scattering strength stand out as identifiable regions of the ocean. Signifi- 

 cant correlations between zooplankton distribution and volume rever- 

 beration are encouraging, but our understanding must be improved. 

 More effort is needed in investigating the dynamic character of the 

 interactions between biological populations of "natural hydrographic 

 regions" and the chemical variability of their waters. Results of research 

 in chemical oceanography, as recommended in this document, can have 

 numerous applications in gaining this understanding of the chemical 

 factors responsible for the seasonal and long-term changes in marine 

 ecosystems and bioacoustical provinces of the ocean, and in providing 

 a prediction capability. This is but one example of the many applications 

 of results from basic research in chemical oceanography to the solving 

 of operationally Navy-relevant problems. 



The amount of published information in the field of chemical oceanog- 

 raphy, like that in many other fields of science, has doubled every few 

 years recently. Moreover, much information germane to problems of 

 chemical oceanography is generated by parties in diverse fields, remote 

 from the problems faced in chemical oceanography, and is published in 

 journals or kept in files not readily accessible to oceanographers, except 

 by occasional, coincidental contacts or discoveries. No concerted effort 

 has been made to search out appropriate information, evaluate it, and 

 present it to the oceanographic community. The lack of such an effort 

 has an unknown, but possibly significant, impending effect on progress 

 in chemical oceanography. Under the traditional system of financing 

 oceanographic research, principally with the aim of collecting more 

 data, the inefficiency of information gathering, synthesis, and transmittal 

 to younger and future scientists is growing. 



This situation should be remedied. It should be financially and sci- 

 entifically sound to periodically free selected, experienced individuals 

 from the burden of having to collect new data and sponsor them, for 

 perhaps a year, for the purpose of collecting, synthesizing, and pre- 

 senting scattered information in their field of expertise. Another possible 

 solution is to have some junior investigators at each research institution 

 for the purpose of gathering and assimilating information in support 

 of existing programs. 



