37 



along the earthquake-prone southeast Alaskan 

 coast, in San Francisco Bay and elsewhere along 

 the California coast. The studies of sea floor 

 stability along the Alaskan and California coasts 

 contribute to and are integrated with work de- 

 signed to assess the geologic and hydrologic 

 resources of bays and the offshore areas. 



NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 



FY 1965- 

 FY 1966- 

 FY 1967- 



-$15,700,000 

 ■$22,000,000 

 -$20,000,000 



Background 



The National Science Foundation's primary role 

 in the National Oceanographic Program has been 

 to support, by various means, research, facilities, 

 and education at universities and oceanographic 

 institutions. This participation in the government- 

 wide program consists of: 



(1) Fimding ship construction and conversion. 



(2) Supporting the construction of laboratory 

 buildings, docking facilities, and other shore 

 installations. 



(3) Making basic research grants. 



(4) Assuming responsibility for an appreciable 

 part of the ship operating costs at educational 

 institutions. 



(5) Operating the U.S. Antarctic Research 

 Program. 



(6) Supporting special studies, fellowships, and 

 conferences. 



(7) Participating in the support of the National 

 Oceanographic Data Center and World Data 

 Center A. 



(8) Funding most of the U.S. costs for the 

 International Indian Ocean Expedition, part of 

 the costs for the U.S. participation in the Inter- 

 national Cooperative Investigations of the Tropi- 

 cal Atlantic and the Southeastern Pacific Oceano- 

 graphic Program. 



Support of oceanography in the Foundation can 

 thus be categorized in five general areas: Research, 

 Facilities, Conferences and Studies, Scieyice Information, 

 and Education. 



Since oceanography is not a single discipline, it 

 becomes inextricably entwined with the responsi- 



bilities of many organizational parts of the 

 Foundation. Although most of the support comes 

 from the Research Divisions (Division of Bio- 

 logical and Medical Sciences, the Division of 

 En\ironmental Sciences, and the Office of Ant- 

 arctic Programs), significant contributions are 

 made by the Division of Institutional Programs, 

 the Office of International Science Activities, the 

 Office of Science Information Service, and the 

 divisions concerned with education. 



Since its beginning the Foundation has been 

 involved in the support of oceanography, but the 

 major growth in this support has been since FY 

 1958; that year NSF made approximately 80 

 grants in all aspects of oceanography at 38 uni- 

 versities and scientific institutions. Today, the 

 Foundation sponsors well over 350 programs at 

 124 universities and institutions engaged in the 

 study of the oceans and the Great Lakes. In FY 

 1958 institutions receiving NSF grants in ocean- 

 ography were located in 20 states; present support 

 is rendered to institutions in 34 states, plus 

 Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. During 

 this same period, NSF support of senior research 

 personnel rose from approximately 50 to more 

 than 200, and support of graduate students 

 through research grants, fellowships and trainee- 

 ships has grown from less than 40 to over 160. 



Realizing that the exploration and comprehen- 

 sion of the seas has been hampered by the lack 

 of good research vessels and adequate shore 

 facilities, the National Science Foundation has 

 joined other agencies in an attempt to improve this 

 critical situation. Since 1958, the Foundation has 

 supported the conversion or the building of 12 

 major research vessels, plus numerous small 

 boats, and the construction or remodeling of some 

 59 shore facilities. In seven years, more than 

 $34 million has been used to fund ships and facili- 

 ties. In addition to research and facilities, there 

 has been an appreciable increase in the support of 

 conferences, special studies, and the dissemination 

 of scientific information and education. This has 

 been accomplished by funding fellowships, 

 traineeships, and teachers' institutes, as well as 

 by other means. Over $1 million per year is now 

 expended annually on these endeavors. Since 

 FY 1958, a total of about $107 million has been 

 expended in supporting approximately 1,600 

 research grants and contracts. 



