and high concentration anomalies, such as the Red 
Sea hot spots, may make it practical to extract 
other elements of even lower average concentra- 
tions. Worldwide, salt is the most important 
product extracted, with almost 30 per cent of the 
total world production being derived from sea 
water. 
Desalination processes can be used for multiple 
purposes including the conversion of sea water and 
brackish water and for purification of polluted 
water. No single process is optimum for the 
divergent types of input water and output quan- 
tity and quality needed. Energy and capital invest- 
ment costs dominate the economics of desalted 
water. 
Recommendations: 
25. The present program to develop alternate 
desalting methods for differing applications should 
be expanded. Attention should be given to new 
chemical extraction technology which can be used 
with concentrated brines. 
26. The U.S. Government’s prime objective in its 
saline water program should continue to be the 
advancement of desalting technology, in contrast 
to the business of supplying water. The final step 
in developing promising new or improved pro- 
cesses should be based on two major approaches, 
both in cooperation with private industry: (1) 
sponsorship of construction and operation of 
prototype or demonstration plants and (2) partici- 
pation with water supply agencies in constructing 
and operating such plants. Thus, State, municipal, 
and private water supply agencies would have an 
opportunity to utilize new desalting technology in 
a first-of-a-kind plant wherein the risk is shared 
through Government financial support. 
27. The Government’s desalination research and 
development program should be balanced to de- 
velop techniques to supply large-scale regional 
water needs, including metropolitan coastal facili- 
ties and ultimately agriculture; to develop more 
reliable and efficient small plants for beachfront 
hotels and islands and for small inland communi- 
ties which must make use of brackish or polluted 
water supplies; and to develop systems to permit 
industrial and municipal re-use of waste water. 
4. Ocean Mining 
Solid minerals exist in the form of deposits on 
the seafloor and within the bedrock. In each cate- 
gory the resources are extremely diverse in nature 
and value. Bottom deposits include shells, sand, 
phosphorite and manganese nodules, and gold and 
tin placers. Bedrock deposits include coal, sulphur, 
and iron ores. Technology for exploration and 
recovery of each is substantially different. 
The only mineral recovery operations on the 
U.S. Continental Shelf are sand, gravel, and oyster 
shell dredging plus sulfur extraction. Deep ocean 
manganese nodules are known to contain substan- 
tial concentrations of nickel, copper, and cobalt. 
The technology for commercial nodule mining, 
however, has not yet been demonstrated. Future 
ocean mining may require submersible exploration 
vehicles and dredges; seafloor production, boring, 
and drilling rigs; ocean accessible installations in 
the bedrock; and high capacity vertical and hori- 
zontal transport systems. 
Recommendation: 
28. Although the worldwide supply of land based 
mineral resources may be sufficient to the year 
2000, it is essential for U.S. industry to make an 
early start in offshore exploration and production. 
To delineate offshore mineral reserves and provide 
the fundamental technology for future growth, the 
U.S. Government should establish a program to (1) 
prepare and publish reconnaissance scale bathy- 
metric, geophysical, and geological maps of U.S. 
Continental Shelves and deeper areas, (2) establish 
favorable legal, political, and economic incentives 
to encourage industry to delineate further exploit- 
able deposits and develop its own extraction 
technology, and (3) cooperate in developing un- 
dersea mineral exploration devices emphasizing 
more rapid geophysical exploration tools and 
improved deposit sampling equipment. 
5. Power Generation 
Tides, waves, currents, and thermal differences 
are theoretically feasible sources of power in 
certain locations. Although some developments 
show promise, as yet no plant in the world is 
profitably generating power from these sources. 
Principal use of the sea in power generation 
