DISCOVERING EARTH’S FINAL FRONTIER:

A U.S. STRATEGY FOR OCEAN EXPLORATION

The Report of the President ’ s Panel for Ocean Exploration

DISCOVERING

EARTH’S FINAL FRONTIER:

A U.S. STRATEGY FOR OCEAN EXPLORATION

The Report of the President ’ s Panel for Ocean Exploration

PRESIDENT’S PANEL

ON OCEAN EXPLORATION

Chair

DR. MARCIA McNUTT

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Members

DR. VERA ALEXANDER

University of Alaska, Fairbanks

MR. JESSE AUSUBEL

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

DR. ROBERT D. BALLARD

National Geographic Society,

Institute for Exploration

MR. THOMAS CHANCE

C & C Technologies, Inc.

MR. PETER DOUGLAS

California Coastal Commission

DR. SYLVIA EARLE

National Geographic Society,

Sustainable Seas Expeditions

DR. JAMES ESTES

University of California, Santa Cruz

DR. DANIEL J. FORNARI

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

DR. ARNOLD L. GORDON

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory,

Columbia University

DR. JEFFREY STEIN

Quorex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

DR. GEORGE BOEHLERT*

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

DR. JOAN CLEVELAND*

United States Navy

DR. THOMAS CURTIN*

United States Navy

DR. ROBERT EMBLEY*

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

DR. ERIC LINDSTROM*

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

DR. MICHAEL PURDY*

National Science Foundation

DR. MICHAEL REEVE*

National Science Foundation

DR. WILLIAM SCHWAB*

United States Geological Survey

DR. MICHAEL SISSENWINE*

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration

DR. RICHARD SPINRAD*

United States Navy

 * Agency Science Advisor

DR. FRED GRASSLE

Rutgers University

DR. SUE HENDRICKSON

Underwater Archaeologist

MS. PAULA KEENER-CHAVIS

National Marine Educators Association

DR. LARRY MAYER

University of New Hampshire

DR. ARTHUR E. MAXWELL

University of Texas, Austin

DR. WILLIAM J. MERRELL

H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics,

and the Environment

DR. JOHN MORRISON

North Carolina State University

DR. JOHN ORCUTT

Scripps Institution of Oceanography

DR. ELLEN PIKITCH

Wildlife Conservation Society

DR. SHIRLEY POMPONI

Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution

MS. URSULA SEXTON

National Science Teachers Association,

Teacher-of-the-Year

CONTENTS

Letter of Transmittal

Secretary of Commerce, Norman Y. Mineta

Executive Summary

Motivation for Exploration

Exploration Objectives and Priorities

Ocean Exploration Partnerships

Technology Required for Ocean Exploration

Realizing the Potential of Our Discoveries

and Protecting New Resources

Ocean Exploration Directive

Marine Protected Areas Executive Order

Secretary Norman Y. Mineta’s Speech,

August 21, 2000

Agency Summaries of Ocean Exploration

Ocean Exploration Panel Process

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

 

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

CHAPTER 1

 2

 3

4

 5

APPENDIX A

B

C

D

E

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

Secretary of Commerce, Norman Y. Mineta

October 10, 2000

To the President:

On June 12, 2000, at the Millenium Council presentation “Under the Sea, Beyond the Stars,”

you ushered in a new era of Ocean Exploration by directing the Secretary of Commerce to convene

a panel of America’s finest ocean explorers, scientists, and marine educators. You called on the nation’s

best people to develop a national strategy for ocean exploration.

Your challenge has been met by the Ocean Exploration Panel. Members of the Panel represented

the full array of ocean interests, including industry, conservation, educators, academia, and government, 

who worked together to create this crucial strategy. I am pleased to present their report, “Discovering

Earth’s Final Frontier: A U.S. Strategy for Ocean Exploration.”

Our nation’s history, from colonization and westward expansion to the deployment of the Hubble

telescope, is testament to the fact that America is a country of explorers. Our pride as a nation is founded

upon our yearning to make new discoveries and to seek out new knowledge. Exploration of the oceans

responds to a growing national interest in our seas and an acknowledgement of their importance to

our environment and quality of life.

We are growing in the awareness that the ocean influences our daily lives in hundreds of ways.

From providing fisheries resources or cures for disease, to unlocking the secrets of long-term climate,

we are constantly reminded of the ocean’s importance in sustaining life. Truly, our economic,

environmental, and national security depend on our ability to understand the ocean frontier,

as well as balancing the competing interests of conservation and economics.

Within the Department of Commerce, we have had over 30 years experience in managing the 

conservation, sustainable use, and commercial aspects of our oceans. For this reason, I am proud

to offer the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as the lead agency for new national

efforts in ocean exploration.

| LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL | i | 
For too long, our natural resource agencies have pursued a course of ocean resource management

rather than ocean exploration. We now know the futility of trying to manage systems without complete

knowledge of them. This report outlines a coordinated, focused approach that will ensure a better

understanding of the oceans for generations to come.

This report envisions a new collaboration among governments, academia, and private industry that

reaches out to everyone and marks a turning point for exploration. May it also mark a new era of ocean

stewardship.

Norman Y. Mineta

Secretary of Commerce 

 | i i | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 
W ITHIN the past few decades, advances in undersea technology have revolutionized the way we think about 

 the oceans and the life within them.

the commencement of a new era of ocean 

exploration. In an Executive Directive to the

Secretary of Commerce, the President requested

that the Secretary convene a panel of leading

ocean explorers, scientists, and educators to

develop a national strategy for exploring the

oceans. The Panel has completed its work and

presents its recommendations for a national

strategy in this report.

The Panel recommends that the U.S. undertake

a national program in ocean exploration in which

discovery and the spirit of challenge are the

cornerstones. Multidisciplinary exploration

approaches, covering all three dimensions of

space, as well as the fourth dimension of time, 

should include natural and social sciences as

well as the arts. The U.S. Ocean Exploration

Program should be global in scope, but concentrated initially in areas under U.S. jurisdiction.

Results must be carefully documented and widely

disseminated; the program must be innovative

and bold.

The President requested objectives and priorities

to guide ocean exploration, as well as identification

of key sites of scientific, historic, and cultural

importance. The Panel identified the following

key objectives of an Ocean Exploration

Program:

| EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | 1 | 

New exploration tools can place researchers

into the deepest reaches of the oceans, either

directly or by telepresence. Hundreds of new

marine species and entirely new ecosystems

have been discovered. The benefit attributed to

these advances has been enormous; for example,

a new industry, marine biotechnology, has shown

impressive returns. Understanding biodiversity

of the oceans is critical to sustaining their

immense global economic value. Furthermore,

the deep oceans may hold the keys to the origin

of life itself. Despite these gains, 95 percent of

the oceans remain unknown and unexplored.

On June 12, 2000, President Clinton announced

EXECUTIVE

SUMMARY
1 |

Mapping the physical, geological, biological, chemical,

and archaeological aspects of the ocean, such that the

U.S. knowledge base is capable of supporting the large

demand for this information from policy makers,

regulators, commercial ventures, researchers,

and educators;

2 |

Exploring ocean dynamics and interactions at new

scales, such that our understanding of the complex

interactions in the living ocean supports our need for

stewardship of this vital component of the planet’s

life support system;

3 |

Developing new sensors and systems for ocean

exploration, so as to regain U.S. leadership in marine

technology; and

4 |

Reaching out in new ways to stakeholders, to improve

the literacy of learners of all ages with respect to ocean

issues.

 | 2 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

— Interdisciplinary voyages of discovery within

 high-priority areas, including the U.S. Exclusive

 Economic Zone (EEZ) and the continental margin,

 the Arctic, and poorly known areas of the

 southern oceans and inland seas. The U.S.

 inventory of the living and nonliving resources

 in the ocean should be second to none, particularly

 within our own EEZ and continental margins. 

— Platform, communication, navigation and

 instrument development efforts, including the

 capitalization of major new assets for ocean

 exploration, in order to equip our explorers with

 the very best in marine research technology.

— Data management and dissemination, so that

 discoveries can have maximum impact for research,

 commercial, regulatory, and educational benefit.

— Educational outreach, in both formal and

 informal settings, to improve the science 

 competency of America’s schoolchildren and to

 realize the full potential of a citizenry aware

 and informed of ocean issues.

The Panel notes that the United States currently

does not support a program in ocean exploration,

despite our inadequate understanding of the

ocean and the living and nonliving resources it

contains, and its undeniable importance to the

health of the planet and the wealth of our nation.

Furthermore, in a number of areas, the U.S. has

fallen behind other nations in our capabilities

for undertaking ocean exploration. American

leadership in ocean exploration can be achieved

through the following recommendations.

The U.S. government should establish an Ocean

Exploration Program for an initial period of 10

years, with new funding at the level of $75M/year,

excluding capitalization costs. The program

should include:
| EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | 3 | 

to provide the very best technology. Of particular

importance are the development of: 1) Underwater navigation and communication technologies;

2) State-of-the-art sensors; and 3) Deployment

strategies for multidisciplinary, in-situ and remotesensing measurements of biological, chemical,

physical and geological processes at all levels in

the ocean. Therefore, recommendations concerning

new technologies must consider:

— Undertaking the development of underwater

 platforms, communication systems, navigation,

 and a wide range of sensors, including the

 capitalization of major new assets for ocean

 exploration.

The Panel was also charged with recommending

mechanisms to ensure that information gathered

through ocean exploration is referred to the newly

established Marine Protected Areas Center and to

appropriate commercial interests for possible

Partnerships are essential if the full benefits of

ocean exploration are to be realized. Mechanisms

must be developed for forming appropriate

partnerships between federal, state, local,

and tribal governments, industry, academic

institutions, formal and informal educators,

mass media and nongovernmental organizations.

These partnerships will greatly expand the

opportunities to undertake voyages of discovery,

technology development, and educational outreach. The Panel recognizes that the framework

for accommodating collaboration in ocean

exploration depends upon its broader organizational strategy. Therefore, recommendations

concerning partnerships must also consider larger

organizational issues.

The President of the United States should instruct

the White House Science Advisor and appropriate

Cabinet officials to design the management

structure for this program. Elements of governance

should include:

— Designating a lead agency to be in charge of the

 program and accountable for its success using

 benchmarks appropriate for ocean exploration,

 such as the number of new discoveries, dissemi-

 nation of data, and the impact of educational

 outreach.

— Using existing interagency mechanisms to 

 ensure federal cooperation among agencies.

— Establishing an Ocean Exploration Forum 

 that would include commercial, academic,

 private, and nongovernmental organizations,

 and government stakeholders in ocean 

 exploration, to encourage partnerships and

 promote communication.

New technologies will enable the next generation

of ocean exploration, but if the U.S. is to be a

leader in this area, we must make a commitment
| 4 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

research and development. The President can

ensure that knowledge gathered during ocean

exploration is effectively made available for

informed decision-making relative to Marine

Protected Areas by:

— Assigning leadership in this activity to an

 appropriate federal agency.

— Establishing a broad-based task force to design

 and implement an integrated, workable, 

 and comprehensive data management information

 processing system for information on unique

 and significant features.

With respect to assuring that potential opportunities for developing new resources into useful

products to benefit mankind are encouraged, 

the Panel recommends that U.S. laws be reexamined to provide proper incentives for

potential commercial users of ocean discoveries.

Examples of some areas in which policies could

encourage the appropriate use of exploration

results include:

— Enhancing funding within federal agencies to

 support early-phase research on discoveries with

 commercial potential.

— Providing incentives to private industry to

 encourage the funding of research and development

 of discoveries with commercial potential. 

— Designing mechanisms whereby those who directly

 profit from the exploitation of marine resources

 support research on their environmentally sustain-

 able use.

The Panel advocates a new national Ocean

Exploration Program to permit exploratory

expeditions for two reasons: 1) The initial phase

of oceanographic discovery ended before a

significant portion of the oceans was visited

in even a cursory sense; and 2) Marvelous new

tools now exist that permit exploration in spatial

and temporal dimensions that were unachievable

50 years ago. For these reasons, we must go

where no one has ever gone before, “see” the

oceans through a new set of technological “eyes,”

and record these journeys for posterity.
 XPLORATION is fundamental to the human spirit. Since the dawn of our species we have been explorers,

 with the motivation for these journeys ranging from survival to spiritual inspiration. 

 

| MOTIVATION FOR EXPLORATION | 5 | 

E

With the rise of civilization, the search for new

wealth and the elevation of national pride drove

explorers to risk their lives and benefactors to

empty their coffers in the quest for discovery.

All of these factors — survival, inspiration, wealth,

and national pride — provide the fundamental

justification for proposing the most ambitious

chapter ever in the history of human discovery

of this planet: the exploration of Earth’s oceans.

It has been stated many times that we know

more about the backside of the Moon than we

do about the bottom of our ocean. And that

statement just refers to its depth. There exists

on our planet, for example, a virtually unstudied

ecosystem which rivals all the other known ecosystems on Earth — the mid-water environment

in the oceans. This biologically rich and complex

domain is known to contain many times the

biomass of all the Earth’s rainforests and

terrestrial biota. Despite this area’s size and

importance, the biology of the organisms which

inhabit the mid-water levels in the oceans,

and the complex dynamics between this zone 

and the upper and lower levels of the ocean,

are virtually unknown. We have just begun to

learn about the diversity of life in all reaches of

the ocean, and the cycling of its critical elements

that support life and regulate climate. New physical

processes that transport mass and energy await 

MOTIVATION

FOR EXPLORATION

discovery, and most of the record of ancient Earth

and human history contained in the cold sediment

floor is still unread. To be sure, the United States

has a superb record of basic and applied ocean

research funded through a variety of federal

agencies and private industry in support of U.S.

national defense, weather prediction, resource

assessments, and the testing of specific scientific

hypotheses. What has been lost in this diverse

research portfolio, however, is the opportunity

to broadly explore on a global basis and across

many scientific, cultural, and technological

disciplines.

