For the development of scientific program concepts and plans, the IOC turns to several non-governmental scientific advisory bodies, namely, the Scientific Committee for Oceanic Research (SCOR) of ICSU, the Advisory Committee on Marine Resources Research (ACMRR) of the FAO, and the Engineering Committee on Oceanic Research (ECOR). The U.S. National Academies of Sciences and Engineering (NAS and NAE) are affiliated both with SCOR and ECOR. There is substantial U.S. representation on all the bodies cited.

The IOC also maintains close affiliation with various other intergovernmental organizations, including the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and others.

The IOC serves U.S. interests in marine science by:

(1) Providing a framework within which large-scale international ocean science programs can be conducted. Specifically: (a) achieving and maintaining a global synoptic oceanographic observation system and an oceanographic data exchange system; (b) planning and coordinating oceanographic aspects of living resources management and conservation programs of multinational scope; (c) establishing a scientific basis for the development of a global marine pollution monitoring and assessment system, and (d) planning and coordinating the oceanographic research and monitoring components of the World Climate Research Program.

(2) Improving understanding of developing country needs in order to enhance the IOC's capability to improve the marine science competence of its developing member states. This will allow more meaningful scientific cooperation with the U.S. and other developed countries.

(3) Promoting goodwill and improved understanding of ocean-related issues to relieve North-South tensions over issues of ocean use by assisting in the expansion of developing country scientific capabilities and facilitating access for research in areas where political conditions limit such access.

Despite U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO on 1 January 1985, the U.S. intends to remain a member of the IOC.

While IOC sponsors or co-sponsors a great number of programs, as has been indicated in past reports, they are generally mature and have been underway for some period of time. The Living Resources and Climate programs are two examples, discussed below because they are comparatively new, still developing, and among the most important activities of

the IOC.

Living Resources

Ocean Science in Relation to Living Resources (OSLR) is a very promising program which is expected to provide a fundamental understanding of the relationship between fish stock abundance and changes in the marine environment, leading eventually to much more effective fisheries development and management programs, as described in the last Title V Report. Still in its development stage, FY 1985 witnessed intensified activities leading to field research early in 1986.

The Assembly of the IOC in March 1985 approved the first operational plans for OSLR, with a Sardine Anchovy Recruitment Project (SARP) as the OSLR pilot project, as well as plans for the development of other phases of the OSLR Programme. SARP will investigate the impact of the environment on recruitment, the process which determines how many eggs survive through various stages of development to become adult fish and thus potentially harvestable. An innovative technology on which SARP depends was developed at the Southwest Fisheries Center (SWFC). The new SWFC technology for SARP is a major breakthrough in problems which have plagued marine scientists for many decades and benefits both the U.S. and many other nations for whom fisheries is important.

Throughout all OSLR activities, the widest possible participation is being sought within the U.S and international research communities. Within the U.S., a body to coordinate U.S. participation in OSLR projects was formed by the Panel on International Programs and International Cooperation in Ocean Affairs (PIPICO) and held its first meeting in August of 1985. Efforts are also being made to further expand the participation by developing nations in OSLR projects.

Climate

The World Climate Research Program (WCRP), a major joint undertaking of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), was established to determine to what extent the climate can be predicted and the extent of man's influence on climate. Planning proceeded during 1985 for the oceanographic experiments that are expected to be conducted under the WCRP. A draft implementation plan for the WCRP has been prepared by the staff of the WMO/ICSU Joint Scientific Committee (JSC) for the WCRP. The draft will soon be submitted for consideration by the JSC and the Committee on Climatic Changes and the Ocean (ccco). ccco is co-sponsored by the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) and by IOC.

The interests of U.S. oceanographers in WCRP are focused on two major programs: The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) and the study of interannual variability of the Tropical Ocean and the Global Atmosphere (TOGA).

WOCE is still in the planning stage. A U.S. Scientific Steering Committee and Planning Office were set up in 1985.

Also during 1985 the U.S., in cooperation with other countries, began the implementation of TOGA, an international research program designed to improve the understanding of events in the tropical oceans and global atmosphere that significantly influence the predictability of seasonal to inter-annual variations, such as the "El Nino" phenomenon (for further detail see last year's Report). In December 1985 the U.S. and the Peoples Republic of China began a cooperative effort to measure vital parameters in the Western Pacific. U.S., Canada and Norway continue to maintain a buoy network in the Arctic Basin to measure pressure and ice drifts for climate research and operational weather and ice forecasting.

The

International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)

In addition to IOC which operates on a global scale, the United States participates in a number of regional organizations which conduct, promote, or coordinate important marine research activities, including a host of international fisheries commissions. Perhaps the most important one is the ICES which functions in the North Atlantic region. ICES, founded in 1899 as the first international ocean organization, has taken a very dynamic approach to marine research problems, particularly in the last decade or so under leadership provided by Americans and younger scientists from other members. During 1985 Dr. Warren S. Wooster ended a three-year tour as the first American President of ICES. Fisheries and marine pollution are the primary topics of ICES research, and ICES has assumed regional responsibility for OSLR, particularly for a SARP project in the Iberian area (see discussion above on IOC and living resources).

South Pacific (SOPAC) Research Program

The SOPAC program to assist South Pacific island nations in exploring for offshore hydrocarbons and mineral resources remains an excellent example of how a regional scientific program can be both important scientifically and supportive of U.S. political and economic objectives. The program was developed by the Committee for the Coordination of Joint Prospecting for Mineral Resources in the South Pacific and is co-sponsored by several nations and international organizations, including the U.S. and the IOC. Combined funding for the program, largely provided by the U.S. and Australian AID, totals $7.8 million. U.S. Geological Survey SOPAC surveys in 1984 sparked renewed industrial interest, with several oil companies interested in the research results. Indications of large-scale metalliferous sulfide deposit potential have been identified in at least two ocean basins, which will be subject to further exploration. The major activity in 1985 was data processing and report writing associated with the 1984 surveys. The SOPAC program not only offers possible direct economic benefits for the nations in the region, but they also benefit from an on-going transfer of technical knowledge which enhances their capability to evaluate and exploit the resources of their economic zones.

