Section Ill. Related Studies and Efforts 
INTRODUCTION 
As can be seen from the undersea platform utiliza- 
tion findings and the program descriptions in ap- 
pendix C, the major Federal agency supporting U.S. 
civilian-operated platforms is NOAA/MUS&T. Two 
additional MUS&T-sponsored efforts which relate 
to platform utilization are: a study of the impact 
of scientific requirements on undersea laboratory 
design conducted by the University of New Hamp- 
shire, and a Manned Undersea Activity Workshop 
conducted by the Ocean Affairs Board of the Na- 
tional Academy of Sciences and the Marine Board 
of the National Academy of Engineering. Other fac- 
tors in platform utilization are the recommendations 
by the University-National Oceanographic Labora- 
tory System (UNOLS) that ALVIN be designated 
a National Facility and that a lease fund admin- 
istered by UNOLS be established by Federal fund- 
ing agencies. UNOLS has also indicated that one 
deep and one shallow submersible could be used on 
each coast. 
MANNED UNDERSEA SCIENCE AND TECH- 
NOLOGY PROGRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 
COMMERCE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS- 
PHERIC ADMINISTRATION 
NOAA’s Manned Undersea Science and Tech- 
nology (MUS&T) Office was established in early 
FY 1972 to develop, coordinate, and support a na- 
tional, civilian operational capability for man to 
work under the sea in support of essential programs 
to achieve a better use, assessment, and understand- 
ing of the marine environment and its resources. 
MUS&T has strengthened the national base for the 
systematic pursuit of a nonmilitary manned under- 
sea program. In addition to establishing liaison with 
concerned agencies, such as the U.S. Navy, En- 
vironmental Protection Agency, Department of the 
Interior, National Science Foundation, U.S. Coast 
Guard, National Institute of Occupational Safety 
and Health, and Army Corps of Engineers, 12 
projects utilizing eight different submersibles, three 
habitats, and over 240 scientists were funded in FY 
17 
1972-73 through December 1972. Operations were 
conducted, many with the support of other agencies, 
on all three U.S. coasts, in Belize (British Hon- 
duras), in the Bering Sea and Puerto Rico as shown 
in figure 1. Table 7 shows the platforms utilized, 
and table 8 the distribution of resources and activi- 
ties in| FY 1972. 
The MUS&T projects provided the opportunity 
for scientists and engineers from academia, industry, 
The Navy’s submersible ALVIN, operated by 
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. 
