Other significant advances have been made in understanding ecology of marine organisms, the 

 history of surface and deep water production and circulation, the global carbon cycle, and 

 changes in the chemistry and biologic productivity of the global ocean. Most recently, theories 

 of extraterrestrial impacts and their relation to biotic evolution are being examined in the 

 context of global environmental conditions preserved in marine sediments. 



Major goals of future work include detailed studies of specific geologic intervals to establish 

 temporal relations between oceanographic, climatic, and tectonic events; improved 

 understanding of the resolution of the oceanographic record presen/ed in fossil assemblages 

 through studies of modern organisms and their environment; an increased emphasis on 

 determining the history of the carbon cycle and its relation to climatic change; and use of 

 integrated data sets to model ocean circulation and climate. Enhanced support for analyses of 

 samples collected by the Ocean Drilling Program is requested (see below). 



il. Critical Needs of the Core Program 



The areas of critical need in Ocean Sciences Core support are all relevant to the Marine Geology 

 and Geophysics Program. In particular, support for three aspects of this research program are 

 urgently needed to continue recent scientific advances and respond to technological 

 Improvements. Each crosses several programmatic areas described in the preceding section. 

 These are: 



1. Ocean Drilling Program Sample Analyses. Support for postdrilling analyses of 

 samples from the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) is provided by established disciplinary 

 programs at NSF - mainly Marine Geology and Geophysics. The drilling program includes major 

 sampling programs for carbonate reef formation and carbon cycles in the oceans, controls and 

 timing of glacial cycles, early rifting history of the Atlantic Ocean, geochemical and thermal 

 evolution of oceanic crust, evolution of the Mediterranean Sea, mineralization processes, 

 sedimentation regimes, and tectonics of ocean ridge systems and continental margins. Sample 

 sites range from the Norwegian Sea through the Atlantic Ocean to the Weddell Sea off Antarctica 

 followed by future work in the Indian Ocean and Pacific margins. 



The success of the drilling program requires a strong sample analysis effort and without 

 enhanced support it will be difficult for the U.S. research effort to maintain its leadership 

 position in this international program. Funding at $IM per year is required to establish and 

 maintain effective levels of research. 



2. Long Coring Facility and Sedimentary Processes. Approximately 40% of all 

 sediments are found on continental margins and in the deep ocean. The marine sedimentary 

 sequences, in general, are more continuous than land deposits; are the ultimate sink for 

 terrestrial, pelagic, and deep-sea hydrothermal particulate materials; and are the recording 

 medium for past global environmental and climatic changes. 



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