Mineral-Rich Brines Discovery in Atlantic

NOAA scientists aboard the research ship RESEARCHER recently discovered that hot, mineral-rich fluids are venting from the seafloor 1,800 miles off Miami, the first example of such venting discovered in the Atlantic ocean. The NOAA research vessel found the venting along the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where earlier only low-temperature venting had been found. This discovery has important foreign policy implications for the long-term interests of the U.S. in strategic minerals, particularly those on which we are dependent on imports from foreign countries.

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

EEZ Mapping

The Exclusive Economic Zone proclaimed by President Reagan in 1983 extended resource jurisdiction to a distance of 200 nautical miles. The Proclamation expanded U.S. jurisdiction over a vast oceanic region encompassing nearly 3.4 million square nautical miles and created several new international boundaries.

Detailed bathymetric maps provide information for a variety of purposes including international EEZ boundary negotiations. A primary goal is to provide the detailed bathymetric map information necessary for resource assessment and the wise management of the resources found within the zone, such as oil and gas and mineral deposits. This information will assist, for example, in long term planning for mineral utilization, particularly the U.S. long term strategy of reducing our dependence on unstable foreign supplies of certain strategic minerals. In addition, the U.S. mappling program has stimulated the interest of other nations in mapping their own EEZS, which will assist in providing a much better picture of the world's minerals supply. U.S. technology is likely to be called on for assistance in mapping some of these foreign EEZS.

The following elaborates on and clarifies the description of the EEZ mapping program given in the 1985 Report. Last year's USGS surveying to develop broad reconnaissance maps off the west coast of the continental U.S. was followed this year by detailed bathymetric charting by the NOAA ships SURVEYOR and DAVIDSON Off California and Oregon. In 1985 the USGS continued its surveying in the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In late FY 85 the USGS ship S. P. LEE also found deposits of fist-sized nuggets of sulfide minerals in nearly 3,400 meters of water some 275 kilometers off northern California along the Gorda Ridge. Further studies are necessary before plans for mineral leasing can be considered. Earlier the S. P. LEE found similar deposits containing iron, copper, zinc, and other metals along the nearby Juan de Fuca Ridge off the coast of Oregon.

Through a cooperative agreement, the NOAA bathymetric map information is provided to the U.S. Geological Survey for use in making geologic interpretations of the GLORIA (Geological Long-Range Inclined Asdic) sides can images obtained in cooperation with the United Kingdom, Institute of Oceanographic Sciences. Regional maps will depict submarine volcanoes, landslides, faults, and other geologic features.

International exchange of multi-beam data and data formats is being discussed. The proliferation of swath systems, which first became available internationally in the late 1970's, is accelerating and systems are being developed by non-U.S. firms. West Germany and Japan have conducted swath surveys within regions of the U.S. EEZ.

EEZ Access

1985 was the second full year following the President's EEZ Proclamation which established U.S. policy recognizing coastal state jurisdiction over marine scientific research (MSR) within 200-mile EEZ's. While the former U.S. policy of

non-recognition of foreign EEZs made access to important areas of many coastal states difficult, the present policy has removed that obstacle and clearances are usually successfully acquired.

Requests for clearances for MSR in foreign EEZ's submitted to the Department of State have increased from about 75 per year in the three years before the President's proclamation to over 250 during 1985. The reason for this increase might be attributed to a greater scientific interest in the coastal waters, or possibly to increased use of official channels which is becoming more and more the norm; however, the President's proclamation greatly increased the area of the world oceans for which clearances are now sought for U.S. research vessels. The research vessel clearance program in the Department of State assists vessel operations and scientific programs which annually amount to hundreds of millions of dollars for U.S. technical agencies and research institutions.

U.S. scientists continue to cooperate in research projects with scientists from coastal states through a variety of bilateral and multilateral agreements. Such cooperative ventures contribute to the marine science community, particularly for developing countries, enabling development, management, and conservation of their marine resources and contributing to their economic well-being as well as providing a better setting for access by U.S. researchers.

Concurrently, the U.S. continues to demonstrate the effectiveness of its policy which promotes maximum freedom of MSR by not asserting jurisdiction over research within the U.S. EEZ. No ill effects have been recorded on U.S. resource and scientific interests in our EEZ resulting from this policy.

Ocean Drilling Program

The Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) is a projected 10-year program of world-wide ocean drilling to provide fundamental information about the history of the world's continents and ocean basins, the earth's changing environment, and the evolution of life. In addition to the U.S., international members (Canada, France, the Federal Republic of Germany and Japan) have been planning the new scientific program which has replaced the successful Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP). ODP completed the conversion of the commercial drilling vessel, SEDCO/BP 471, in early 1985 and completed the first 6 legs which were conducted in the Atlantic Ocean areas within the jurisdictions of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Spain, Norway, Denmark, and Canada.

Subsequently, drilling is planned in all of the world's oceans during two circumnavigations of the globe during the continuing years of the program to build on knowledge gained during DSDP. Foreign participants are expected to contribute 32 percent of the expected ODP cost over the period 1985-94. This would be an increase over the 26 percent contributed by the international participants to the $235 million cost of the DSDP during 1967-83.