problems (e.g. pollution) that will continually arise. In general, the 

 results of basic research will have direct applicability to such problems. 



The major operating area of the Navy is the open ocean. However, 

 ports and harbors with a wide range of marine environmental character- 

 istics are also used extensively. To operate effectively, the Navy must 

 possess a substantial knowledge of this marine environment; with this 

 knowledge the degree of operational effectiveness obtained can be 

 directly related to the understanding of all the factors that make the 

 oceans and their properties what they are. It is for this reason that the 

 Office of Naval Research supports a diverse research program in the 

 ocean sciences. Inasmuch as chemical oceanography occupies a central 

 role in the understanding of the multifaceted marine environment, 

 chemical oceanographic research forms a part of this Ocean Sciences 

 Program. The research provides insight into the processes and mech- 

 anisms that determine the chemical character of the sea. Therefore, it 

 is directly applicable to solving specific problems of Navy relevance, 

 such as the corrosion and deterioration of materials in the marine en- 

 vironment; the monitoring, assessment, and possible control of pollutants 

 in the sea; the interchange of materials across the air-sea and sea-bottom 

 boundaries; the effect of chemical processes on the properties of sound 

 transmission, absorption, and scattering in the marine environment; and 

 the use of tracers for the identification of water masses in studying ocean 

 circulation and mixing mechanisms. All these problem areas share a 

 common basis in chemistry. 



Unfortunately, most of the basic marine chemical processes, their 

 controls, mechanisms, alterations by outside influences (e.g. pressure), 

 and their effects upon man's utilization of the ocean, are not well under- 

 stood. The number of organic compounds in the sea far exceeds that 

 of all inorganic species combined, yet little is known of their involve- 

 ment in trace-element chemistries. Few laboratories pursue the qualita- 

 tive or quantitative assays of organics in the marine environment. We 

 now possess only an extremely crude understanding of the chemical 

 basis and effects of sound attenuation in the ocean. We know virtually 

 nothing of the basic mechanisms and interrelationships of the chemical 

 and bacteriological processes resulting in the corrosion of material in 

 the marine environment, or the effects of antifouling material (e.g., 

 copper) on a semienclosed body of water supporting heavy ship traffic. 

 These are but a few examples. The objective of the research supported 

 by the Navy in chemical oceanography is to understand the controls 

 and mechanisms maintaining the chemical characteristics of the ocean 

 environments and to elucidate the properties of marine equilibria. That 

 understanding will then be applied to solving problems of naval relevance. 



The attainment of the aforementioned goal is synonomous with 

 determinations of the present status and future direction of the field of 



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