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Relation between Ocean Uses and Decade Programs In the program chapters of this report, the rationale is presented for investigations in the disciplinary groups of geology-geophysics, biology, physics and geochemistry. In each chapter are included a number of represen- tative programs of both scientific and applied interest. These programs are outlined in a subsequent summary l i s t . In view of the applied motivation of the Decade, i t is also useful to examine important uses of the ocean and their potential benefit from i n - vestigations of the type proposed. The following topics have been selected for discussion in the present section: mineral resources, l iving resources, waste disposal, and ocean transportation. Other uses are not analysed in the same manner, but in general w i l l benefit from the same types of i n - vestigations. MINERAL RESOURCES At present, exploitation of marine mineral resources is essentially confined to the continental shelf. The principal product is petroleum and natur- al gas. In 1965, the sea floor adjacent to the United States was the source of about $1.2 bi l l ion worth of petroleum, natural gas and sulfur, nearly three times the production in 1960. U.S. offshore production is about one third of total world offshore production. Other shelf and near shore resources include sand and gravel, t i n , gold and platinum, ilmenite and other light heavy minerals (rutile, zircon and monazite), and diamonds. - 12 -
other potential resources include phosphorite on the shelf and up- per slopes, and manganese nodules on the deep ocean floor. It is also known that petroleum in some regions is present beyond the shelf, although It cannot be exploited by present techniques. Information is needed on the abundance, composition and distribution of deep-sea deposits, for an eval- uation of their u t i l i ty and as a basis for management and jurisdictional de- cisions . A variety of scientific investigations is required to expedite the use of ocean mineral resources. Reconnaissance geological-geophysical explor- ation of the shelf can provide the basis for subsequent intensive study and prospecting by industry. Delineation of the continental margin and the trans- ition to the deep ocean is required as an element in ultimate establishment of regimes and jurisdiction. Exploration of small ocean basins and the deep sea floor can facilitate evaluation of mineral resource potential. Fundamental studies of sea floor structure, sedimentation, and processes affecting these, w i l l help in reasoning about l i t t le known areas. The development of mineral recovery systems w i l l require knowledge and prediction of surface oceanic and atmospheric conditions. Ecological studies are required i f pollution from min- eral recovery operations is to be controlled. LIVING RESOURCES In 1967, more than 50 million tons of living resources were har- vested from the ocean, with a dockside value of about $8 b i l l ion . The world catch has been doubling in about ten years. It has been estimated that the sustain- able yield of conventional l iving resources is four to five times the present har- vest. This amount could meet the protein requirements of the 6 bi l l ion people - 13 -
expected to be living by the year 2000. United States landings in 19 67 were 2.4 million tons, l i t t le different from the catch thirty years ago. At present, about 70 - 75% of the fishery products used in the U.S. are imported; much of the deficit between con- sumption and production could be made good from under-used resources already known to be present off the coasts of the United States. Apart from the institutional factors that tend to limit the growth of marine fisheries, there are a number of technical constraints that could be reduced as a result of appropriate scientific investigations. In order to exploit unused resources, maximize the sustainable yield, reduce the cost of produc- tion, and conserve and manage the stocks in an effective manner, i t is nec- essary to understand the factors that control the abundance, distribution and availability of fish populations of commercial interest. Some of the basic studies required are ecological in character and concern the transfer of energy from the sun and atmosphere through the various levels of the food web. The dynamics of exploited populations and their ecological associates must be analysed. In addition, exploration of the locations, sizes and changes of f ish populations, studies of oceanic processes that lead to usable concentrations of f i sh , and re- search on f ish behavior, are necessary. The operations of fishing vessels w i l l also benefit from the investigations specified below for ocean transportation. WASTE DISPOSAL An important use of the ocean is as a receiver for the waste pro- ducts of our civil ization - sewage, heat, chemical and radioactive wastes. - 14 -
dredging spoil , and so on. Both deliberate disposal and inadvertent dis- charge (as of pesticides and oily wastes) are steadily increasing. At the same time, the ancient assumption that the ocean has an infinite capacity to absorb such wastes has already been proved wrong in several instances. Not a l l waste discharges are necessarily harmful, but most probably are and thus can be called pollutants. Their deleterious effects include harm to living resources, hazards to human health, hindrance to maritime activities including fishing, and reduction of amenities. It is conceivable that some discharges, such as heat and sewage, could be so introduced as to produce beneficial effects, such as increasing primary production. If man wishes to control those modifications of the marine environ- ment resulting from his activities, and to use them to his own advantage, he requires several kinds of oceanographic information. Depending on their physical and chemical nature, introduced substances may be subjected to advection and diffusion, to adsorption on particles, to settling out or exchange at the bottom, and to absorption, concentration or transfer through the food web. These processes are important in many other aspects of mar- ine science; their study is pertinent to a variety of Decade goals. In addit- ion to studies of such processes, it is also essential to establish present concentration levels as a base line from which future changes can be meas- ured. OCEAN TRANSPORTATION The ocean is the major coastal and international highway for the transport of heavy and bulky materials. By 1975, it is estimated that the - 15 -
annual world ocean freight b i l l could be as large as $15 bi l l ion , of which the United States w i l l pay about one-third. To carry this freight, there were in 1966 a total of 25,620 vessels larger than 300 gross tons (with 1810 more under construction); the United States operated about 9% of these. At any given time, about two-thirds of these ships can be expected to be at sea. Merchant shipping endeavors to deliver cargoes on schedule, as rapidly and cheaply as possible, and with maximum safety to personnel, vessel and cargo. Many of the problems in achieving these goals of speed, economy and safety are of institutional or socio-economic charac- ter; others are indirectly related to oceanographic knowledge (such as the design of ships and its dependence on surface ocean conditions), and some are directly responsive to understanding, prediction or control of oceanic and atmospheric conditions. Half of the ocean freight b i l l is incurred during the transfer of cargo across the ocean-land interface. The development of new methods for cargo transfer, more efficient maneuvering of large ships in confined waterways, improved charting, the design of better harbors, control of silting and con- trol of pollution can be assisted by oceanographic studies of bathymetry^ of the basic structural nature of the sea floor, and of waves, currents and associated mixing processes. Investigations of the sort proposed for the Decade can also contribute to reduction of the sea-borne half of ocean shipping b i l l . The design of more efficient surface ships is limited by lack of knowledge of the statis- tics of surface waves. Radical designs, including submersible freighters and surface effect vessels, must be based on oceanic knowledge. Through - 16 -
