316. FRENCH-AMERICAN MID-OCEAN UNDERSEA STUDY: FAMOUS 



A 3-year cooperative program of France and the United States to 

 undertake a detailed study of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and rift valleys, 

 FAMOUS is using submersibles. Participating in the program are the 

 Centre National pour I'Exploitation des Oceans (CNEXO) in France, and 

 the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), in the United States. 



317. MANGANESE NODULE PROGRAM: MANOP 



Formulated in 1972, MANOP studies have evolved into three 

 phases: Phase I involved compiling existing manganese nodule data 

 into a baseline for defining future field work; Phase II involved a 

 series of cruises into areas of the northern equatorial Pacific 

 where extensive deposits of nodules are located; and Phase III in- 

 volves a detailed study of the influx, remobilization, and final 

 disposition of transition metals supplied to the deep-sea floor of 

 the central eastern Pacific. 



A Bottom Ocean Monitor (BOM) package was developed, deployed, and 

 recovered during Phase II. Deployed for 4 months, it contained a 

 camera, current meter, and nephelometer for measuring suspended 

 sediment concentration in the near-bottom water. 



318. NAZCA LITHOSPHERIC PLATE STUDY 



This is a detailed study of the processes of crustal formation 

 and destruction that take place at the diverging and converging edges 

 of a well-defined lithospheric plate. The Nazca Plate, selected for 

 the study, is in the southeastern Pacific Ocean and borders the west- 

 ern coast of South America. 



319. TRANSATLANTIC GEOTRAVERSE: TAG 



Partly included in IDOE, TAG began in 1970 and lasted to 1974. 

 The area traversed lies between Cape Hatteras in the United States 

 and Cap Blanc on the west coast of Africa, the path calculated to be 

 the track left by North America and Africa as the two receded from 

 each other 200 million or so years ago. 



320. CARIBBEAN ATLANTIC GEOTRAVERSE: GAG 



Partly included in IDOE, GAG, completed in 1974, was a project 

 to define plate margins through the identification and correlation 

 of magnetic anomalies, interpretation of gravity and seismic reflec- 

 tion data, and observation of changes of sea-floor morphological 

 provinces. Most of the tracklines for the project were oriented 

 east-west between the Lesser Antilles and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and 

 were spaced about 36 km apart. 



321. SOUTHWEST ATLANTIC CONTINENTAL MARGIN STUDIES: SWACM 



A program, complete in 1976, SWACM gathered geological and geo- 

 physical data along the continental margin of South America from the 

 Scotia Arc to the northeast coast of Brazil. The Brazilian portion 

 of the program was known by the acronym REMAC — Reconhecimento da 

 Margem Continental Brasileira. 



Living Resources Program 



The goal of the Living Resources Program is the improved understand- 

 ing of the processes and relations that exist between the biological 

 aspects of marine organisms and their chemical, physical, and geolog- 

 ical environment. The program emphasizes the analysis of marine eco- 

 systems. Entries 322 and 323 describe two programs established to date. 



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