCH 



This worldwide environmental monitoring system was developed 

 under the sponsorship of the United Nations Environment Program 

 (UNEP). Its goals are to identify pollutants of international sig- 

 nificance; coordinate monitoring of pollution levels around the 

 world; investigate and compare the sources, pathways, and fate of 

 pollutants in the environment; and establish standards for protec- 

 tion and procedures for determining pollution level limits. Monitor- 

 ing goals of Earthwatch are implemented by a Global Environmental 

 Monitoring System (GEMS), a coordinated effort to ensure that data 

 on environmental variables are collected in an orderly and adequate 

 manner. A plan of action for the monitoring of pollutants in open- 

 ocean waters is being developed. The International Referral System 

 (INFOTERRA, formerly IRS) was developed to supplement EARTHWATCH. 



In 1976 UNEP and WHO established a data bank called the Interna- 

 tional Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals (IRPTC) to be closely 

 associated with Earthwatch. Resources to IRPTC will be made availa- 

 ble through other international and national agencies. Earthwatch 

 also cooperates closely with other environmental programs such as 

 the First GARP Global Experiment (FGGE), the Integrated Global Ocean 

 Station System (IGOSS), and World Weather Watch (WWW). Among the 

 other international agencies participating in Earthwatch are FAO, 

 ICES, IOC, and WMO. 



273. EASTERN TROPICAL PACIFIC COOPERATIVE SURVEY: EASTROPIC 



In 1955, Peru and United States made this survey of the currents 

 and productivity of the equatorial countercurrent, the equatorial 

 undercurrent, and the northern boundary of the Peru current. 



274. EL NINO PROJECT 



Sponsored by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (lATTC) 

 with participation from lATTC member nations, the El Nino Project was 

 conducted from 1963 to 1966. Its purpose was to test the several 

 theories relating to the phenomenon known as El Nino of unusual 

 oceanographic conditions off the east coast of South America between 

 January and April and at periodic intervals of 2 to 12 years. The 

 phenomenon consists of warm surface waters moving into normally tem- 

 perate coastal regions and leading to the wholesale destruction of 

 marine animal and plant life. 



In 1965-66 the project expanded to include the Augmented Colombian 

 El Nino Tuna Oceanography (ACENTO), an extension of a Colombian work 

 to include a lengthier study of the Panama Bight area where the 

 abundance of tuna and the environment vary seasonally. 



275. ENGLISH-FRENCH GEOLOGICAL MAPPING OF THE SEABED BENEATH THE 

 ENGLISH CHANNEL: GEOMANCHE 



This cooperative program to map the seabed beneath the English 

 Channel originated in 1970. The first map sheets were available in 

 1973. Participants are the French Bureau de Recherches Geologiques 

 de Minieres (BRGM) and the Centre National d' Exploration des Oceans 

 (CNEXO); and the British Institute of Geological Sciences (IGS), 

 Bristol University, and the University College in London. 



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