Because of expanding industrialization and 
trade, increased leisure time, and greater dispos- 
able incomes of growing populations, the near- 
shore zone has been under increasing pressures, 
resulting in serious degradation in many places. 
Multiple use of this zone must be carefully 
planned to accommodate the interests of recrea- 
tion, science, waste disposal, and commercial 
development. 
Pollution, long a growing problem, now has 
reached proportions requiring not only positive 
control but active restoration in some nearshore 
areas. Coastal scientific and engineering efforts are 
necessary to gain a better understanding of shore 
processes, to halt harmful erosion of beaches, and 
to restore selected coastlines to a useful condition. 
The Coast Guard role must be broadened and 
reinforced to provide the necessary services associ- 
ated with preserving nearshore areas. These serv- 
ices are vital to the nation’s utilization of the 
shelves and the deeper ocean. Initial effort must be 
concentrated on the nearshore area and much of 
the technology needed to resolve the problems is 
at hand. ; 
The ocean transportation industry and the 
Nation’s harbors suffer from many deficiencies. 
Technical aspects require an overall transportation 
system approach to research and development 
programs, ship and cargo handling design, and 
harbor development and renovation. 
A. Pollution 
Much has been stated about inshore pollution 
control and abatement, waste disposal, and waste 
reuse. These problems will not be reitereated 
because investigation reveals that intensive steps 
already are under way to attack these problems. 
The relationship of pollution abatement to 
water quality restoration is defined in detail in 
Section V, Great Lakes Restoration. There is a 
clear need to assure that abatement is positively 
pursued concurrently with restorative measures. 
Restoration can be investigated under more con- 
trolled conditions in the Great Lakes, a closed 
system. Hence, it is recommended that initial 
attempts at water quality restoration be under- 
taken there. A national commitment is needed to 
establish and enforce water quality standards and 
to support technology development necessary to 
establish the base for water quality improvement. 
VI-100 
However, one critical problem is enforcement 
of existing standards. Research indicates that if 
strict enforcement were applied to primary treat- 
ment, if each industry followed good pollution 
control practices, and if industry would plan 
systematically new facilities with adequate incor- 
porated advanced pollution control, pollution 
would be abated effectively. 
This section is addressed only to some advanced 
pollution monitoring techniques and to sea oil 
pollution problems. Section V-D discusses restor- 
ative measures specifically applicable to fresh 
water lakes. 
1. Current Situation 
a. Advanced Pollution Monitoring Techniques 
An example of an advanced pollution monitoring 
method is use of infrared techniques. Research and 
development of infrared imagery in pollution 
detection and monitoring has been pursued for 
several years. 
Infrared imagery is the photographic product of 
remote spectral sensing of infrared radiation emit- 
ted by material having temperatures greater than 
absolute zero. The principal device, the airborne 
infrared imaging line scanner, is extremely sensi- 
tive to small thermal differences. It operates in the 
invisible portion of the spectrum in either the 3 to 
5 or 8 to 15 micron ranges. 
Infrared imagery can furnish the oceanographer 
with valuable basic data unobtainable by any other 
sensor. It has been used to locate and map the 
Gulf Stream; it is being used for studies of 
estuaries. For military intelligence gathering and 
targeting purposes it has been operational for 
many years. However, its use in oceanography has 
been recent and limited. 
Current studies indicate the following potential 
uses of infrared imagery in rivers and estuaries: 
—Mapping estuarine surface circulation patterns. 
—Mapping tidal variations and circulation patterns 
(ebb vs. flood). 
—Semiquantitative mapping of estuarine surface 
temperatures. 
—Defining main channels of rivers and estuaries by 
streamlines, turbulence, and thermal patterns. 