Fifty years ago, during the early days of modern
A MYSTERIOUS PLUME

| 6 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

oceanographic research, expeditions were

exploratory. Ships were staffed with interdisciplinary teams of physical and chemical

oceanographers, marine biologists, and geologists.

The oceanographers made all conceivable

measurements, secure in the knowledge that

those observations would eventually prove worthwhile. Today, expedition personnel tend to be

from a narrower range of disciplines, and ship

time is allocated for measurements to test the

hypothesis and carry out the objectives at hand,

with little time left over for unrelated observations.

This Panel advocates a national program to

permit exploratory expeditions for two reasons:

1) The initial phase of oceanographic discovery

ended before a significant part of the oceans

were visited in even a cursory sense; and 2) We

I

 n July 1986, while on a survey of hydrothermal 

 vents on the Juan de Fuca Ridge off the Oregon coast,

scientists from NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental

Laboratory began documenting elevated water

temperatures at greater heights off the seafloor than

ever previously recorded. Most plumes from hydrothermal vents along the Mid-Ocean Ridge rise only

a few hundred meters before reaching temperatures

of the surrounding water. However, in this case,

the anomalous water was still much higher in

temperature than the surrounding water at a height

of more than 700 meters above the seafloor and the

plume had spread out over an area that measured 20

km in diameter. A plume this size with this temperature

was calculated to be the equivalent of approximately

an entire year’s worth of “normal” hydrothermal output from the ridge. However, when the ship returned

to the same site a month later, no evidence of this

“megaplume” was found. Scientists suspected that the

culprit was a deep-sea eruption which is, by nature,

a very short-lived oceanographic event. Subsequent

studies of the seafloor in the region revealed the

presence of very fresh lava and new hydrothermal

venting stretching over tens of kilometers along the

ridge. The unanticipated discovery of this deep-sea

eruption provided a strong rationale for utilizing the

Navy’s SOSUS system in the area in 1991. The use of

this system has led to the detection and intense study

of three more seafloor eruptions and several other

anomalous earthquake swarms that were essentially

inaudible to land-based seismometers along the tectonic

plate boundaries of the northeast Pacific basin.

now have marvelous new tools now that permit

exploration in spatial and temporal dimensions

that were unachievable 50 years ago. In other

words, we will not only go where no one has ever

gone, but we will also “see” the oceans through

a new set of technological “eyes” and record these

journeys for posterity.

What is Exploration?

For the purposes of this report, exploration is

defined as discovery through disciplined diverse

observations and the recording of the findings.

An explorer is distinguished from a researcher

by virtue of the fact that an explorer has not

narrowly designed the observing strategy to test

a specific hypothesis. A successful explorer leaves

a legacy of new knowledge that can be used by
THE ARCTIC OCEAN

| MOTIVATION FOR EXPLORATION | 7 | 

T

 he Arctic Ocean is the least explored of the world’s oceans. Every voyage

 through the region, whether by ice-breaking vessel, surface expedition

across the ice, or nuclear submarine under the ice, has yielded completely

new knowledge and unexpected insights. The role of the Arctic region in

global processes is not well understood. More information is needed to understand and predict how freshwater input, variability in sea-ice thickness, and the

transport of heat into the Arctic Ocean, affect global climate.

Future work in this area will require robust investigative tools

and build on entirely new knowledge about the region.

In the summer of 1994, a remarkable expedition to the North Pole was

conducted that generated several historic firsts. The expedition included the northernmost

rendezvous ever of surface ships from the three largest Arctic nations: Russia, the U.S.,

and Canada, on August 23. The rendezvous occurred when American and Canadian ships

that were the first surface vessels to cross the Arctic Ocean via the North Pole, joined 

 the Russian ship. Significant findings from this expedition were the first

 observation of direct evidence of overall warming of the entire Atlantic layer,

 and the discovery of much higher levels of biological activity than previously

assumed — from plankton to polar bears. The expedition was truly exploratory in that

the findings were not predictable. Its rigorous scientific approaches enabled the new

 information acquired to advance understanding of the Arctic and paved the

 way for future scientific exploration and research.

 With the Arctic covered by ice much of the year, scientists have

 never been able to accurately measure the temperature of this vast

 ocean. A newly emerging technique, using sound sources and arrays of receivers,

 may finally change that. Initial results have shown that the Arctic Ocean has warmed

more dramatically than climatologists had predicted. Clearly, the discoveries

in this region demonstrate that the Arctic is ripe for future exploration.

those not yet born to answer questions not yet

posed at the time of the exploration. This new

knowledge may also have immediate beneficial

applications in answering the needs of contemporary ocean scientists, natural resource managers,

educators, and industries.

New discoveries come about both in the context

of directed, hypothesis-driven research and in

the process of pure exploration. Research journals

and Nobel prizes give testament to the numerous

cases of serendipitous discoveries stumbled upon

in the course of directed research undertaken for

completely different reasons. Several examples

of this sort of fortuitous discovery are described

in sidebars contained within this report.

The Panel advocates continuing the basic and

applied research undertaken by many federal

agencies, and in addition, proposes adding a new

program in ocean exploration that will expand

scientific investigations into new areas. Answering

questions and following up on ideas will still be

cornerstones of the new program. While

hypotheses may be less specific, and their outcome less predictable, than the current norm,

the observations will be more broadly based, 

and the program more interdisciplinary. 

The potential for payoffs from this endeavor

will be enormous.
| 8 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

Characteristics of a U.S. Ocean

Exploration Program

The U.S. will greatly benefit from a renewed

commitment to exploration. A modern exploration

initiative should be designed with the following

desirable characteristics in mind.

— DISCOVERY AND THE SPIRIT OF 

 CHALLENGE SHOULD BE CORNERSTONES.

 The tendency in oceanographic research in recent

 years has been to return again and again to areas

 visited before as scientific hypotheses become

 increasingly refined. The emphasis in exploration

 will be to survey new areas to provide baseline

 information that may well inspire future hypothesis-

 driven research.

— EACH FACET OF EXPLORATION IS

 NECESSARILY MULTIDISCIPLINARY

 and should include aspects of the natural sciences,

 social sciences, and artistic expression. Disciplines

 that are historically under represented in ocean

 exploration and can bring to bear new concepts

I

n the 1950s and 1960s, during the reign of Maurice

 (“Doc”) Ewing at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty

Earth Observatory, Lamont’s vessels were under strict

orders to stop every day at noon to take a sediment

core, no matter where the ship was or what else it was

doing. Doc did this purely in the spirit of exploration,

understanding that we knew so little about the seafloor

and ocean history that a global core database would

inevitably be of value. “Value” has turned out to be an

understatement. This core database (core locations

shown as white dots in figure) has become the foundation

of our understanding of climate change mechanisms.

A core taken by the vessel Robert Conrad in 1967

recorded a particularly complete and high- resolution

record of changes in benthic and surface

biota over the last

250,000 years.

Nearly a decade later, the pioneering work of John

Imbrie, Jim Hays and Nick Shackleton used the cyclic

variations found in this core to substantiate the Milankovitch Hypothesis. This hypothesis puts forward the

theory that the waxing and waning of ice ages can be

attributed in part to variations in orbital parameters

that occur at periods of 19, 22, 41, and 100 thousand

years. The Lamont core suite also provided the early

scientific basis for motivating the Deep Sea Drilling

and Ocean Drilling programs. This example of routine 

data collection that leads to discovery has been 

repeated frequently over the past 50 years of oceanographic data collection and underscores the importance

 of the full utilization of existing data sets and

 serendipitous discoveries in the oceano-

 graphic sciences. LAMONT cores
| MOTIVATION FOR EXPLORATION | 9 | 

 and rich experiences should be challenged to

 participate.

— THE OCEAN EXPLORATION PROGRAM

 SHOULD INCLUDE AN EDUCATIONAL

 COMPONENT that encompasses both formal and

 informal educational institutions as well as the 

 general public. These efforts should incorporate 

 existing programs and organizations that support 

 marine and ocean science education.

— THE OCEAN EXPLORATION PROGRAM

 SHOULD CONSIDER ALL THREE

 DIMENSIONS OF SPACE, AS WELL AS 

 THE FOURTH DIMENSION OF TIME.

 Exploration must go beyond mapping the seafloor.

 It cannot ignore the fact that the ocean is forever

 changing in time, and that human impacts are already

 substantial. Explorations into all four dimensions will

 also challenge our knowledge of scales of variability.

 For example, previously unknown microbial

 phenomena may yield discoveries as grand as those

 resulting from basin-scale explorations. Resolving

 picosecond variability may prove to be as challenging

 as exploring the changes observed over millennia.

— THE OCEAN EXPLORATION PROGRAM

 SHOULD BE GLOBAL IN SCOPE BUT

 CONCENTRATED INITIALLY IN REGIONS 

 UNDER U.S. JURISDICTION. This focus will

 provide the best opportunities for immediate benefit

 to the American people, while controlling the use

 of national resources and protecting valuable marine

 life and habitats under U.S. management authority

— THE RESULTS OF THE EXPLORATIONS

 MUST BE CAREFULLY DOCUMENTED

 using the latest in database technology, communica-

 tions, and recording media. The documentation

 should take a variety of forms, from the archiving

 of digital data to the production of multimedia

 programming and other educational resources and

 tools for the public.

— THE RESULTS MUST BE WIDELY

 DISSEMINATED, through a variety of formats,

 and particularly the Internet, to reach a large number

 of potential beneficiaries. Shipboard activities should

 be available in near real-time to enhance the outreach

 opportunities provided by a program of this scope

 and visibility. The results should excite the public

 imagination as well as challenge and encourage public

 involvement.

— THE OCEAN EXPLORATION PROGRAM

 NEEDS EXPLORERS, CHAMPIONS, AND ROLE

 MODELS who may not themselves directly benefit

 from the data being collected. The “human element”

 is essential to humanize the science and provide role

 models for future explorers.

— THE OCEAN EXPLORATION PROGRAM

 SHOULD MAKE EVERY ATTEMPT TO WORK

 WITH INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS when

 appropriate. This is essential for work in waters

 under the jurisdiction of other nations and will serve

 to expand the program and leverage its resources in

 international waters.

— THE OCEAN EXPLORATION PROGRAM

 SHOULD CAPITALIZE ON JOINT

 OPPORTUNITIES WITH OTHER COMPATIBLE

 GOVERNMENT MISSIONS AND INDUSTRY

 where appropriate. For example, survey missions 

 of NOAA’s nautical charting program, the U.S.

 Geological Survey, and the Oceanographer of the 
| 1 0 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

 Navy can substantially contribute to ocean exploration.

 Joint planning and funding of these missions should

 be made when mutually beneficial.

— THE OCEAN EXPLORATION PROGRAM

 MUST BE SYSTEMATIC IN ITS COLLECTION

 OF DATA, to facilitate the joint interpretation of

 data collected at different times and in different

 places. A systematic program will also help to avoid

 duplication of effort.

— THE OCEAN EXPLORATION PROGRAM

 SHOULD CHALLENGE EXISTING

 TECHNOLOGY. Just as space exploration has

 become a leading arena for technology development

 and transfer, ocean exploration must use the latest 

 capabilities and should provide an incentive for

 creating new tools. Technology partnerships with 

 the petroleum and oil service industries could,

 for example, tap into their already massive invest-

 ments in deep-water and ocean technologies.

 All technologies should be brought to bear — human

 occupied submersibles: remotely operated vehicles

 (ROVs); and autonomous underwater vehicles

 (AUVs); platforms under, on, and above the sea

 surface; advanced sensor technologies; and information

 storage and transfer technologies — to meet the

 challenges of the years to come.

— ALL STAKEHOLDERS IN THE OCEAN

 EXPLORATION PROGRAM MUST BE

 ENCOURAGED TO ACCEPT RISKS WHERE

 BENEFITS ARE LARGELY UNKNOWN.

 It is possible that the technology might not work,

 and that objectives might not be achieved within

 the specified timeframe. Nevertheless, exploration 

 should be considered a success regardless of what

 is discovered.

The Ocean Exploration Program must be

innovative and bold. “Business as usual” will

not achieve the goals.

The Fruits of Exploration

Experience has shown that observations from

the oceans are eventually put to myriad uses.

They result in scientific, cultural, and historic

understanding of how our planet functions,

who we are, and how we got where we are today.

The beauties and mysteries of the oceans inspire

artists, authors, and musicians. We cannot protect

what we do not know, and thus, without ocean

exploration, we are ignorant of what needs to

be conserved in a realm that covers most of the

surface of the Earth. The ocean provides a bounty

of renewable resources, but without knowledge

of what’s out there, how abundant it is, and how

quickly it is replenished, we cannot plan for its

environmentally sustainable use. We also know

that the oceans provide a storehouse of nonrenewable mineral resources essential for
maintaining our quality of life, though much

of that wealth remains undiscovered. Every day,

governments make decisions on how to best

regulate the use of the oceans, yet they lack the

basic knowledge to make informed choices.

Accurate knowledge of the oceans is essential

for environmental, economic, and national

security. Designing and building platforms and

observing systems for the extremely demanding

and unforgiving ocean environment pushes

our technology to its limits and leads, more

often than not, to commercial spin-offs.

