Ocean surveys are conducted to obtain comprehensive 

 oceanographic, hydrographic, and acoustical information about 

 ocean areas of the world in which our Navy operates. In order 

 to collect that data there are fifteen Navy surface ships and 

 four airplanes assigned full time in addition to other ships 

 used on an opportunity basis. In FY 1968, these surveys acquir- 

 ed vast quantities of precise environmental data over millions of 

 square miles of the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans 

 and the Mediterranean Sea. This year projects will include: 

 anti-submarine warfare surveys in the North Pacific, Gulf of 

 Mexico, and North Atlantic; mine warfare surveys in the west- 

 ern Pacific and Mediterranean; and aircraft ice surveys in the 

 Arctic. 



There are a number of marine science and technology activ- 

 ities which are directed toward exploratory and advanced de- 

 velopment in underwater sound propagation to support sonar 

 design and surveillance systems. The comprehensive program 

 of investigations consists of twenty-six projects at eighteen 

 Federal and non-Federal laboratories, including ten private cor- 

 porations. 



The programs to develop undersea search, rescue, recov- 

 ery, and man-in-the-sea capabilities are extremely important as 

 was emphasized in 1968 by the loss of the Scorpion and of a 

 French and an Israeli submarine. There are a number of pro- 

 grams and projects designed to explore specific aspects of these 

 advanced ocean technologies. They include the Deep Sub- 

 mergence Systems Project; the Submarine Location, Escape, and 

 Rescue Program; the Small Object Location and Recovery Proj- 

 ect; and the Man-in-the-Sea Project. This latter effort includes 

 Sealab III presently being tested near San Clemente Island off 

 the California Coast. The Navy is also constructing a nuclear 

 powered research and ocean engineering submersible (NR-1). 

 Sea trials and initial operations are scheduled for early 1969. 



In a joint Navy-Duke University advanced biomedical proj- 

 ect in December 1968, divers participated in a saturation dive 

 at a simulation depth of 1,000 feet for 77 hours and 30 minutes. 

 Observations indicated that the divers can perform weU under 

 these conditions. The extensive physiological data obtained 

 from the experiment will be published in the near future. Sev- 

 eral other research programs in biomedical science have been 

 scheduled for this year. 



The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) has 

 conducted the VELA project for a number of years. The R&D 

 work on detecting, locating, and identifying nuclear explosions 

 in the ocean has been successful, and that part of VELA is being 

 phased out. Other parts of the project which will be continued 

 include seismic calibration experiments intended to provide 

 information on the earth's crust and upper mantle. 



35 



