economic, political, scientific, and technological 
fields. 
—Funds in addition to those required for military 
commitments sufficient to allow use of Navy 
capabilities and management expertise in support 
of the overall national goals. 
Civilian Government Needs: 
—A concentration of agencies having ocean roles 
and missions. 
—A marine and undersea technology development 
capability. 
B. Fundamental Technology 
Critical advances in fundamental technology are 
required to improve undersea operating capabil- 
ities and reliability. Examples include: reliable, 
efficient, compact power sources; machinery and 
equipment capable of ambient operation; corro- 
sion and fouling resistent, high strength-to-weight 
materials; subsurface navigation and precise posi- 
tioning devices; underwater communication and 
viewing systems; and biomedicine. 
Knowledge of ocean environmental variables, 
particularly such features as temperature, salinity, 
depth, biological effects, bathymetry, acoustic 
properties, bottom and sub-bottom geology, is 
insufficient to establish valid engineering design 
criteria for undersea systems. 
Recommendations: 
7. A fundamental marine engineering and tech- 
nology program should be vigorously pursued to 
expand the possibilities and lower the costs of 
undersea operations. 
8. Handbooks, technical memoranda, and other 
engineering design data should be developed, 
continually updated, and made available to the 
ocean engineer to provide critical information on 
undersea environmental conditions and the behav- 
ior of systems, materials, and components in the 
environment. 
C. Test Facilities 
The necessity for adequate test facilities to 
permit safe, orderly, and rapid advancement into 
the undersea frontier parallels the history of 
strategic test facility needs for development of 
high altitude, supersonic, and space flight. Ocean 
test facilities are a national resource as important 
as any other single factor in the development of 
technology. 
Insufficient and often unsuitable test facilities 
today are seriously impeding advancements in 
submersible, habitat, equipment, and instrumenta- 
tion development. 
Facilities for physiological research, medical 
training, diver equipment development, and satura- 
tion diver training are grossly inadequate. 
Recommendation: 
9. A national program should be initiated to 
increase the number and capability of undersea 
research, development, test, and evaluation facil- 
ities and to oversee efforts to improve facility 
design technology to reduce costs. A two part 
approach is needed for systems and equipment 
development and biomedical development. 
D. Special Deep Ocean Considerations 
The bathymetry of the world’s oceans is such 
that approximately 88 per cent of the ocean floor 
lies between the 2,000 and 20,000 foot contours, 
with 10 per cent less than 2,000 feet deep and 
only two per cent greater than 20,000 feet deep. 
Marine life and high grade mineral resources 
exist at 20,000 feet. Sedimentary deposits which 
may contain oil are known to exist on the 
continental rises at depths from 6,000 to 14,000 
feet. 
The deep sea is of great interest to scientists 
concerned with such fields as ocean circulation, 
climatology, nutrient supply, marine biology, geo- 
physics, and geology. 
A technological deficiency in systems designed 
to operate below 2,000 feet exists because of the 
lack of a national commitment to understand, 
explore, and utilize the deep ocean. Deep ocean 
operations in general are restricted severely by 
equipment failures and the lack of ability to do 
useful work. 
Military systems with deep operating capability 
will provide such advantages as better conceal- 
ment, improved location for acoustic systems, 
expanded tactical coverage of systems operating 
above, and larger absolute margin of safety during 
dives and submerged maneuvers. Deep operating 
