Ch. 7— Federal Programs for Collecting and Managing Oceanographic Data • 275 



of having high-resolution multi-beam data that has 

 been "degraded" or "distorted" by filters and al- 

 gorithms, the oceanographic community would pre- 

 fer to continue using the best "undoctored," un- 

 classified data available even if it were of lower 

 resolution. If the choice of having high-resolution 

 multi-beam bathymetric data over a small area is 

 weighed against broad coverage with filtered data, 

 most oceanographers prefer limited coverage and 

 high-resolution. 



Foreign Policy Implications of 

 Data Classification 



In proclaiming the establishment of the U.S. Ex- 

 clusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in 1983, President 

 Ronald Reagan carefully specified that the newly 

 established ocean zone would be available to all for 

 the purpose of conducting marine scientific re- 

 search. ^^ The President's statement reaffirms a 

 long-held principle of the United States that it main- 

 tained throughout the negotiations of the Law of 

 the Sea Convention (LOSC): notwithstanding other 

 juridical considerations, nations should be free to 

 pursue scientific inquiry throughout the ocean. 



Although signatories to the LOSC granted the 

 coastal states the exclusive right to regulate, author- 

 ize, and conduct marine research in their exclusive 

 economic zones, the United States — a non-signa- 

 tory to the LOSC — continues to support and ad- 

 vocate freedom of scientific access.'^ Thus, although 

 other nations may impose consent requirements on 

 scientists entering their EEZs if they view such sur- 

 veys as counter to their national interest, the United 

 States has no such restrictions. 



WhUe oceanographers are generally pleased with 

 the U.S. open door policy for scientific research in 

 the EEZ, those attending the OTA Woods Hole 

 workshop see potential problems if the Navy estab- 

 lishes precedence for classifying high-resolution 

 bathymetric maps for national security reasons. If 

 the Navy continues to prevaO in its position on the 

 sensitivity of multi-beam data, then the United 

 States might find it necessary to prohibit or con- 

 trol the acquisition and processing of similar data 

 by foreign scientists. Such action would, for prac- 



tical purposes, repudiate the President's announced 

 policy of free access to the EEZ for scientific re- 

 search. 



Should multi-beam bathymetry in the U.S. EEZ 

 be classified, many oceanographers believe that 

 other countries would foUow suit or retaliate against 

 U.S. scientists by placing similar restrictions on the 

 collection and processing of data within their EEZs. 

 To date, no foreign multi-beam data has been sub- 

 mitted to NGDC. Other countries are waiting to 

 see how the security issue is resolved within the 

 U.S. The consequences for marine geological and 

 geophysical research on a global scale could be se- 

 vere as a result of removing a significant portion 

 of the world's seafloor from investigation. The with- 

 drawn areas would include much of the continen- 

 tal margins that are scientificially interesting and 

 may also contain significant mineral resources. 



Will Classification Achieve Security? 



Although the National Security Council and the 

 Navy may effectively derail NOAA's plans for com- 

 prehensive coverage of the U.S. EEZ by high- 

 resolution multi-beam mapping systems, the action 

 in no way assures that such data can not be ob- 

 tained by a potential hostile through other means. 

 Broad-coverage multi-beam data could be collected 

 and processed by non-government sources, and ac- 

 curate, unclassified bathymetry could be acquired 

 for strategic and tactical purposes. It is also possi- 

 ble that foreign interests could gather such data and 

 information either covertly under the guise of ma- 

 rine science or straightforwardly in the EEZ un- 

 der the U.S. policies related to freedom of access 

 for peaceflil purposes — although the latter approach 

 might prove politically difficult. 



The Navy, on the other hand, considers that any 

 action it may take to gather bathymetric informa- 

 tion using its own ships is by definition not con- 

 ducting marine scientific research, but conducting 

 "military surveys for operational purposes" which 

 are therefore not subject to coastal State jusisdic- 

 tion as are civilian scientific vessels gathering the 

 same kind of information.^'' Because the Navy con- 



^^Statement by the President accompanying the proclamation estab- 

 lishing the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, Mar. 10, 1983, p. 2. 

 "United Nations Law of the Sea, Part XIII, Sec. 3, Art. 246. 



^'"Navy Oceanography; Priorities, Activities and Challenges," 

 speech presented by Rear Admiral John R. Seesholtz, Oceanogra- 

 pher of the Navy, Center for Oceans Law and Policy, University of 

 Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, Oct. 24, 1986. 