Despite the fact that we can confidently predict

that ocean exploration will lead to discoveries

that directly benefit the nation, it is impossible

to predict when we embark upon the voyage

of discovery exactly how that benefit will be

| MOTIVATION FOR EXPLORATION | 1 1 | 

manifest. Today, we may discover a new

organism with enzymes that render inert a particular environmental carcinogen, or tomorrow,

we may learn more about the mechanisms that

triggered a catastrophic global warming and led

to mass extinctions many millions of years ago.

Discovery is the prelude to new paradigms;

it jolts us out of the ruts of incremental scientific

progress and fuels the great leaps forward.

UNITED

STATES

DEPARTMENT

OF

ENERGY

EXPLORATION

AND

PRODUCTION

PARTNERSHIP

N

early one-third of today’s U.S. gas

 supply and one-quarter of the nation’s

oil come from the ocean coastal zones and

continental shelf. Exploring for and producing

these resources has steadily moved into everdeeper waters — from a depth of 300 feet 30

years ago to 6,000 feet today, with future

plans to explore new depths below 10,000

feet tomorrow. Thus, there is an everincreasing demand for advanced technologies

that will facilitate the economic, safe,

and environmentally benign production of

underwater oil and gas resources.To help

achieve that goal, DOE through the

Exploration and Production Program will

partner with industry, academia, national

laboratories, and other agencies. For example,

DOE is initiating a partnership with industry,

for testing of an ocean-floor module for

production of oil and gas. If successful,

this technology will provide much greater

access to underwater oil and gas resources

at a lower cost, and it will provide an

opportunity to gain knowledge of the seafloor and its ecosystems. Exploration programs

will benefit, particularly those involving

methane hydrates—ice-like cages of water

molecules containing methane on the ocean

floor and below. They have a resource

potential estimated to exceed all other oil,

gas, and coal resources. The technology will

also enhance our understanding of how the

oceans affect the Earth’s carbon cycle and

the causes of global climate change.
I

 N charting a course of discovery we forsee a captivating set of results and products derived from ocean

 exploration.

 

 

| 1 2 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

OCEAN EXPLORATION

OBJECTIVES AND PRIORITIES

EXPLORATION OBJECTIVES

We are faced with fascinating challenges,

founded upon the balance of our current

understanding and our expectations for future

capabilities. These challenges are, by design,

ambitious in nature. Four challenges will constitute the objectives of the Ocean Exploration

Program:

— Mapping at New Scales Emphasizing Regions 

 not Previously Observed;

— Exploring Ocean Dynamics and Interactions at

 New Scales;

— Developing New Technologies; and

— Reaching Out in New Ways to Stakeholders. 

Mapping at New Scales

Emphasizing Regions not

Previously Observed

The most notable product of exploration is the

creation of new ways to show others what lies

beyond our current understanding. This documentation of discovery is typically articulated

in a new or improved map. But current and

evolving spatial information systems have

redefined the standard notion of a map. The Ocean

Exploration Program will recognize these new

technologies and produce new generations of

maps that include all imagery characterizing ocean

geography, physics, chemistry, geology, and biology.

These maps will also define sites of archaeological 

significance and define changes in regions over 

time. The mapping process should be broadly

constituted to include: 

— Archaeological sites 

 We will find and systematically explore dozens of

 new sites.

— Resources, living and non-living

 We will explore what they are, where they are,

 and how abundant they are, within the U.S.

 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental

 margins.

— New species

 We will discover thousands of undescribed species. 

— Ecosystems

 We will find and describe several new communities

 of organisms displaying novel relationships with

 their physical, chemical, and geological environments.
— Ocean’s interior 

 We will explore the temporal and spatial variability

 of the ocean as well as variations in the interior of

 the Earth beneath it. 

— Ocean floor 

 We will completely map the ridges, canyons, faults,

 and other key features of the U.S. EEZ and the

 continental margins that have economic, hazard

 assessment, or other scientific or cultural importance.

More than all the world’s museums combined,

the ocean holds the artifacts that document

mankind’s historical relationship with the ocean.

The Panel recommends that any new program

in ocean characterization document and reference

historical shipwrecks, submerged villages,

and sites of archaeological significance. While

the history of ships that sunk while transporting

silver and gold is recorded with some accuracy,

^ DISCOVERIES at our

 

FINGERTIPS

BURIED

 A

spectacular geological event took

 place on the Atlantic margin of

 North America about 35 million years ago.

 A giant meteorite, 3-5 km wide, struck 

 the seafloor and blasted a crater twice

 the size of Rhode Island and as deep as 

 the Grand Canyon. The evidence for this 

 Chesapeake Bay impact crater is now 

 buried about 200 km south of Washington, 

 D.C. The story of the discovery of this 

 sixth largest impact crater on Earth 

50 years of exploration, observation,

changing hypotheses, rapidly improving 

 technologies, and serendipity.

 The anomalous ejecta unit associated

 with the impact was first observed 

 in drill cutting more than 50 years ago.

 Three decades later, clear evidence for the chaotic nature of the unit came from continuously cored sections

 (a technological improvement); the unit was attributed to a giant submarine landslide. In the 1980s, the discovery

 of 35-million-year-old microtektites suggested an extraterrestrial explanation, although the unit was then thought

 to be deposited by a super tsunami. Technology again improved our understanding when a series of marine seismic

 imaging systems revealed the enormous buried circular structure. Serendipity came into play because one researcher

 was either directly or indirectly involved in many of these observations and discoveries and could link the disparate

 data sets. The discovery of the impact structure and the difficulty identifying it during 50 years of research show

 the importance of using new technologies and multidisciplinary approaches to explore and reexamine the Earth at

 different scales. What other exciting discoveries lay buried at our fingertips, awaiting improved technologies and

 innovative approaches to reveal themselves?

| OCEAN EXPLORATION OBJECTIVES AND PRIORITIES | 1 3 | 
I

 n the winter of 1871, a fleet of whaling 

 vessels was lost off the northern Alaska

coast. The fleet of 32 ships became locked

in heavy ice, where they were crushed and

sank. Over 1,200 passengers and crew abandoned ship with no loss of life. The sunken

fleet has been located and preliminary surveys

using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV)

equipped with stereoscopic cameras with

adapted planetary exploration software has

been used to document the condition of the

whaling vessels.

LOST WHALING FLEET

OFF ALASKA EXPLORED

USING 3-D TECHNOLOGY

 | 1 4 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

the shape of earth beneath the oceans

H

 istorically, the seafloor and the water column

 have been mapped by discrete sampling techniques.

Trawls, net tows, leadlines, and echosounders have provided

a useful, but very sparse, picture of the distribution of

marine life, morphology, and relief of seafloor features.

Recent advances in sonar technology, which have been

led by industry, have revolutionized our view of the water

column and the seafloor. Multibeam sonars have the ability

to form many (>100) narrow beams across a wide swath,

which permits ensonification of large areas while maintaining high lateral (typically better than 2 – 5% of water

depth) and vertical (typically better than .05% of water

depth) resolution. 

These systems can also collect simultaneous sonar backscatter data, resulting in an added layer of structural and

textural information that can provide insight into the nature

of the seafloor or mid-water properties. The nearly

complete coverage provided by these systems results in

unprecedented, detailed images of large volumes of the

seafloor and the water column. The inherent density of

these data sets permits exploration with interactive

visualization techniques, allowing marine scientists to be

“virtually immersed” in their data. Even more important,

when expeditions are broadcast over the Internet, students,

educators and the public can share in the excitement of

ocean exploration.

hundreds of ships that brought slaves to this

country also sunk, leaving little or no trace for

historians to follow. 

A further goal for the Ocean Exploration Program

should be to largely complete the mapping of

the U.S. continental shelf. Maps that interpret
slave ship

I

n the summer of 1700, the English merchant ship Henrietta Marie sank off the Florida coast shortly after unloading

 a cargo of enslaved Africans in Jamaica. The ship had been traveling along the infamous triangular route favored by

slavers: Great Britain to West Africa to the West Indies and back to England.

The Henrietta Marie was discovered in 1972 by noted treasure hunter Mel Fisher.

She was subsequently researched and excavated by a team of marine archaeologists

and members of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers in 1983. The shipwreck and its artifacts have become part

 of a national traveling exhibit, which is partially devoted to the wreck. The effort to conserve the artifacts

 recovered from the wreck is highlighted through displays of items in varying stages of the process.

 The ship contained no material “treasure” of note. After six archaeological expeditions to the site, 

 divers have recovered only a handful of coins. However, the more than 7,500 items found near the wreck 

 are far more significant than gold or jewels, because artifacts from any aspect of the maritime slave 

 trade are extremely rare. An equally valuable treasure is less tangible: the wealth of information 

 researchers have uncovered about the complex slave trade. 

toward the finer resolution of the identification

of biodiversity within the marine system.

Although the production of high-resolution base

maps is the first step in a systematic strategy, it is

a daunting task, considering how little of the seafloor has been mapped. For example, less than

five percent of the total U.S. EEZ has been mapped

in high-resolution. While the United States has

always taken great pride in being a world leader the HENRIETTA MARIE

| OCEAN EXPLORATION OBJECTIVES AND PRIORITIES | 1 5 | 

the seafloor provide a fundamental framework 

for research and management of the world ocean

and are a prerequisite for identification of regions

that warrant protection. They show composition

of the seabed, its shape (topography), areas of

anthropogenic impact, and areas of historical and

cultural interest. They provide information on the

transport of sediment and help to define biological

habitats. All this information can be used to develop

predictive models to guide habitat and resource

management, monitoring strategies, and other

research/exploration goals. Obviously, all marine

life, ecosystems, archaeological sites, and seafloor

features cannot be mapped and inventoried

immediately. A strategic hierarchical approach to

mapping must be considered, perhaps beginning

with larger, more obvious species, features and

sites on a large geographic scale, and working

in the development of approaches to the understanding and stewardship of the oceans, we now

find that other nations are far ahead of us. England,

Canada, and Australia are well along in developing

plans for the complete mapping of their EEZs,

and New Zealand and Ireland have already begun

multi-year, multi-million-dollar programs to be

systematically explore their EEZs. It is critical that

the United States also begin this important

task immediately.
EXPLORING THE BIRTH OF A NEW HAWAIIAN ISLAND

T

 he recent collapse of the lava dome of the underwater volcano

 Loihi off Hawaii is giving scientists in a research submersible the

opportunity to witness the birth of the next Hawaiian island. Several years

after this event, which created an underwater crater more than a half-mile

wide and 1,000 feet deep, superheated water and dissolved minerals have

combined to form mats of chemosynthetic life. The bacteria that make

up these mats now form the base of elaborate food chains that draw in

higher life forms like fish, making the summit of Loihi, some 3,000 feet

beneath the surface, a place of rich marine biodiversity.

 | 1 6 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

A minimum level of exploration would help

identify areas of unique value and global importance. The results of these exploration efforts should

be sufficient to guide future exploration and action

items for resource managers. Systematic preliminary

site surveys should be conducted in advance of

more focused expeditions to discover new environments inhabited by presently unknown organisms.

Information from satellites should also be used

Exploring Ocean Dynamics

and Interactions at New Scales 

Ocean phenomena, which support complex

ecosystems, operate over a broad range of

unexplored spatial and temporal scales. Examples

of dynamic features to be explored include: 

— Ocean properties

 We will discover dozens of new oceanographic

 features changing over spatial scales from 10 to

“ICE WORMS” DISCOVERED IN GULF OF MEXICO

of high pressure and temperature in many areas of the ocean floor.

It is not yet known to what extent these worm colonies use the hydrate

mounds for protection or nutrition, but they are the only known animal

to inhabit this unique habitat. Researchers speculate that these worms

may graze on chemosynthetic bacteria that grow on the methane,

or may live in symbiosis with them. This discovery exemplifies that we

must discard the old view that the deep sea bottom is a biologically

impoverished zone. 

O

 n a mission to study marine life associated with oil seeps on

 the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, scientists recently discovered

a brand-new animal living in the cold, deep depths. The discovery was

made because scientists using the Johnson-Sea-Link submersible decided

to investigate a curious formation they had glimpsed on an earlier dive.

What they found were pink worms (now called “ice worms”) that are

about 1-2 inches long and apparently sculpt the surface of gas hydrates,

which are natural methane water ices that form under conditions 

to provide maps of surface water characteristics

needed to plan exploration of the EEZ.

While these goals focus on U.S. waters, international efforts should not be ignored. For example,

the World Conservation Union objectives for

Marine Protected Areas are consistent with the goals

identified here, and we should investigate collaborations with other national and international efforts.
| OCEAN EXPLORATION OBJECTIVES AND PRIORITIES | 1 7 | 

 10,000 km, and temporal scales from picoseconds

 to millennia. These features include the ocean’s

 interaction with the atmosphere and as a key

 component of the global hydrological cycle.

— Sea surface

 Hyperspectral sensing of the sea surface will reveal

 unexpected changes in temperature, salinity, photo-

 synthesis, and ocean circulation over a wide range

 of time scales. 

— Biological, geological, chemical, and physical

 interaction

 We will unravel dozens of processes affecting the

 interactions among species and the cycling of organic

 materials in the sea and in the coastal zone. We will

 explore the connection of living and nonliving

 systems in the largest environment on the planet —

 the world’s ocean. 

Until just two decades ago, it was thought that

all living things, plants and animals, were supported in a variety of ecosystems that based their

supply of energy on photosynthesis, the process

by which green plants transform the sun’s energy

into simple sugars. But in 1977, dives of the

deep-sea submersible Alvin found marine life

thriving in the darkest depths of the ocean on

the energy released when chemosynthetic bacteria

break down methane and sulfur compounds

carried by fluids venting from the seafloor.

In the summer of 2000, biologists discovered

yet another mechanism by which marine life

can harness energy. As much as 20 percent of the

bacterial life in the deep sea might directly

convert light to energy for powering cellular

processes via a photon pump, thus sidestepping

the more complex photosynthesis process entirely.

