carried out in critical areas concurrently with the 

 geologic mapping to develop new criteria to aid in 

 the search for resources both on land and beneath 

 the sea. 



The following areas should receive the highest 

 priorities in the geologic analysis program. 



-Offshore areas having highest potential for 

 minerals. 



—Areas of significant scientific importance (de- 

 termined mainly by knowledge of the geology on 

 land) that will enhance our understanding of the 

 geologic history of the continental shelves and 

 slopes and the origin and localization of mineral 

 deposits. 



—Coastal areas where popidation is rapidly ex- 

 panding and where planning and management 

 groups wiQ need sound basic information in order 

 to make judgments on the best use of marine 

 areas. 



Cost of the 20-year geologic analysis progiam is 

 estimated in the following table: 



1:250,000 Mapping Program of the 

 U.S. Continental Shelves 



Total 



In-house 



2500 professional man 

 years @ $60,000 

 (includes technicians) 



Equipment 



Research Contracts 

 University (includes 

 ship time) 



Industry Contracts 

 Ship time 

 Aeromagnetics 

 Submersibles 

 Drilling of holes 500 



to 5000 feet deep 



(100,000 ft.) 

 Drilling of shallow 



core holes (less than 



500 feet deep) 

 Special sampling and 



geophysics 



$423,000,000 

 $150,000,000 



40,000,000 



125,000,000 



108,000,000 

 60,000,000 

 4,000,000 

 5,000,000 



10,000,000 



9,000,000 

 20,000,000 



The technology for extracting large and rich 

 mineral deposits from the substrate of the conti- 

 nental shelves to depths of possibly 300 feet or 

 more is within the range of modern technology. ^** 

 However, the science and exploration technology 

 for identifying and evaluating such hidden deposits 

 still needs to be developed. 



It is a difficult and expensive task to prepare 

 reasonably precise geologic maps in the marine 

 environment. Unlike on land, suitable instruments 

 and techniques are not available for determination 

 of sea floor and subsurface geology, except by 

 laborious and expensive methods. Present tech- 

 nology is inadequate to characterize either placer 

 or nodule deposits on the seabed or in situ 

 deposits that might be concealed in the rocks of 

 the shelves and slopes. The latter deposits could 

 constitute a major segment of our potential marine 

 mineral resources. 



Recommendation: ^' 



An appropriate Government agency, working in 

 cooperation with private industry, should develop 

 tools, instruments, and techniques to improve 

 seafloor and sub-seafloor geological surveys. De- 

 velopment of remote sensing equipment and sub- 

 sea geophysical and geochemical techniques shoidd 

 have high priority. The Bureau of Mines should 

 accelerate its effort to develop the tools and 

 techniques to characterize marine ore bodies. 



4. Deposits on the Deep Ocean Floors 



The only presently known materials of poten- 

 tial economic importance on the deep ocean floors 

 beyond the continental slopes are the manganese 

 nodules and crusts. Surficial deposits of red clay, 

 siliceous ooze, and calcareous ooze are extensive 

 but are of little or no potential economic im- 

 portance. Some of these materials, i.e., red clays 

 and manganese nodules, apparently cover tens of 

 millions of square miles of ocean bottom. Manga- 

 nese nodules contain significant amounts of cop- 

 per, cobalt, and nickel in addition to manganese 



20 



D. F. Austin, "Manned Underseas Structures-the 

 Rock-site Concept," Naval Ordnance Test Station Tech- 

 nical Pub. No. 4162, 1966. 



Estimated costs covered by this recommendation for 

 a 10-year level of effort are $50 million. 



VIM 06 



