INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: 



THE VIEW OF THE MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE 



ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES PROGRAM 



Dr. Donald Aurand 



Branch of Environmental Studies 



Minerals Management Service--Headquarters 



Reston, VA 



and 



Mr. James Lane 



Environmental Studies Unit 



Minerals Management Service--Atl antic OCS Region 



Vienna, VA 



The goal of this workshop on North Atlantic submarine canyons is to 

 provide a forum for the synthesis and dissemination of available information 

 on submarine canyons of the North Atlantic and for discussion by scientific 

 experts and concerned parties. This presentation and discussion will lead, it 

 is hoped, to identifying the points of agreement, points of disagreement, and 

 recommendations. The foregoing will focus largely on technical material, but 

 will not exclude policy aspects. 



A NEW APPROACH 



This workshop represents a new approach for the Environmental Studies 

 Program. About 2 years ago, during a studies planning session, it was 

 recognized that additional field studies in canyon head areas would not 

 necessarily provide new data or resolve outstanding questions. What was more 

 important was to disseminate existing information and foster discussion. This 

 was consistent with a recent audit of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) 

 Environmental Studies Program by the General Accounting Off ice--which was 

 generally favorable to the program, but which suggested the need for improved 

 information transfer and dissemination. 



