processes to the changes of the physical environ- 

 ment. 



The development of oceanographic-sensing 

 earth-orbiting satellites is now under way. They 

 will, over the next decade, have the capability of 

 measuring such surface conditions as temperature 

 and sea state, providing an entirely new method of 

 global assessment of these conditions. 



Technological developments in deep ocean 

 drilling pioneered by the oil industry are being 

 used in the Ocean Sediment Coring Program, 

 funded by the National Science Foundation, to 

 provide deep cores of the crust, with attendant 

 studies of the oceans' geophysics and geology. 



The use of deep submersibles can lead to 

 important scientific results now obtainable, if at 

 all, only with great difficulty from surface vessels. 

 A submersible equipped to make temperature- 

 gradient measurements in marine sediments could 

 obtain better data faster than a fleet of surface 

 craft lowering probes on long wires on the present 

 hit-or-miss basis. A submersible capable of making 

 a systematic traverse of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 

 say just south of Iceland, taking magnetic and 

 gravity readings and drilling short cores to sample 

 the rocks could convert sea floor spreading from a 

 theory to an accepted scientific principle (or to an 

 outmoded hypothesis). An under-ice penetration 

 by submersible below the Antarctic ice sheet could 

 bring back in a few weeks more data on the 

 biological conditions in this unique habitat than 

 could be obtained by months of sampling through 

 holes drilled through the ice. 



There is no question that technology will give 

 us a capability for the operation of manned 

 underwater habitats, which can be used for the 

 study of ecology and animal behavior in the 

 marine environment. 



The way in which we operate our ocean- 

 ographic research vessels is undergoing rapid and 

 continuing change. On-board automatic data 

 processing is becoming feasible and total systems 

 for automated data acquisition through on-board 

 analysis of results will speed tremendously the 

 efforts of scientists at sea by the elimination of 

 long waits for feedback. 



Technological developments clearly will have a 

 pervasive impact upon basic marine science— yet 

 the basic science community is failing to have a 

 similar impact upon the field of marine tech- 

 nology. Except in isolated cases, the marine 



Figure 15. IR imagery of Gulf Stream. Nimbus 

 II high resolution infrared imagery clearly de- 

 picts the Gulf Stream. Temperature values 

 were determined by microdensitometer. 

 Nimbus IR imagery can be very useful in de- 

 termining the location, distribution, and 

 movement of major ocean water masses. 

 Studies of this nature will be of great value 

 to oceanographers, meteorologists, and the 

 world's fishing and shipping industries. 

 (NASA photo) 



Figure 16. Retrieving a corer from the sea 

 bottom. Cores showing the vertical structure 

 of bottom sediments up to 50 feet below the 

 ocean floor have been obtained. These cores 

 are used to determine the history of geologic 

 processes. (National Science Foundation 

 photo) 



1-40 