This ability gives these organisms a survival

advantage in low-nutrient environments.

These discoveries are rewriting the biology

and oceanography textbooks. Science can only

speculate what other novel means for powering

life might exist in the world’s oceans, and how

their discovery may revolutionize the understanding of energy transfer in ecosystems. 

While the discoveries mentioned above had an

immediate impact on our understanding of the

ocean, the Ocean Exploration Program must also

foster observations over long periods of time

to discover new processes and systems in the

ocean that are not readily apparent. For example,

nearly 15 years ago, scientists began collecting

oceanographic and atmospheric data in the

Equatorial Pacific. Every year, scientists collected

salinity, temperature, wind speed, atmospheric

pressure, and sea height data. After many years,
| 1 8 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

patterns in the data began to emerge and led to

our ability to detect the onset of El Niño. 

Developing

New Technologies

Many of the tools currently used in ocean studies

have been borrowed from substantial investments

 in technology by the Navy and the offshore oil

industry. Whereas two decades ago, those tools

available to academic researchers were second

to none, a number of systems and facilities are

aging. Cuts in the budget for Department of

Defense development efforts have been felt by

In areas closer to land, the extent, frequency, and nature of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) have been difficult to document. This is due to the fact that traditional sampling, in order

to be effective, had to keep up with the plankton growth rate (the population doubles every 12 hours), and plankton identification was done visually with the aid of a microscope.

However, the revolution in biotechnology now makes it possible to conduct rapid, quantitative plankton species identification using only their DNA. A number of HAB species can now

be identified automatically from ship-based laboratories. This automation should be adapted for autonomous platforms in the near future to facilitate the remote, quantitative observation of ocean ecosystem structures.

our investigators with the very best technology,

but rather that we have developed the best mechanisms for selecting research programs and for

operating our assets for the benefit of those

programs. For example, the institutions operating

the University Ocean Laboratory System (UNOLS)

ships and deep submergence systems have been

very responsive to the needs of their user base.

Existing systems are constantly being improved,

extended, and upgraded. Access to these assets is

open to the oceanographic community at large,

and program selection is based on some form of

merit review. Operations groups in the U.S. pride

themselves on the large number of operating days 

the marine technology community that relied

on investments in new instruments and platforms

by the Office of Naval Research. The deep-sea

drilling and multi-channel seismic capabilities

in the academic fleet have been eclipsed by new

drilling ships and seismic systems routinely

deployed in the offshore oil industry and by

other countries and foreign investors. Our deep

submergence assets are overall older and have

shallower depth ratings than those deployed by

the Japanese, for example. 

What has kept the U.S. marine research program

unsurpassed has not been the fact that we equip

SENSORS for OBSERVATION of OCEAN BIOGEOCHEMISTRY

M

an’s ability to intelligently explore the deep sea has been significantly enhanced by the advent of novel, autonomous platforms, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) that can

 be submerged for extended periods of time, and satellite communication technology that is used to report data to scientists. Over the past decade, in particular, microelectronic

equipment has made it feasible to outfit these platforms with sophisticated sensors that measure a wide variety of chemical, biological, and physical processes over a wide range of time

scales. It is now possible, for example, to measure the difference in carbon dioxide concentration in the sea and the air above it over long periods on deep-sea moorings, such as NOAA’s

TAO-TRITON array in the Equatorial Pacific. Such measurements are required to understand the influence of the ocean on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, the impacts of

events such as El Niño, and the feedback processes that act to control the heat balance of the atmosphere.
| OCEAN EXPLORATION OBJECTIVES AND PRIORITIES | 1 9 | 

 tools necessary for interrogating (measuring, mapping

 and exploring) the physical, geological, chemical,

 and biological parameters of the ocean.

— Synoptic 4-D capabilities

 We will create new concepts and methods for viewing

 the whole ocean through time, from anywhere.

The scientific drama surrounding a human

voyage beneath the sea first captured the attention

and imagination of the nation in the 1960s.

The well-documented voyages of Jacques Cousteau

they are able to provide the science community

and the low incidence of mechanical failures.

Nevertheless, we cannot continue to depend on

the ingenuity of our scientists and the dedication

of our operations groups to more than compensate

for a steady loss in U.S. position relative to other

nations with respect to technical capability. By

equipping the best researchers and the best marine

operators with technology unsurpassed anywhere

in the world, the possible benefits from a U.S.

program in ocean exploration would be unlimited.

The Ocean Exploration Program can provide the

mechanism for reinvesting in American leadership in ocean technology by supporting the

following general development efforts:

— Remote sensors and in-situ capabilities

 We will invent, build and adapt the wide array of

 L

ive from Monterey Canyon, a joint venture

 between the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research

 Institute (MBARI) and the Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA),

 exposes Aquarium visitors to the wonders of deep sea

 exploration via telepresence. A microwave connection

 between MBARI’s research ships and the Aquarium’s

 auditorium allows two-way communication between the

 public and the researchers exploring Monterey Bay. 

 Video images from MBARI’s ROVs are projected on to a

 large screen. The researchers and their conversations are

 transmitted to the audience via cameras on board the

 vessel, and they are able to hear and respond to questions

 from the virtual visitors. The success of the program is

largely due to the presence in the auditorium of an interpreter who is able to put the day’s activities

and unforeseen events into an educational context. The interpreter takes advantage of an electronic

podium with an interactive, visual encyclopedia for deep-sea research. The interpreter can move

back and forth between the live action and the archived material depending on the circumstances

and the questions being asked

by the audience. 

LINKING EXPLORERS...

...WITH THE PUBLIC

captivated American audiences. These images

helped demonstrate the vastness of the oceans

and the importance of protecting them against

pollution and misuse. During the early days of

space exploration, underwater vessels and habitats

were built to test human endurance in confined

spaces, but funding for most programs was

sporadic, and research projects were short-lived.

While space exploration has evolved and grown

with new tools and technologies since the days
| 2 0 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

of Apollo, the U.S. effort in human-occupied

underwater technology has evolved little since

the 1960s. 

Not all technologies require placing scientists

in-situ underwater. The continued development

of remote and autonomous underwater vehicles

will allow scientists to study ocean features without actually visiting them. In fact, programs already

exist that allow scientists in California to take

measurements and manipulate sensors located

underwater in the Atlantic Ocean off the shore

of New Jersey. Sensors can be deployed to measure

ocean parameters and relay data to shore stations

that broadcast information in near real-time over

the Internet. These capabilities open access to

underwater regions in remarkable ways. With the

right assembly of underwater tools, scientists can

remotely sense episodic ocean events and deploy

the means to study them.

The Ocean Exploration Program will respond

to shortcomings in our national underwater

infrastructure and capital assets by developing

new sensors, vehicles, and capabilities to bring

science to the underwater environment.

Reaching Out in New Ways

to Stakeholders

The oceans are a common global heritage.

The Ocean Exploration Program must build in

mechanisms to incorporate the interests and needs

of a variety of stakeholders. These stakeholders

include state, local and tribal governments,

municipal authorities, industries, students,

and ocean resource users of all types. Outreach

has the potential to transform these stakeholders

into concerned and informed constituents of the

oceans, who will support the sustained investment

that ocean exploration requires. Maintaining

open channels of communication with these 

groups, both for input into the development of

exploration plans and output in the form of new

information and data products, will strengthen

and diversify exploration programs. The program

will concentrate on reaching the following

stakeholders:

— Students

 We will establish the ability to broadcast ocean

 expeditions to reach every school district in the

 nation. 

— The public

 We will lead the world in developing new technologies
| OCEAN EXPLORATION OBJECTIVES AND PRIORITIES | 2 1 | 

 that bring scientists and explorers into formal and

 informal educational settings, and students, educators,

 and the general public into the field.

— Industrial partners

 Petroleum, fisheries, and biomedical industries will

 make hundreds of discoveries of new materials,

 pharmaceuticals, and enzymes using the knowledge

 gained from ocean exploration.

The measure of success in educational outreach

will be found in the numbers of new “students”

of all ages interested in ocean science. Internet

technology and webcasts bring new capacity to

outreach programs. Ocean exploration provides

rich content that easily captures the imagination

of the concerned public. Outreach cannot be

viewed as an afterthought of science, but rather

a vital step in the scientific process.

distributed throughout the United States as well

as marine assets deployed around the world.

In order to provide a focus for the program,

the Panel proposes that the centerpiece of the

Program be a Signature Mission -- a multi-year

voyage of discovery. Complementary expeditions

to the Signature Mission will use a wide variety

of ships, submersible vehicles, and other investigative strategies that help foster exploration and

provide the information base to capitalize on

exploration opportunities.

All of the exploration missions envisioned in the

Ocean Exploration Program will meet the highest

scientific standards and will be carried out by

highly qualified, multi-disciplinary staff. Achieving

EXPLORATION PRIORITIES

The Panel believes that these objectives can be

met by establishing a new Ocean Exploration

Program. The Program should be comprised of

the following critical components within the

organizational structure and governance discussed

later in this document: 

— Voyages of Discovery 

— Tools for Probing the Ocean 

— Data Management and Dissemination

— Education and Outreach 

— Capital Investment 

Voyages of Discovery

The Ocean Exploration Program will require a

wide range of field and laboratory equipment
the goals will involve individuals from academia,

the private sector, and government, and will, at

fundamental levels, involve teachers and students

so that the fruits of exploration are provided to

the broadest audience possible. The goal of the

voyages of discovery will be to make the United

States second to none in terms of our knowledge 

of the oceans. 

Expeditions that are complementary to the

Signature Mission will play an important role in

facilitating discoveries in remote areas and in

capitalizing on opportunities for multi-faceted

investigations. For example, the exploration of

the Arctic will require an icebreaker, perhaps a

nuclear submarine, active satellite sensors

(e.g., radar and laser), or, at a minimum, an icehardened ship and AUVs with specialized sensors

and capabilities for exploring the harsh Arctic

OCEAN EXPLORERS

 

T

he combined technologies of the Internet, wireless communications, global positioning systems, miniaturized

 sensors and intelligent, robotic undersea platforms now make it possible for you to purchase and operate your own

customized ocean exploration vehicle. Several models and a variety of sensor payloads are available to observe, listen to

or measure the vital signs of the oceans. All are affordable, with a number of subsidized financing options. Interactive

wizards will help you configure your ship and identify the part of the global ocean you wish to explore. Initial vectors will

be pre-programmed into your vehicle

for transit from your homeport, but you 

can change course at any time after

launch, using your web-based controller 

o investigate new discoveries. 

You will be registered as an active

member of the fleet, and your vehicle’s

name and position will appear daily on

the global grid of operating explorers.

The data you collect will be universally

available on-line in near real-time, and will be archived in an easily accessible global database. At any time, you will

be able to locate from the global grid other explorers throughout the world operating in your region. You may wish to

coordinate with them and organize a cooperative expedition to investigate a particular feature or phenomenon. This can

all be accomplished interactively on the Web. 

For more information, log on to Ocean Exploration Headquarters today! (www.exploreocean.gov)*

*Note: This is a future scenario and a proposed web site.

QUALIFICATIONS: CURIOSITY, WEB PROFICIENCY, BASIC SCIENCE LITERACY

 | 2 2 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

HEY KIDS!!! Do you imagine yourself as a modern-day explorer,

eager to probe uncharted territory and discover new worlds? Join the Ocean Explorer Corps!

Pilot your own inner-spaceship and report new findings!
| OCEAN EXPLORATION OBJECTIVES AND PRIORITIES | 2 3 | 

environment. Information from a global acoustic

monitoring system, a facility that is considered

to be critical to global ocean exploration, might

guide the Signature Mission to areas where submarine eruptions, earthquakes, or concentrations

of marine mammals are occurring. Seafloor

observatories, whether deployed as part of this

Program or other initiatives, will explore geological, biological, and chemical processes as they

occur. These seafloor observatories will be linked

to shore-based laboratories and will employ

state-of-the-art sensors and AUVs. Real-time

Signature

Mission

results from seafloor observatories will also be

used to help guide the Signature Mission.

Tools for Probing the Ocean

In addition to the voyages of discovery, the Ocean

Exploration Program should fund the creation

of technology to probe the ocean in new ways. 

In many areas of ocean technology, the systems

available to the U.S. research community are no

longer state-of-the-art, and the submersibles 

available to U.S. academic researchers are limited

to depths less than 4,500 meters. Engineering

development projects will often best be undertaken via partnerships with groups developing

technology for other uses (e.g., national defense

and the petroleum industry), but the availability

of funds under the Ocean Exploration Program

will make the difference as to whether the

T he Panel proposes that a Signature Mission be designed as an important part of the U.S.

exploration strategy and as a symbol of U.S. commitment to ocean exploration. Addressing the exploration

challenges described in this report, the Signature Mission

would explore the global ocean, circumnavigating the

globe from pole to pole. It would concentrate on the

U.S. EEZ and continental margins, but also take advantage of opportunities for visiting the most unexplored

reaches of the global ocean. This mission will actually

need to be more than a single shipboard expedition;

it will be the first undertaking of its kind. The pole-topole routing will require a variety of vessels and platforms over a period of several years. All means of

exploration will be folded into the Signature Mission,

including satellites, seafloor moorings, specially

outfitted ships, and submersible vehicles. Over several

years, the Signature Mission would work its way south

 from Maine, through the North 

 and South Atlantic to Antarctica,

 incorporating international coopera-

 tion with coastal nations along the

 route. The Mission would then

 proceed eastward around Antarctica,

 adding to the southern ocean information void, with expeditions into the southern Indian

Ocean and into the western Pacific before exploring

the west coast of North America.The final goal of the

Signature Mission will be to explore the Arctic Ocean

beneath the polar sea ice cover.
 | 2 4 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

resulting systems are relevant to, and capable

of, ocean exploration. Furthermore, the Panel

fully expects that technology developed under

this program will lead to spin-off applications

elsewhere in ocean research and development

(e.g., in-situ sensors for monitoring ocean health).

