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Coastal zones are the spawning and nursery areas for many valuable 

 species of marine organisms. These portions of the coastal zone also are 

 increasingly fouled by pollutants that adversely affect marine life. 

 Studies of Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay supported by the Foun- 

 dation are directed toward achieving greater knowledge of pollutant 

 effects on fisli and shellfish and toward seeking information on domestic 

 and industrial wastes. An additional objective is to enhance the ability 

 of enforcement agencies to devise necessary pollution control strategies 

 for the coastal areas. 



In one experimental project underway at the "Woods Hole Oceano- 

 graphic Institution in Massachusetts, researchers are successfully strip- 

 ping the nitrogen and phosphorous nutrients from human wastes. In 

 this project, an algal culture is grown in sea water enriched with the 

 effluents from a secondary sewage treatment plant, after which the 

 algae is fed to oysters and other shellfish species. 



Selected seaweeds, such as Irish moss and kelp, are used to convert 

 much of the liquid waste from the oysters into usable products. Aba- 

 lone also live on other plant and animal life which feeds on the liquid 

 waste from the oysters. 



The solid wastes from the oyster tanks feed a great variety of marine 

 worms that are, in turn, used as food by marine fishes which are of 

 value as human food. We believe there is a potential in this study for 

 ways to reduce the estuarine discharges of sewage wastes from small 

 communities, thereby reducing the biological overburden on the coastal 

 waters as well as easing the esthetic problems produced by sewage in 

 these regions — and, perhaps, helping produce more oysters for those 

 who like them. 



Antarctica and the surrounding oceans — because of their remoteness 

 and isolation from the industrialized and heavily populated Northern 

 Hemisphere — afford a unique opportunity for monitoring chemical 

 and biological pollution. It would be a key area if a worldwide net- 

 work of pollution monitorinsr stations were to be established. Con- 

 siderable attention has been devoted to the problems of pollution and 

 environmental conservation under the Foundation's U.S. Antarctic 

 research program. 



Project support for pollution-related research is also provided 

 through the Division of Environmental Sciences. Although the origin 

 and motivation for many of these studies may not have been ocean 

 pollution, they do produce insight into processes bearing on ocean 

 pollution and ocean dumping problems. 



Let me illustrate by giving two examples : One is a program to meas- 

 ure in situ diffusion rates of chemical species from and into marine 

 sediments at depth, and the other is a study of the dynamics of organic 

 matter at great depths in the ocean. Both of these investigations pro- 

 duced some rather unexpected results. 



In the first case, diffusion rates were found to be significantly lower 

 than expected and, in the second case, organic matter at depth was 

 found to decay very slowly, presumably because of the effects of high 

 pressure and low temperature. 



The intellectual stimulation for these studies stems from questions 

 about mixing rates in the deep ocean and food chain dynamics in the 

 water column. At the same time, however, it is clear that this type of 

 information is needed to consider tlie disposal of presumably biode- 

 gradable material at great depths in the ocean. 



