tigations concentrate on physical oceanography, ma- 
rine chemistry, submarine geology and geophysics, 
and biological oceanography. To support its research 
program, NSF, in recent years, has become the major 
direct source of funding for operation of the 29 ships 
of the academic fleet. 
The International Decade of Ocean Exploration 
(IDOE) supports large-scale, multi-disciplinary proj- 
ects focused on the role of the oceans in climate, 
food production, pollution, energy, and natural re- 
sources, with multi-national participation in some of 
the projects. Funding of the IDOE has, from its 
inception, remained below $20 million per year—tfar 
short of the $100 million recommended by the Na- 
tional Academy of Sciences—National Academy of 
Engineering. It should be acknowledged, however, 
that IDOE is not the sole international oceanographic 
program in operation. Others include the Interna- 
tional Geodynamics Project, International Phase of 
Ocean Drilling (IPOD), Circum-Pacific Map Project, 
and the Global Atmospheric Research Program 
(GARP). International participation in IDOE has 
not always been as strong as it might have been; 
however, NACOA, in its midterm review of the 
program, noted that the IDOE made a systematic 
effort to “develop truly international projects.” ** 
The four-area format outlined in An Oceanic 
Quest has continued to guide the U.S.—IDOE: (1) 
environmental quality, (2) environmental forecasting, 
(3) seabed assessment, and (4) living resources.*® 
Efforts in the “Environmental Quality Program” 
to date have concentrated on the determination of 
marine pollution baselines (Geochemical Ocean Sec- 
tions Study—-GEOSECS), movement of pollutants in 
the ocean {Transfer Processes), and biological effects 
of pollutants (Controlled Ecosystems Pollution Ex- 
periment—CEPEX). 
The “Environmental Forecasting Program” is 
aimed at developing interactive, predictive mathe- 
matical and physical models of the ocean and atmos- 
phere to improve forecasting atmospheric and ocean 
behavior. Studies initiated to date include: inves- 
tigation of mesoscale eddies in the deep ocean 
{Mid-Ocean Dynamics Experiment—MODE, and 
subsequently its Russian-American successor— 
POLYMODE), impact of ocean-atmospheric inter- 
actions over the North Pacific on the climate of 
North and South America (North Pacific Experiment 
—NORPAX), development of historical climatic 
information from oceanic data (Climate: Long-range 
Investigations, Mapping and Prediction—CLIMAP), 
and the dynamics of the Southern Ocean (Interna- 
tional Southern Ocean Studies—ISOS). MODE, 
44U.S. National Advisory Committee on Oceans ard Atmos- 
Phere. International Decade of Ocean Exploration. Washington- 
ton, D.C., Government Printing Office, 1975, p. 8. 
45 National Research Council. An Oceanic Quest. Washington, 
D.C., National Academy of Sciences, 1969, 
POLYMODE, and NORPAX are funded jointly by 
NSF and ONR. 
The objective of the “Seabed Assessment Pro- 
gram” is to compile information about the seabed 
which will contribute to the exploration, use, and 
sound management of the seabed resources. Empha- 
sis has been placed on surveys of the continental 
margins and the processes which occur there, on 
midocean ridges, and in deep ocean basins. Projects 
included are: studies of the continental margins of 
western Africa and eastern South America (South 
Atlantic Margins) and studies of metalogenesis and 
plate tectonics, which centered on the Mid-Atlantic 
plate and the Nazca plate in the eastern South Pacific 
and determination of the global distribution of man- 
ganese nodules. 
Projects in the “Living Resource Program” are 
aimed at understanding the processes governing the 
distribution and abundance of marine life. This work 
includes investigation of the physical and biological 
aspects of coastal upwellings (Coastal Upwelling 
Ecosystems Analysis—CUEA) and exploration of 
the role of seagrasses in coastal ecology, their life 
cycles, and influence on ocean productivity (Sea- 
grass Ecosystem Study—SES). 
IDOE has concentrated on processes and the en- 
vironment of the open ocean rather than diffusing its 
limited resources on estuarine and coastal systems. 
Large, integrated projects have been favored, and 
IDOE has avoided funding small projects which are 
normally funded by other NSF offices or the mission 
agencies. 
NACOA’s appraisal of the 5-year effort of IDOE 
was generally laudatory in view of the restricted 
funding of the program. The NACOA panel con- 
cluded that: *¢ 
“On balance, we believe that the IDOE has 
successfully addressed serious deficiencies 
in the present understanding of ocean 
processes and ocean resources, has fos- 
tered interinstitutional cooperation efforts 
required to tackle these deficiencies, and 
has done much to generate a spirit of in- 
ternational cooperation in this area where 
little had existed previously.” 
Because IDOE is programed to terminate in 1980, 
NACOA emphasized the importance of supporting 
“long-term, mvulti-disciplinary, miulti-institutional 
oceanic studies” and recommended, as one alterna- 
tive, that NSF may consider an Office of Ocean 
Exploration to continue the momentum of the Dec- 
ade. {n response to the NACOA recommendation, 
the NSF Office for the International Decade of 
Ocean Exploration convened a series of five work- 
shops in 1977 to explore the directions that a con- 
tinued program may take after 1980. A sixth plenary 
46 NACOA, op.cit. note 44, p. 2. 
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