Data Management

and Dissemination

An essential element of this program is data

management and dissemination. The database

must incorporate a variety of data types, including

biological observations. It should be easy to put

data into the archive as well as to extract it.

A properly designed database should use widely

accepted standards, whenever possible, and set

new standards when none exist. Flexibility,

however, is the key to integrating a broad

range of data; rigid conformity to standards can

discourage such integrations. The program should

incorporate older, historic data sets relevant to

exploration into the new database.

A goal for this program should be to develop by

2005, a plan for a Geographic Information System

(GIS) for exploration data. Many federal agencies

already have made substantial investment in

modern data systems (e.g., Navy's Fleet Numerical

Data Center, NASA's Earth Observing System Data

and Information System [EOS-DIS], NOAA's

National Geophysical Data Center). Thus, the first

step in building this comprehensive system should

be to draw on this collective experience. Furthermore, all federal agencies engaging in activities

that lead to the accumulation of oceanographic,

biologic, or geological data should commit to

placing their data in a compatible system in the

public domain. The GIS should include proprietary and classified data, as much as possible. This

system must allow for timely access of usable,

comprehensive data.

Some mechanism must also be developed to

assure timely review of data and responses to

recommendations from users. This may include

a formal structure, such as a standing committee

responsible for biennial or annual review of data

within the GIS. To ensure quality data, standards

and protocols for data collection, storage,

and dissemination must also be developed.

Education and Outreach 

The Program should include a coordinated effort

to improve and promote ocean science education.

Children and adults alike are intrinsically fasci-
| OCEAN EXPLORATION OBJECTIVES AND PRIORITIES | 2 5 | 

the Panel recommends launching the Ocean

Exploration Program with a national competition

to name the Signature Mission. 

The creation of an Ocean Exploration Program

could reverse the current tendency for graduate

oceanography programs in the United States to

educate increasingly specialized professionals.

Several top programs no longer require students

to obtain some proficiency across the allied

disciplines of marine biology, geology and geophysics, chemistry, archaeology, ocean engineering,

and physical oceanography. Because our modern-

 T

he impact of our inadequate ocean knowledge has become

 increasingly apparent. Following calls by Congress to plan for

 “a truly integrated ocean observing system,” the National Ocean Research

 Leadership Council approved the establishment of the OCEAN.US 

 office in May 2000.

 OCEAN.US will integrate existing and planned observational activities and databases

 into an integrated observing system. This system will be comprised of real-time operational ocean

observations, long-term research observations, technology development, and web-based access to models, algorithms, numerical techniques, etc., for improved predictions by the users. All ocean and ocean-related data —

chemical, biological, physical — will be formatted, assimilated, and shared through the program using existing

resources, such as the U.S. Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) server, to provide vital knowledge

to many different users.

OCEAN

•

Creating an Integrated Sustai n ed O c e a n O b s e r v i n g S y st e m

U S

.

.

nated by the ocean and its unfamiliar creatures

and habitats. This natural curiosity provides an

excellent opportunity to increase science literacy,

which is an essential ingredient for U.S. competitiveness in the 21st century. Ocean Exploration

Program educational materials and resources

should be widely available and easily accessed

by teachers, students, and the general public.

The program should expand efforts to create

discovery-driven interactive web sites. Efforts

should be made to build upon and expand

partnerships and networks with educational

groups (e.g., National Marine Educators

Association, National Science Teachers Association,

and Association of Zoos and Aquaria) and federal

agencies that promote and fund education and

outreach in ocean science. A high priority should

be placed on interactions with informal science

education centers (e.g., museums and aquaria)

because of their proven ability to reach large

numbers of people, including traditionally

under represented groups. Additionally, these

centers have demonstrated the ability to reach

large numbers of teachers through high-quality

professional development programs, and could

serve as “portals” through which teachers,

students, and the public can become involved

in the world of the explorers. In this regard,

OCEAN.US
DIVE and DISCOVER

 | 2 6 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

BRINGING OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH INTO

THE CLASSROOM AND TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC

VIA THE INTERNET 

U

 sing funds from the National Science

 Foundation’s Awards for Geoscience

Education Program, the Woods Hole Oceanographic

Institution has developed a web-based education

and communications platform for providing near real-time access

to ongoing oceanographic research at sea. The Dive

and Discover website is targeted at middle school

students (Grades 6-8) and the public. It is structured to provide multiple layers and levels of

information on the basic scientific concepts at the core of the

research being carried out. More important, the site

provides daily updates from the research ship,

including still and video images from shipboard

operations and the bottom of the ocean, graphical

representations of a wide variety of oceanographic data, explanations about the technology being used,

and general information about life at sea for the

scientists, engineers, and shipboard support crews

that make oceanographic research and exploration possible. 

Dive and Discover also provides sea-going scientists

with web-based templates so that they can easily

incorporate their scientific and field objectives into

an expandable and easy-to-use web structure to broadly communicate their work. 

http://www.divediscover.whoi.edu

day explorers will be specifically chosen from

the ranks of those conversant across fields,

graduate programs will need to adapt if their

students are to take advantage of this new

opportunity. Overall, the Panel would view this

adjustment as beneficial, since many new 

discoveries await at the interfaces of established

disciplines. 

Capital Investment 

Given the long lead time necessary to develop

the capabilities and realize the potential for

the Ocean Exploration Program, the Panel

recommends funding the Program for an initial

period of 10 years. The approximate level of new

funding for annual operation of the Program

should be on the order of $75 million. The Panel

believes that this relatively small investment

(less than one-hundredth of one percent of the

federal discretionary budget) will serve as a

magnet to attract other public and private assets

that could amount to several hundred million

dollars per year. “Seed” money from the federal

government will be a critical catalyst in making

this happen.

Some assets and capabilities required by the

Ocean Exploration Program already exist and can

be provided by academia, industry, and the

government. The Program should take advantage

of these when beneficial; however, some capital

investment will be required. With the personnel

effort and ship/ vehicle time that will be devoted

to the Program, it would be imprudent to use

anything but the latest technology in platforms,
| OCEAN EXPLORATION OBJECTIVES AND PRIORITIES | 2 7 | 

The approximate costs of capitalizing this

program over the 10-year period will be two to

three times the annual operating costs. Thus, some

of the initial capitalization could conceivably be

funded in place of operational costs during the

first few years of the Program, while operations

are starting up.

Priority Sites

The Panel concluded that the following sites are

the highest priority areas for the Program:

— U.S. EEZ and continental margins 

 Americans are the stewards of these areas, and thus,

 have a moral obligation to concentrate efforts here.

— The Arctic

 This region is largely unexplored, and yet is believed

 to be the most sensitive to climate change of any

 place on Earth.

systems, and sensors. There are a number of good

arguments for mounting as many of these systems

as possible on a state-of-the-art research ship,

as a flagship for the Ocean Exploration Program.

Outfitting a flagship will avoid the mobilization

costs and compatibility problems when new

systems are installed on vessels of opportunity.

A properly equipped flagship will also facilitate

multidisciplinary data management and educational outreach by centralizing much of the data

collection and outreach technologies on a dedicated

platform. The flagship could be purchased or

leased, depending on platform availability and

the final list of expedition requirements. In addition

to capitalizing this flagship, the Program will need

to acquire other technologies, which may include

submersibles, sensors and communications,

and information technology. 

— Southern oceans

 This vast region of the planet’s ocean is also largely

 unexplored. Opportunities for fundamental discovery

 are particularly great.

— Inland seas, including the Great Lakes

 Other water bodies (e.g., Mediterranean and Red

 Sea) are also important targets, assuming inter-

 national collaboration. These regions contain a

 significant amount of the world’s cultural heritage.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Ocean Exploration Program will be designed

to map and document discoveries in new ways that

maximize the use of the best technology available

for this purpose, and track changes over time.

The initial focus of this mapping effort should

be the U.S. Continental Shelf and EEZ. Along

with mapping the physical features of the ocean,

ocean processes and dynamics should be studied
| 2 8 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

and its undeniable importance to the health of

the planet and the wealth of our nation. Furthermore, in a number of areas, the United States

has fallen behind other nations in its capabilities

for undertaking ocean research. American leadership in ocean exploration can be achieved by first

addressing the objectives of the Ocean Exploration

Program discussed above, and then implementing

the Program as follows:

The U.S. government should establish the

Ocean Exploration Program for an initial period

of 10 years, with new funding at the level of

$75M / year, excluding capitalization costs.

The Panel envisions that a program funded at

that level would include the following critical

elements:

— Interdisciplinary voyages of discovery in high-

 priority areas

 This includes the U.S. EEZ and the continental

 margins, the Arctic, and poorly known areas of the

 southern oceans and inland seas. U.S. knowledge

 of the living and nonliving resources in the ocean

 should be second to none, particularly within its

 own EEZ and continental margins. 

— Platform, communication, navigation and

 instrument development efforts

 This includes the capitalization of major new assets

 for ocean exploration, in order to regain U.S. leader-

 ship in marine research technology.

— Data management and dissemination

 This ensures that discoveries can have maximum

 impacts in the research, commercial, regulatory,

 and educational realms.

— Education and outreach

 This will take place in both formal and informal

 settings to improve the scientific literacy of America’s

 schoolchildren and to realize the full potential of a

 citizenry aware of and informed about ocean issues.

at new scales to help increase our knowledge of

the poorly understood energy transfer systems

present in this complex environment. The success

of the Ocean Exploration Program will also depend

on efforts to recapture the public imagination

with regard to exploring the vast ocean, and to

promote U.S. leadership in this arena. Broad,

sustained popular support for investment in the

Ocean Exploration Program will ensure that the

best possible tools and resources are made available

to those who will work to overcome the obstacles

in carrying out such an ambitious program.

The Panel notes that the United States currently

does not support a program in ocean exploration,

despite our inadequate understanding of the ocean,

the living and nonliving resources it contains,
OCEAN EXPLORATION

PARTNERSHIPS

O VER the course of history, humankind has explored the oceans in search of natural resources, knowledge to

 support transportation and military ventures, and to learn more about the things that were in the vast unknown.

| OCEAN EXPLORATION PARTNERSHIPS | 2 9 | 

 

 

More recently, exploration has laid the foundation

for understanding the critical role that the oceans

play in sustaining the biosphere. People’s

seemingly endless thirst for knowledge about

the oceans’ enormity, extremes in conditions,

beauty, complexity, and association with human

history can now be quenched with modern

communications. While there have been, and still

are, many reasons for ocean exploration, it is safe

to say that ocean exploration is almost always

accompanied by unanticipated discoveries,

including knowledge that is invaluable for other

purposes. Yet, ironically, most exploration to

date has been relatively narrow in its purpose,

and knowledge that does not serve the purpose

of specific expeditions has not been shared. 

Partnerships among all ocean exploration interests

are needed if the full benefits of ocean exploration

are to be realized. Partners should come from:

— Industries seeking knowledge to support commercial

 activities such as fishing, energy and mineral

 extraction, pharmaceuticals, and other, as yet

 unknown, potentials.

— Government agencies (both state and federal)

 seeking knowledge about how the oceans function

 and to support their missions of national security,

 transportation, and the conservation and manage-

 ment of natural resources.

— Academic institutions concerned with ocean

 research.

— Formal and informal educators at all academic

 levels.

— Mass media and media companies seeking ways

 to inform and entertain the public.

— Non governmental organizations groups with a

 wide array of ocean interests, such as conservation,

 protection, education, entertainment, and research.

Ocean exploration partners can play many

different roles. Some of the partners will be the

primary explorers. They will collect data from

above, on and beneath the ocean’s surface.

Others will use the information collected by
 | 3 0 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

ocean exploration (e.g., for the design of future

research, commercial enterprises, education,

and conservation advocacy). It is also critical for

users to be included in ocean exploration partnerships so that their interests are served. It must be

recognized, however, that ocean exploration is

not intended to be so tightly coupled with any

particular user group’s needs that the exploration

endeavor loses the excitement of unanticipated

discovery. 

It is also important to recognize the vitality that

a diversity of ideas will provide in the development of partnerships in ocean exploration.

Some fear that ocean exploration will lead to

ocean exploitation that is undesirable from their

perspective. Others envision exploitation as the

desired outcome. It is not necessary that all

partners in ocean exploration share the same

vision of the oceans for the future; however,

ocean exploration should be neutral with respect

to diverse views about how the oceans are used

and conserved. If ocean exploration is successful

in producing new information that excites and

informs the public and officials with responsibility

for the oceans, then the activity will likely lead

to sound public policy choices that seek to

balance diverse interests.

Ocean exploration requires both domestic and

international partnerships. Most of the oceans

are beyond the jurisdiction of any nation. Yet,

the United States has a unique responsibility

for the exploration of a larger ocean area (two

million square kilometers) than any other

nation.

A

fter discovering the wreck of the RMS

 Titanic in 1985, Dr. Robert D. Ballard

received thousands of letters from students

around the world wanting to go with him on

his next expedition.

In order to bring the thrill of discovery to

millions of students worldwide, Dr. Ballard

founded the JASON Project, a year-round

scientific expedition designed to excite and

engage students in science and technology 

and to motivate and provide professional

development for teachers. The JASON Project

has been a leader in distance learning

programs, and continues to expand its reach

by adding more components each year.

Funded by a combination of private industry

and government, the program is now in its

12th year.

