INTRODUCTION 



The development of deep diving vehicles which can stay submerged 

 for long periods of time has focused attention on the deep ocean as an 

 operating environment. This has created a need for information con- 

 cerning the behavior of both common and potential materials of construc- 

 tion at depths in the ocean. 



To study the problems of construction in the deep ocean, project 

 "Deep Ocean Studies" was established. Fundamental to the design, con- 

 struction and operation of structures, and their related facilities, 

 is information with regard to the deterioration of materials in deep 

 ocean environments. This portion of the project is concerned with 

 determining the effects of these environments on the corrosion of 

 metals and alloys. 



In order to determine the differences between the corrosiveness of 

 seawater at depths and at the surface it is desirable to compare deep 

 ocean corrosion data with surface immersion data. Since surface data 

 was not available in the literature for many of the alloys exposed at 

 depths in the Pacific Ocean, it was decided to establish a surface ex- 

 posure site to obtain this information. Therefore, a third site, des- 

 ignated at Site V, was established at Point Mugu, California, latitude 

 34°06'N and longitude 119°07'W. 



The locations of the three test sites, two deep ocean sites and 

 the surface site, are shown in Figure 1. The specific geographical 

 locations of the test sites and the average characteristics of the sea- 

 water at these sites are given in Table 1. 



Reports pertaining to the performance of alloys in the deep ocean 

 environments are given in References 1 through 9. 



This report presents a discussion of the results obtained of the 

 corrosion of various alloys exposed at the surface, Site V, for periods 

 of 12 and 18 months. 



RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 



The results presented and discussed herein also include the corro- 

 sion data for the alloys exposed at the surface for the International 

 Nickel Company, Inc. Permission for their use has been granted by 

 Dr. T. P. May, Reference 10. 



The deep ocean data for depths of 2,500 and 6,000 feet after com- 

 parable periods of exposure are included for comparison purposes. 



