U.S.-U.S.S.R. AGREEMENT FOR COOPERATION 
IN OCEANOGRAPHY 
(By Donald P. Martineau ') 
BACKGROUND 
The oceans of the world have long provided an arena for coopera- 
tion by scientists from many nations, irrespective of their ideologies. 
With the oceans covering nearly three-fourths of the earth’s surface 
and the complexity of the scientific problems being addressed today 
to better understand the waters of the world the combined capabilities 
of all nations and the talents of their scientists are needed more 
than ever. In the spirit of détente developed over the past several 
years between the United States and the Soviet Union it is therefore, 
appropriate that cooperative efforts between the United States and 
U.S.S.R. be promoted to further our understanding of the oceans 
and seas of the world, the World Ocean. 
It was during the summit visit of Party Secretary Leonid Brezhnev 
to the United States in June 1973, that the United States and the 
Soviet Union concluded an Agreement on Cooperation in Studies 
of the World Ocean to further detente between the two nations. 
This agreement provides for the formal recognition by both govern- 
ments of the desire to coordinate and cooperate in basic and applied 
oceanographic research studies of common interest. With the major 
oceanographic research programs and capabilities of both countries 
and the successful previous cooperation in oceanographic studies, this 
was an excellent area to foster the spirit of detente. The purpose 
of this article is to familiarize the U.S. scientific community and 
public with the agreement: its scope, its mode of implementation 
and some of the activities being carried out under its auspices. 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE AGREEMENT 
The basis for such cooperation dates back to the oceanography 
program of the International Geophysical Year in the late 1950’s 
and to the subsequent international programs and projects which have 
served to bring together the scientists in both countries. They have 
worked together in programs sponsored by the Intergovernmental 
Oceanographic Commission such as the International Indian Ocean 
Expedition and more recently the Cooperative Investigations of the 
Caribbean and Adjacent Regions. Soviet and U.S. fisheries scientists 
also have worked together in both bilateral and multilateral studies 
of the abundance and distribution of fisheries resources of mutual 
interest. In addition, scientists from both countries have undertaken 
together investigations on selected oceanographic problems. It is upon 
‘The author is Deputy Associate Administrator for Marine Resources with the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration. 
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