More information on the JASON Project is

available at: http://www.jason.org/

an

educational

partnership

The

JASON

Foundation

for

Education
| OCEAN EXPLORATION PARTNERSHIPS | 3 1 | 

Characteristics of Ocean

Exploration Partnerships 

Ocean exploration is a broad endeavor,

encompassing both vast geographic expanses

and a wide range of disciplines (e.g., biology,

geology, physical and chemical processes,

archaeology). Many different technologies are

used for ocean exploration. Thus, partnerships

that are flexible in nature will best serve the goals

of exploration. Nevertheless, some characteristics

of these partnerships should be universal. They

include:

— Partnership in planning

 An exploration partnership includes a shared plan

 with consensus building and maintenance. The plan

 should identify goals, strategies, responsibilities and

 access to information. All of the partners should

 stand behind the entire plan, rather than solely

 advocating their own self-interests.

— Multiple use of exploration platforms and sharing

 of other assets

 The assets needed for exploration include ships,

 submersibles, observatories, airplanes, satellites,

 and databases. Many types of sensors and collection

 devices are used, and often, they can collect multiple

 types of information on the same mission. A success-

 ful partnership for ocean exploration will take

 advantage of the opportunity to gain as much

 knowledge as possible from its assets.

— Interdisciplinary partnerships

 It will be common for partners in ocean exploration

 to have multiple interests. As noted above, the assets

 for ocean exploration may be capable of collecting

 multiple types of information. Thus, ocean explora-

 tion partnerships should be interdisciplinary.

— Information sharing

 Information derived from ocean exploration will

 be accessible in the public domain so that it can

 achieve its full value, including the intangible value

 of informing the public. 

— Partnerships in education

 Partnerships with this group are essential. One

 mechanism to enhance this partnership would be

 the creation of an Ocean Corps of students of all

 ages who dedicate time and energy to specific

 expeditions. Members of the Ocean Corps would

 assist in ocean exploration and communicate their

 experiences to the education community. They will

 also communicate — often in real-time — to others

 through the Web and other media. This would

 provide a unique foundation for school-to-career

 and public service learning opportunities.

T

he Census of Marine Life has been conceived as a bold program

 of discovery designed to capture the imagination of the American

people. The challenge is to respond to important and fascinating

questions about the amount, type and global distribution of marine

life. These questions apply to past as well as current conditions,

in order to prepare for anticipated future conditions. The planning

for, and design of, the Census was a grassroots effort that involved

the talents of many scientists from around the world, primarily

supported by nongovernmental funds. The program they suggested

includes the development of an Ocean Biogeographical Information

Census of Marine Life: a Grand Challenge

of fisheries into depths of a thousand meters or more in order

to catch new species of fish. Many of these species are part of

fragile ecosystems vulnerable to overfishing. Until the Census of

Marine Life is complete, it will be extremely difficult to implement

responsible management programs to address this situation.

More information on the Census of Marine Life can be found at

http://www.coml.org

System (OBIS), a research program to understand the

history of marine animal populations and a plan for

regional censuses to be taken to test technology and

strategies. The Census program is now under way. This

program will help fill in the gaps that currently exist in

the area of marine biodiversity in order to help conserve

endangered or overfished species. Without in-depth

knowledge, species will be lost without people ever

having known they existed. The sense of urgency

surrounding this project is heightened by the expansion 
Arrangements for

Partnerships

Many existing organizations are capable of

planning and/or managing ocean exploration. 

These include domestic and international,

and governmental and nongovernmental

organizations. Whenever practicable, existing

organizations should be used to avoid creating

unnecessary bureaucracy and expenses. In some

cases, new arrangements may be necessary to oversee a partnership for exploration, but these should

have a finite life span to match the duration of

the mission(s) undertaken by the partnership.

While existing organizations will play a critical

role in the Program, a Forum must be established

to bring together all stakeholders to exchange

views, promote communication and networking,

and continually inform the participants. Such a

Forum will be well suited to identify stakeholders’

opportunities and interests as a precursor to

forming partnerships.

Vision for Coordinated

Federal Ocean Exploration

Program 

In creating the framework for governing new

activities in ocean exploration, the Panel advocates

the following steps be taken.

— The President should instruct the White House

 Science Advisor and appropriate Cabinet officials

 to ensure the successful initiation and implemen-

 tation of a national Ocean Exploration Program.

 The Panel also recommends instituting a follow-

 on group to maintain momentum and provide

 more detailed planning.

T

he European Institute for Underwater Archaeology

 (IEASM) is a privately funded, multilevel partnership

for international underwater archaeology, carried out

in collaboration with national governments, museums,

and navies of the host countries. Products of the partnership include traveling and permanent museum

exhibitions, extensive publications of archaeological

reports, popularized high-quality publications for public

consumption, film documentaries, educational CDs for

students and extensive websites published during field

projects. IEASM currently has projects in:

EGYPT Projects include Alexandria, the Bay of Abou

Kir, Napoleon’s fleet, and ongoing magnetometer and

side-scan surveys.

PHILIPPINES Projects include the San Diego, five

Chinese shipwrecks ranging from the 12th to the 16th

centuries, and two 18th century East India Company

shipwrecks.

CUBA Project consists of extensive surveying and

searching for a 16th century shipwreck.

http://www.franckgoddio.org

UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY

EUROPEAN INSTITUTE FOR

 | 3 2 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 
| OCEAN EXPLORATION PARTNERSHIPS | 3 3 | 

— Institutional arrangements should clearly identify

 and rely on existing interagency mechanisms 

 to ensure federal cooperation, coordination,

 and efficient use of resources and effectiveness.

— A single lead agency should be designated as in

 charge and accountable for the program and its

 budget. Leadership should be assigned to the

 agency most likely to champion a broad spirit

 of exploration and least likely to divert ocean

 exploration toward narrower, mission-oriented

 activities.

— New support resources and staffing should be

 allocated to implement and sustain the program.

— The federal Ocean Exploration Program must

 identify and promote processes to establish effective

 partnerships and the involvement of stakeholders

 in all phases of program development and

 implementation.

— Accountability should be articulated in advance

 through benchmarks and performance measures

 to evaluate outcomes. The benchmarks should be

 appropriate for ocean exploration, and measure

 the degree to which the Program is following

 the desired characteristics and meeting the

 challenges described in the first chapter of this

 report. The lead agency should, every three years,

 report on progress toward meeting performance

 goals, and review funding needs to the President

 and Congress.

— Program participants should agree on criteria

 for the selection of projects to assure high scientific

 quality and visionary oversight.

— The Program should include a global perspective

 promoting international partnerships.

— The Program should be recognized as requiring

 implementation over an extended period of time

 (e.g., several decades).

— The Program should be implemented in a manner

 that allows public involvement and oversight.

PARTNERSHIPS

ACADEMIA and NOAA

NOPP:

the National Oceanographic

Partnership Program

N 

OPP was established in 1997 by the National

 Oceanographic Partnership Act to integrate national

efforts in ocean science and technology, including both

research and education. NOPP’s goal is to promote broad

national needs by enabling coordinated national investments

in ocean research and education. NOPP shares resources,

data, intellect and experience between its partners in

government, academia, industry, and other members of

the ocean sciences community. Leadership is provided by

the National Ocean Research Advisory Panel, which includes

representatives from the National Academies of Science

and Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, ocean industries,

state governments and academia. The Partnership was

formed by Congress to provide a mechanism for effective

coordination of complex studies of the ocean and long-term

monitoring between government agencies and the other

partners.

For more information, log on to the NOPP web site at:

http://core.cast.msstate.edu/NOPPpg1.html

T 

he National Undersea Research Program (NURP)

 is one example of a NOAA program that works directly

with academia to carry out its research and exploration.

With a mission of providing the expertise and technologies

to place scientists underwater, either in person or remotely

this program works through a network of regional centers

operated by universities or private foundations. Each Center

carries out a competitive, peer-reviewed science program

supporting the undersea research needs of NOAA and the

nation. You can find NURP’s web site at:

http://www.nurp.noaa.gov
| 3 4 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

RECOMMENDATIONS

The President of the United States should instruct

the White House Science Advisor and appropriate

Cabinet officials to design the management

structure for this program. Elements of governance

should include:

— Designating a lead agency to be in charge of the

 Program and accountable for its success using

 benchmarks appropriate for ocean exploration,

 such as the number of new discoveries, dissemiIRISH

SEABED

SURVEY

REVEALS 

RICHES

A

 seven-year project to map the seabed off Ireland’s coast-

 line is under way and already delivering results. Ireland’s

seabed survey has mapped nearly 18 percent of the territory

and researchers say they hope to have the first definitive results

by next summer. Potential gas reserves associated with carbonate

mounds have been identified in preliminary findings, which were

released at a Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) seminar in Dublin

last month. According to a spokesman, two ships have been

dedicated to the seven-year survey by the agency, the 79.25-meter

R/V Bligh, a former British navy ship, and the 68-meter R/V Siren.

Both are owned and run by Global Ocean Technologies Ltd.

(Gotech), which was contracted by the GSI as manager of the

initiative. The Waterford-based company, which has been involved

in seabed projects around the world, believes that this is the most

ambitious survey of its type. Ireland has one of the largest offshore

exclusive economic zones in Europe, some 850,000 square kilometers. Presenting an overview of progress to date, Gotech’s Noel

Hanley and the GSI team of Deepak Inamdar, Helen Gwinnutt, 

Mick Geoghegan, and Garrett Duffy reported that 72,563 square

kilometers had been mapped. The main focus initially has been

on Zone 3, the more distant and deeper part of the seabed. 

The multibeam sonar employed, Kongsberg Simrad’s EM120, proved

to be very successful, according to Hanley. “Its area of coverage

is five times as wide as the water depth. It can penetrate the sediment

and is fitted with a yaw correction to stabilize images in bad weather”,

he noted. The high-resolution data collected include an image of the

wreck of the Lusitania. The wreck has been lying in 100 meters of

water 18 kilometers south of the Old Head of Kinsale since its sinking

by a first World War torpedo in 1915 with the loss of 1,200 lives. A hydrographic survey ship using echosounders in 1937 first located the wreck.

The Bligh and Siren are also using sub-bottom profiling to detect rocks,

gas, and other minerals. They are also fitted with magnetometers and

gravity meters. Some 15 major canyons on the side of the Rockall trough

were identified in earlier work, and the GSI’s reconnaissance survey of

the Irish continental shelf and shelf edge in 1996 is regarded as essential

groundwork for this initiative.

 nation of data, and the impact of educational

 outreach.

— Using existing interagency mechanisms to ensure

 federal cooperation among agencies.

— Establishing an Ocean Exploration Forum to

 encourage partnerships and promote communi-

 cation among commercial, academic, private,

 non governmental organizations and government

 stakeholders.
| TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED FOR OCEAN EXPLORATION | 3 5 | 

TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED

FOR OCEAN EXPLORATION

B

 ECAUSE the ocean contains the most hostile, dynamic, and complex environments on Earth, the technologies

 used to unlock its secrets must be innovative, robust, and capable of a broad range of measurements, over time

 spans from seconds to years.

These instruments will often be required to

operate in chemically caustic and high-pressure

conditions, and to transmit the collected data

back to shore-based laboratories for further

analysis and real-time interaction with seafloor

or oceanographic experiments. Such will be the

demanding nature of ocean exploration in the

coming century and beyond. The past 40 years

of outer space exploration has prepared us for

what will be the ultimate technological challenge

facing the human species — the exploration of

the Earth’s oceans.

The past half-century of oceanographic research

has demonstrated that the oceans and seafloor

hold the keys to understanding many of the

processes responsible for shaping our planet. 

The Earth’s ocean floor contains the most accurate

and complete record of geologic and tectonic

history for the past 200 million years. For the past

30 years, the exploration and study of seafloor

terrain, and the unraveling of plate boundary processes within the paradigm of seafloor spreading

have revolutionized earth and ocean sciences.

This new view of how the Earth works has provided

a quantitative context for mineral exploration,

land utilization and earthquake hazard assessment,

as well as conceptual models that scientists use 

to understand the structure and morphology

of other planets in our solar system. Much of

this new knowledge stems from studying the

seafloor — its morphology, geophysical structure

and characteristics, and the chemical composition

of the rocks of which it is comprised. Similarly,

the discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents at

the mid-ocean ridge, and the chemosyntheticbased animal communities that inhabit the vents

have revolutionized biological sciences. This

discovery has also provided a quantitative context

for understanding global ocean chemical processes,

and suggests modern analogs for both the origin

of life on Earth and extraterrestrial life. Intimately 
FLOATS

S

atellite-based sensors have provided a remarkable view of

 nearly the entire global ocean surface at a spatial resolution

as small as 1 to 10 kilometers. They have revealed a complexity of

patterns that most likely extends into the deeper ocean, but that

cannot be measured with ship deployed samplers and sensors.

Efforts are being made to improve our ability to image the horizontal scales of the ocean below the sea surface. The Argo program

is an international effort that seeks to deploy thousands of pop-up

floats throughout the world ocean that will record ocean properties

from the sea surface to their “parking” depth and transmit the data

back to shore via satellite links. An armada of such floats spread

over the ocean will monitor the temperature, salinity and oxygen

structure of the ocean. Other parameters, e.g., shear, may also be

measured. Sensors to directly measure other parameters from the 

& AUVs

& GLIDERS

floats, such as nutrients and tracer elements, need to be perfected.

It is anticipated that soon, CO2 concentrations and the DNA of a

number of plankton species will also be able to be determined from

autonomous underwater vehicles. A new generation of gliding

vehicles is yet to be developed. These instruments could descend

and ascend as floats, but more important, they could use the position

fixes obtained when they surface to navigate along a prescribed

track. Gliders will be able to traverse the ocean along the same track

to provide high-resolution, repeat sections across oceanographic

fronts and currents.

