workshop was convened in 1977 to integrate the 
plans for continuation of an international research 
program in the next decade. A sequel to the pre- 
IDOE planning document, which was compiled by 
the National Research Council in 1969 (An Oceanic 
Quest), will be released in the summer of 1978. 
Division of Earth Sciences 
The mest prominent NSF marine program outside 
the Division of Ocean Sciences is the Deepsea Drill- 
ing Project (DSDP), part of the NSF Sediment Cor- 
ing Program of the Earth Sciences Division. Scientific 
advice and planning are provided by the Joint 
Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling 
(JOIDES). Nine U.S. and five foreign research insti- 
tutions are members of JOIDES. Project operations 
are managed for NSF by the University of California, 
through the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 
which is responsible for accomplishing the project’s 
scientific objectives: determining the composition, 
structure, and geological history of bottom sediments 
and upper basement rocks of the world’s ocean 
basins. The University of California subcontracts 
with Global Marine, Inc., to perform the actual drill- 
ing and coring operations using its ship the Glomar 
Challenger. By February 1978, a total of 679 holes 
at 446 sites had been drilled in all the major deep- 
water ocean basins and seas of the world. 
The fourth phase of the project, the Interna- 
tional Phase of Ocean Drilling (IPOD), is being con- 
ducted with increased international support. In 
January 1974, the Soviet Union signed a Memo~- 
randum of Understanding with NSF, agreeing to 
contribute $1 million per year to the project for 5 
years. Since the beginning of fiscal year 1976, agree- 
ments to contribute $1 million each per year to 
IPOD were signed by France, the Federal Republic 
of Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom. 
Division of Atmospheric Sciences 
The Division of Atmospheric Sciences participates 
in interdisciplinary studies of air-sea interaction to 
determine the influence of the ocean on local weather 
conditions and on global climate. A major part of 
this program has consisted of investigations in sup- 
port of the Global Atmospheric Research Program 
(GARP). These experiments have included the 
GARP Atlantic Tropical Experiment, a large-scale, 
multinational project to assess related oceanic and 
atmospheric processes in the tropical Atlantic, and 
the Indian Ocean Experiment, a study of the struc- 
ture of the circulation in the Western Indian Ocean. 
A successor to this last project is now in the plan- 
ning stage. The new project, the Monsoon Experi- 
ment, to be conducted in 1978-79, will involve 
research on the eastward-flowing. equatorial under- 
current. 
Division of Polar Programs 
The Division of Polar Programs supports ocean 
science studies in its Antarctic and Arctic research 
programs. Among these projects is a study, begun in 
the late 1960s, to assess the northward flow of Ant- 
arctic bottom water formed in the Weddell Sea. The 
Division of Polar Programs has also supported recent 
research in the Scotia Sea to obtain information 
about the formation of sea floor features. The Arctic 
program is analyzing data collected in a 14-month 
joint U.S. and Canadian study of air-sea interaction 
in the Arctic Ocean northeast of Point Barrow, 
Alaska. The objective of the study was to under- 
stand how Arctic processes affect climate and to 
improve techniques of ice forecasting. 
The Sea Grant College Program 
The Sea Grant Program was established under the 
National Sea Grant College Program Act passed by 
the 89th Congress in 1966.*7 The program is pat- 
terned on the century-old Land Grant Program, the 
purpose of which was to provide support to colleges 
and universities to promote agricultural development. 
For 4 years, 1966-70, the Sea Grant Program re- 
sided in the National Science Foundation. In 1970, 
it was transferred to the newly formed National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by Reor- 
ganization Plan No. 4. 
The Sea Grant research program is directed to- 
ward the development, conservation, and manage- 
ment of ocean and coastal resources. About 41 per- 
cent of the $12.94 million allocated in fiscal year 
1977 to Sea Grant scientific research focuses on the 
47 National Se4 Grant College Program Act, 33 U/S.C. 
1121-1124. 
development of marine resources, 34 percent is di- 
rected to marine technology development, and 35 
percent to marine environmental research. The Sea 
Grant research program is not limited to marine 
science, however. Sea Grant devotes almost $3 mil- 
lion to research in marine socioeconomics and law 
(marine affairs). Moreover, this research program is 
supplemented by educational activities and advisory 
services. Each of these aspects of the Sea Grant Pro- 
gram complements the others. Historically, Federal 
funds and contracts made available under the Sea 
Grant program may not exceed two-thirds of the 
total cost of the project. At least one-third of the 
cost, therefore, must be paid for in matching funds. 
Amendments to the Sea Grant Act, passed in 
1976, added an international element to the Sea 
Grant Program. Under these amendments, grants and 
contracts may be negotiated with any Sea Grant 
VII-27 