O

 ver the past decade, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV)

 technology has advanced to the point where a variety of AUVs have

begun to make unique oceanographic measurements. The original concept

of the AUV called for it to perform surveys similar to those done with

human-occupied submersibles or tethered vehicles, though at a lower

cost and with less dependence on support vessels. These capabilities have

been proven. AUVs have been shown to make many types of measurements

better than other existing devices, especially those that require repeated

time-series measurements in hostile weather environments. The new

generation of AUVs are capable of reliably determining their position,

using the computed position to automatically follow preprogrammed 

tracks, and following the bottom using measurements from an array of

acoustic sensors. With a focused development program, AUVs will soon

be capable of deploying a wide range of mapping and sampling systems to any

position in the water column. Future programs of synoptic ocean exploration

will rely on fleets of AUVs dispersed throughout large areas of the oceans.

These AUVs will begin to record data sets rich in both spatial and temporal

resolution of complex oceanographic processes. Key technological challenges

related to AUV development entail increasing their endurance through

innovative power systems, and improving global navigation schemes to

permit unattended operation in remote areas over long periods of time.

 | 3 6 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 
tied to these research themes is the study of

physical and chemical oceanography which has

resulted in unprecedented perspectives on the

processes which drive climate and climate change

on our planet. These are but a few of the many

examples of how basic oceanographic research

has revolutionized our understanding of Earth’s

history and provided a glimpse at the diversity

of scientific frontiers still awaiting exploration.

These breakthroughs resulted from the intensive

exploration that typified oceanographic expeditions from the 1950s through the 1970s and

focused the development of oceanographic

technology and instrumentation that facilitated

discoveries on many disciplinary levels. Significant

among these enabling technologies were satellite

communication, global positioning, microchip

technology, the widespread development of

| TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED FOR OCEAN EXPLORATION | 3 7 | 

EXPLORING the GLOBAL OCEAN

USING PASSIVE UNDERWATER ACOUSTICS

U 

sing passive underwater acoustics to listen to

 the ocean is an ideal way to monitor oceanographic and tectonic phenomena on a global basis.

The presence of an underwater sound channel at

~1000 m in the ocean allows the propagation of lowfrequency acoustic energy over ocean-basin scales.

Examples of significant discoveries already made using 

dual-use U.S. real-time hydrophone arrays include the

detection of deep-sea volcanic eruptions and the tracing

of migratory paths of the blue whale. These listening

efforts initially depended on the U.S. Navy Sound

Surveillance System (SOSUS). However, other low-cost, 

portable monitoring systems and devices have been

developed and deployed in several ocean areas. Government agency partnerships to promote further development and use of this technology are already in place with

NOAA, various Navy commands, academic institutions,

and international partners, including the NOPP Ocean

Acoustic Observatory Federation. The goal of sensing the

“pulse” of the Earth and oceans via a global network of

passive acoustic monitors is achievable with appropriate

planning and funding, and will result in dramatic new

views of the processes and events that shape our planet

and its ocean.

computers that could be taken into the field,

and increasingly sophisticated geophysical and

acoustic modeling and imaging techniques.

In addition, traditional 19th and early 20th

century methods for imaging the seafloor from

the beach to the abyss, and sensing chemical and
| 3 8 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

biological processes at all levels in the ocean,

were supplanted by submersible vehicles of

various types, remote-sensing instruments,

and sophisticated acoustic systems designed to

resolve a wide spatial range of ocean floor and

oceanographic features and processes.

Technology will enable the next generation of

ocean exploration, but if the United States is to

be a leader in this area, we must make a commitment to recapitalize our explorers with the very

best technology. New instruments will need to

be developed, and existing systems and data will

need to be upgraded and fully utilized. In addition,

new systems of telecommunication and global

positioning infrastructure will be required to

collect data from remote parts of the global ocean,

especially the polar regions and the southern

ocean. 

S

 ince ancient times, the human spirit has sought to understand the mysteries of the ocean. For the past 40

 years, this need has been met by the ability to take the unique human visual and cognitive abilities into the

ocean and down to the seafloor to make observations and facilitate measurements in submersible vehicles. Various

types of submersibles were initially developed to support strategic naval operations of several nations. As a result

of this effort, in 1963, the deep diving submersible Alvin was constructed by the United States. Alvin is still is use

 today as part of the National Deep Submergence Facility (NDSF) funded by the

 Navy, the NSF, and NOAA, and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic

 Institution (WHOI). It provides routine access to ocean depths as great as 4,500

 meters for one pilot and two scientists or engineers at a time. Capable of reaching

 about 60% of the seafloor, Alvin usually dives for 8-9 hours per day and spends

 about 5 hours a day traversing the seafloor, making observations, sampling,

 and taking high-resolution still and video photography. Throughout its more than

 35-year history, Alvin has completed over 3,600 dives (more than any other

 submersible of its type), and participated in making several

 key discoveries. These discoveries include map-

 ping the structure of the mid-ocean ridge

 (MOR), transform faults and submarine

 canyons, discovering hydrothermal vents,

 and collecting samples and making time-

 series measurements of biological

communities at the hydrothermal vents.

 In 1991, scientists in Alvin were the

 first to witness the vast biological reper-

 cussions of eruptions at the MOR axis, which

 provided the first hint that an enormous subsurface

 biosphere exists in the crust of the Earth on the seafloor.

 Despite these significant successes and recent improvements to Alvin’s operational

 systems, deep submergence technology and vehicle system capability in the United

 States now lag behind Japan and France. These countries have government/industry

 collaborations, that have been well capitalized for over a decade and that continue

 to be supported at annual funding levels that vastly exceed U.S. spending on the 

NDSF and related diving capabilities. The latest French and Japanese submersibles can dive to 6,000 m and 6,500 m,

respectively, depths that allow scientists using those vehicles to access more than 98% of the global seafloor.

The Japanese deep-diving remotely operated vehicle, Kaiko, is capable of reaching virtually all ocean depths. Given

these facts, the U.S. needs to rapidly increase the level of its capitalization and construction of new facilities available

to ocean explorers.

Taking

the

Cognitive

Brain

and

Spirit

into

the

Ocean

Taking

the

Cognitive

Brain

and

Spirit

into

the

Ocean
Enhanced data transmission is needed from all

levels in the ocean to the surface and from there

to shore-based laboratories. This will require the

development of an effective global data communications system and a strategy to bring the fruits

of exploration not only to scientists, but also to

the public and students at all levels, so that the

broadest spectrum of people can benefit from

21st century ocean exploration.

Development of state-of-the-art sensors and

deployment strategies will also prove essential

for multidisciplinary, in-situ, and remote-sensing

measurements of biological, chemical, physical,

and geological processes throughout the ocean.

This must include real-time remote-sensing of

the global ocean via acoustic and seismic monitoring and other means in order to calibrate and

study the "pulse" of the Earth and life in the

oceans. The construction of new, innovative deep

ocean vehicles and ocean-floor observing systems

will be needed to facilitate exploration. The types

of systems that will be required include humanoccupied submersibles, remotely operated vehicles

(ROVs), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs),

mobile observatories for seafloor and oceanographic measurements, and vehicle systems capable

of facilitating marine archeological exploration

and excavation.

RECOMMENDATIONS

— Undertake development of underwater platforms,

 communication systems, navigation, and a wide

 range of sensors, including the capitalization of

 major new assets for ocean exploration, to regain

 U.S. leadership in marine research technology.

| TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED FOR OCEAN EXPLORATION | 3 9 | 

M

easurements of trace chemicals in saltwater

 and sediments on the seafloor are required

to understand a wide range of exchange processes

that affect ocean chemistry and biology. One system

currently under development by Professor George

Luther at the University of Delaware will monitor

chemical reactions in environments ranging from

microbial mats to sediments to hydrothermal vents.

A solid-state, gold-amalgam voltammetric microelectrode is the key component of part of this

portable electrochemical system. It can “sniff out”

trace chemicals that exist in extreme environments.

The new microelectrode can measure dissolved

oxygen, sulfide, iodide, Fe(II), Mn(II), and FeS. Each

chemical species, if present, produces a current

that can be detected in one potential scan. This

type of technology represents the vanguard of

microsensors that will be capable of detecting and

quantifying small changes in chemistry in the myriad

of chemical and biological processes occurring in 

the ocean and on the seafloor.

SOLID STATE

VOLTAMMETRY

SMELLING

UNDERWATER

SOLID STATE

VOLTAMMETRY

SMELLING

UNDERWATER
I

 NCREASED knowledge and information about marine environments and resources are of great benefit to people the

 world over.

REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF OUR DISCOVERIES

AND PROTECTING NEW RESOURCES

Ocean explorers have a moral, if not legal,

obligation to share information about important

natural and cultural marine resources with all

entities having responsibility for governance of

the identified areas. Doing so will promote sound

resource stewardship for the benefit of current

and future generations.

Restoring and Protecting

Ocean Resources

There is growing evidence that marine ecosystems

have been severely impacted by human activities,

most notably the exploitation of living resources.

Because of typically strong food-web linkages,

 | 4 0 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

the depletion of target species can have ecosystemlevel impacts. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)are

widely regarded as one of the more effective means

of protecting and restoring these systems to environmentally sustainable levels. MPAs can also serve

to protect marine resources for their intrinsic

values, and to maintain the numerous life-support

systems and ecosystem services that our oceans 

provide. Increasingly, countries around the world

are identifying marine resources and marine

areas of particular concern that deserve special

protection. American exploration activities can

result in discoveries and the collection of information that can be used in decision-making

relative to MPAs throughout the world. To achieve

this purpose, however, the information must be

collected and disseminated to the appropriate

decision-making entities in a timely and effective

manner.

Although numerous MPAs already exist, nearly

all of them are very small and restricted to shallow

coastal areas. Thus, a number of fundamental

questions remain to be answered relative to

establishing and managing an effective system

of MPAs: 1) What are the goals and purposes

of establishing Marine Protected Areas? 2) How

large must they be? 3) How many should there

be? 4) Where should they be located? 5) What

tools (i.e., the ways and means) are necessary to
| REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF OUR DISCOVERIES AND PROTECTING NE W RESOURCES | 4 1 | 

effectively manage them? Information gathered

by exploration can help answer these questions.

It is reasonable to expect that information

about significant natural and cultural resources

discovered anywhere in the global ocean in the

course of exploration supported or sanctioned

by the United States will be passed on to the

MPA Center called for by the President in Executive

Order 13158. This information should also be

passed on to the appropriate country or international entity for use in making informed

decisions about establishing new or expanding 

existing MPAs throughout the world. 

To ensure that such information is made available

to the MPA Center, protocols should be developed

and adopted relating to collecting, documenting, 

storing, accessing and disseminating data. 

The President should assign leadership to an

appropriate federal entity, and create a broadbased task force to implement this portion of 

the ocean exploration strategy. Representatives

should come from affected federal agencies, 

(e.g., state resource agencies), academia and the 

non governmental ocean exploration community. 

While the culture of information sharing among

marine scientists is evolving, more should be

done to promote accessibility to data, including

data that is proprietary and classified. After an

integrated, workable and comprehensive information processing system is established, steps must

be taken to ensure that the system is implemented,

monitored for effectiveness and reliability,

and modified, as necessary, based on experience. 

Implementation should include appropriate 

institutional arrangements and agreements that

are binding and that have leadership support

within the respective agencies. In addition,

appropriate levels of new funding necessary to

sustain the effort should support the informationsharing system.

Because Marine Protected Areas often involve

prohibitions against the extraction of resources

(e.g., fish and minerals) and other uses

(e.g., individual watercraft, mineral prospecting),

their designations are controversial and often

challenged in court. A major exploration initiative

focused initially on the U.S. EEZ that is designed

to gather information useful to marine resource

managers, would be invaluable in carrying out

the President’s Executive Order calling for the

expansion of a national system of MPAs. To be
 | 4 2 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

VENTS T

he key to understanding the effects of deep

 ocean volcanism and hydrothermal venting requires

voyages of exploration in the time domain. Frequent,

in-situ observations, sustained for long periods of time,

give scientists information that a snapshot view cannot

provide. NOAA’s VENTS Program is pursuing this strategy

using a wide variety of sensors at seafloor observatories

at venting sites. VENTS researchers conduct field operations for at least two months every year at observatories

such as the NEw Millenium Observatory (NeMO) at Juan

de FucaRidge, using research vessels, submersibles and

remotely operated vehicles.

useful to resource managers, the data collected

must be of a type, scale and quality that can be

applied to management decision-making in a

timely and effective manner, so that it can help

promote public support and that can withstand

legal scrutiny. 

Ocean Resources

with Commercial Potential

Mankind has benefited tremendously from the

relatively small historic investment in ocean

exploration. Multichannel seismic mapping of

the ocean sub bottom during the 1970s accelerated

deep-water oil and gas exploration. During the

past two decades, a renewed interest in marine

bioprospecting has led to the discovery of

thousands of unique products from marine plants,

animals, and microbes, with commercial applications such as pharmaceuticals, nutritional

supplements, cosmetics, enzymes, pigments,

and fine chemicals. What is remarkable is that

the discovery of these thousands of chemicals

has come from exploring only a few coastal,

and even fewer deep ocean, environments.

We have barely begun to tap the potential of

the world’s oceans to yield useful chemicals.

While many fisheries are over exploited, the search

continues for environmentally sustainable fisheries

to feed our ever-increasing global population.

Recent discoveries of gas hydrates, and the unique

fauna that live in, on, or because of them, suggest

that clean energy for America’s future needs may

lie within our own unexplored waters. Finally,

citizens are eager to share in the exploration of

our rich heritage of maritime history, unique

archaeological sites, and exotic flora and fauna.
| REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF OUR DISCOVERIES AND PROTECTING NE W RESOURCES | 4 3 | 

PRODUCT

Ara-A

Ara-C

Okadaic acid

Manoalide

VentTM DNA polymerase enzyme

Formulaid® (Martek Biosciences)

Aequorin Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)

Phycoerythin

Resilience® (Estee Lauder)

APPLICATION

antiviral drug

anticancer drug

molecular probe for biomedical research

molecular probe for biomedical research

polymerase chain reaction

fatty acids used as additive in infant formula, nutritional supplement

bioluminescent calcium, indicator reporter gene

conjugated antibodies used in ELISAs and flow cytometry

“marine extract,” an ingredient in skin care products

ORIGINAL SOURCE

marine sponge (from U.S. coastal waters)

marine sponge (from U.S. coastal waters)

marine microalga

marine sponge

deep sea hydrothermal vent bacterium

marine microalga

bioluminescent jellyfish

red algae

Caribbean gorgonian (sea fan)

EXAMPLES OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE MARINE BIOPRODUCTS

Exploring the world’s oceans and discovering

new resources, both living and non living,

will lead scientists to further evaluate the potential

of these resources to be developed into useful

products to benefit mankind. Ensuring the identification and subsequent research and development

of these discoveries is a necessary follow-up to

exploration. Thus, important components of

a U.S. Ocean Exploration Program will be the

support of research by: 

— Enhancing funding initiatives within federal

 agencies to support early-phase research on

 discoveries with commercial potential. Identifying

 the commercial potential of both living and non

 living resources will require a multidisciplinary,

 coordinated, and integrated approach to explora-

 tion. Newly discovered plants, animals, microbes,

 and minerals must be analyzed using state-of-the-

 art technology to determine their usefulness as

 pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, and fine

 chemicals for research and industrial applications.

 Relevant federal agencies must ensure support

 for early-phase research by establishing new

 programs specifically targeted for research on

 discoveries from the Ocean Exploration Program.

 In addition to the programs that currently exist

 to support short-term, high-risk research on the

 living and non living "products" of exploration,

 federal agencies need to emphasize, prioritize,

 and fast-track research initiatives on the "products"

 of the Ocean Exploration Program.

— Providing incentives (such as tax credits, grants,

 and favorable licensing terms) to private industry

 to encourage the funding of research and develop-

 ment of discoveries with commercial potential.

 Private-sector involvement is critical. Although

 mechanisms exist to support and encourage partner-

 ships between industry, academia, and government

 (e.g., Small Business Innovation Research [SBIR]

 and Small Technology Transfer Research [STTR]

 programs), these programs are not oriented to

 support the early-phase research that is necessary

 to identify discoveries with commercial potential. 

 Incentives should be provided to industrial sponsors

 of high-risk, early-phase, research who are willing

 to support research directly or through ancillary

 program support. These incentives should include,

 but not be limited to, tax credits, grants, and favor-

 able licensing terms. Special attention should be

 given to incentives for ocean industries to provide

 platforms for data gathering (e.g., offshore oil/gas

 platforms, seismic vessels, drill ships) during

 routine operations and during windows of oppor-

 tunity for dedicated data gathering during ocean
| 4 4 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

 transits (e.g., mobilization and demobilization

 from remote areas).

— Promoting stakeholder support of research on

 the environmentally sustainable use of marine

 resources. Finally, and most important, it is

 recognized that along with identifying marine

 resources with commercial potential comes the

 obligation to protect such resources from over

 exploitation. Developers of products that require

 the extraction of resources should be strongly

 encouraged to support research on the potential

 for biological removal of living resources, including

 stock assessment, rates of growth and reproduction,

 and environmental sustainability of the resource

 and its habitat. The Panel endorses a precautionary

 approach to minimize the likelihood of detrimental

 effects. In most cases, taking from wild populations

 will not be a viable option to supply the development

 and marketing of marine bioproducts. Therefore,

 as a follow-up to exploration, both federal agencies

 and private-sector stakeholders must support

 research on the environmentally sustainable use

 of marine resources, including, but not limited to,

 bulk supply options such as aquaculture, microbial

 

 fermentation, chemical synthesis, and transgenic

 production.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The President can ensure that the knowledge

gained from ocean exploration is effectively made

available to ensure informed decision-making

relative to Marine Protected Areas by:

— Assigning leadership in this activity to an appro-

 priate federal agency.

— Establishing a broad-based task force to

 design and implement an integrated, workable,

 and comprehensive data management, information

 processing system for all information, including

 unique and significant features.

— Enhancing funding within federal agencies to

 support early-phase research on discoveries with

 commercial potential.

— Providing incentives to private industry to

 encourage the funding of research and development

 of discoveries with commercial potential. U.S. laws

 should be reexamined to provide proper incentives

 for potential commercial users of ocean discoveries.

— Designing mechanisms whereby those who directly

 profit from the exploitation of marine resources

 support research on their environmentally sustain-

 able use. 
OCEAN EXPLORATION

DIRECTIVE

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

June 12, 2000

Memorandum for:

The Secretary of Commerce

Subject:

A New Era of Ocean Exploration

Two years ago, the Vice President and I joined you, other members of my Cabinet, and hundreds of

others from across the country at the National Ocean Conference in Monterey. This historic gathering

drew together for the first time representatives from government, industry, and the scientific and

conservation communities to begin charting a common oceans agenda for the 21st century.

At the Conference, I directed my Cabinet to report back with recommendations for a coordinated,

disciplined, long-term federal ocean policy. In its report to me last year, Turning to the Sea: America’s

Ocean Future, the Cabinet outlined an ambitious and detailed strategy to ensure the protection and

sustainable use of our ocean resources. I am proud of the actions my Administration is taking to begin

implementing this strategy, including the Executive Order I issued last month to strengthen our national

network of marine protected areas.

One of the Cabinet’s key recommendations was that the Federal Government establish a national

strategy to expand exploration of the oceans. Although we have learned more about our oceans in the

past 25 years than during any other period in history, over 95 percent of the underwater world is still

unknown and unseen. What remains to be explored may hold clues to the origins of life on Earth, 

cures for human diseases, answers to how to achieve sustainable use of our oceans, links to our maritime history, and information to protect the endangered species of the sea.

Today, I am announcing steps to immediately enhance our ocean exploration efforts and to develop

the long-term exploration strategy recommended by you and the rest of the Cabinet. Together, these

actions represent the start of a new era of ocean exploration.

First, I am announcing the launch of three new expeditions off the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts.

As you know, these expeditions, led by the Department of Commerce in collaboration with private

partners, will allow the first detailed exploration of the Hudson River Canyon off New York, the Middle

| APPENDIX A - OCEAN EXPLORATION DIRECTIVE | 4 5 | 
 | 4 6 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

Grounds and Big Bend areas off central Florida, and the Davidson Seamount off central California.

Researchers will employ the latest submersible technologies and will share their discoveries with

schoolchildren and the public via the Internet and satellite communications.

Second, to ensure that these new expeditions are only the start of a new era of ocean exploration,

I am directing you to convene a panel of leading ocean explorers, educators, and scientists and to

report back to me within 120 days with recommendations for a National oceans exploration strategy.

In implementing this directive, you shall consult with the National Science Foundation, the National

Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection

Agency, and other agencies, as appropriate. The strategy should consider the full array of benefits that

our oceans provide, and should support our efforts to conserve and ensure the sustainable use of

valuable ocean resources. Specifically, the strategy should:

1 |

Define objectives and priorities to guide ocean exploration, including the identification of key sites of scientific,

historic, and cultural importance;

2 |

Recommend ways of creating new partnerships to draw on the tools and talents of educational, research,

private-sector, and government organizations, including opportunities for federal agencies to provide in-kind

support for private ocean exploration initiatives;

3 |

Examine the potential for new technologies — including manned and unmanned vehicles and undersea

platforms — to observe and explore the oceans from surface to seafloor and recommend ways to explore the

oceans remotely using new observatories and sensors and other innovative uses of technology; and
| APPENDIX A - OCEAN EXPLORATION DIRECTIVE | 4 7 | 

4 |

Recommend mechanisms to ensure that information about newly explored areas warranting additional

protection is referred to the newly established Marine Protected Area Center, and that newly discovered

organisms or other resources with medicinal or commercial potential are identified for possible research and

development.

In the early years of the 19th century, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned Captain Meriwether

Lewis to explore the American West. What followed was the most important exploration in this

country’s history. As America prepares to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark

Expedition, we have an opportunity to set our sights on a much broader horizon. The time has come

to take exploration farther west, and east, and south, to our submerged continents. In so doing,

we can challenge and rekindle American’s spirit of exploration, open up a whole new underwater

world of possibilities, and help preserve our extraordinary marine heritage for future generations.

William J. Clinton
| 4 8 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

May 26, 2000

EXECUTIVE ORDER: 

Marine Protected Areas

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS

EXECUTIVE ORDER

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of

America and in furtherance of the purposes of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431

et seq.), National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd-ee), National

Park Service Organic Act (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.),

Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act

(16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), Coastal Zone Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.), Endangered Species

Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), Marine Mammal Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1362 et seq.),

Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), National Environmental Policy Act, as amended

(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (42 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), and other

pertinent statutes, it is ordered as follows: 

Section 1. Purpose. This Executive Order will help protect the significant natural and cultural resources

within the marine environment for the benefit of present and future generations by strengthening and

expanding the Nation’s system of marine protected areas (MPAs). An expanded and strengthened

comprehensive system of marine protected areas throughout the marine environment would enhance

the conservation of our Nation’s natural and cultural marine heritage and the ecologically and economically sustainable use of the marine environment for future generations. To this end, the purpose

of this order is to, consistent with domestic and international law (a) strengthen the management,

protection, and conservation of existing marine protected areas and establish new or expanded MPAs;

(b) develop a scientifically based, comprehensive national system of MPAs representing diverse U.S.

marine ecosystems, and the Nation’s natural and cultural resources; and (c) avoid causing harm to

MPAs through federally conducted, approved, or funded activities. 

Section 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this order: (a) “Marine protected area” means any area

of the marine environment that has been reserved by Federal, State, territorial, tribal, or local laws or

regulations to provide lasting protection for part or all of the natural and cultural resources therein.

(b) “Marine environment” means those areas of coastal and ocean waters, the Great Lakes and their
| APPENDIX B - MARINE PROTECTED AREAS EXECUTIVE ORDER | 4 9 | 

connecting waters, and submerged lands thereunder, over which the United States exercises jurisdiction,

consistent with international law. (c) The term “United States” includes the several States, the District

of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, American

Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

Section 3. MPA Establishment, Protection, and Management. Each Federal agency whose authorities

provide for the establishment or management of MPAs shall take appropriate actions to enhance or

expand protection of existing MPAs and establish or recommend, as appropriate, new MPAs. Agencies

implementing this section shall consult with the agencies identified in subsection 4(a) of this order,

consistent with existing requirements. 

Section 4. National System of MPAs. (a) To the extent permitted by law and subject to the

availability of appropriations, the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior,

in consultation with the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the United States Agency

for International Development, the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection

Agency, the National Science Foundation, and other pertinent Federal agencies shall develop a national

system of MPAs. They shall coordinate and share information, tools, and strategies, and provide

guidance to enable and encourage the use of the following in the exercise of each agency’s respective

authorities to further enhance and expand protection of existing MPAs and to establish or recommend

new MPAs, as appropriate: 

 (1) science-based identification and prioritization of natural and cultural resources for additional

 protection; 

 (2) integrated assessments of ecological linkages among MPAs, including ecological reserves in

 which consumptive uses of resources are prohibited, to provide synergistic benefits;

 (3) a biological assessment of the minimum area where consumptive uses would be prohibited that

 is necessary to preserve representative habitats in different geographic areas of the marine environment; 
 | 5 0 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

 (4) an assessment of threats and gaps in levels of protection currently afforded to natural and

 cultural resources, as appropriate; 

 (5) practical, science-based criteria and protocols for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness

 of MPAs; 

 (6) identification of emerging threats and user conflicts affecting MPAs and appropriate, practical,

 and equitable management solutions, including effective enforcement strategies, to eliminate or

 reduce such threats and conflicts; 

 (7) assessment of the economic effects of the preferred management solutions; and 

 (8) identification of opportunities to improve linkages with, and technical assistance to, international

 marine protected area programs.

 (b) In carrying out the requirements of section 4 of this order, the Department of Commerce

 and the Department of the Interior shall consult with those States that contain portions of the

 marine environment, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States,

 American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, tribes,

 Regional Fishery Management Councils, and other entities, as appropriate, to promote coordination

 of Federal, State, territorial, and tribal actions to establish and manage MPAs. 

 (c) In carrying out the requirements of this section, the Department of Commerce and the

 Department of the Interior shall seek the expert advice and recommendations of non-Federal

 scientists, resource managers, and other interested persons and organizations through a Marine

 Protected Area Federal Advisory Committee. The Committee shall be established by the Depart-

 ment of Commerce.

 (d) The Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior shall establish and jointly manage

 a Web site for information on MPAs and Federal agency reports required by this order. They shall
 | 5 2 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

Section 6. Accountability. Each Federal agency that is required to take actions under this order shall

prepare and make public annually a concise description of actions taken by it in the previous year to

implement the order, including a description of written comments by any person or organization stating

that the agency has not complied with this order and a response to such comments by the agency. 

Section 7. International Law. Federal agencies taking actions pursuant to this Executive Order must

act in accordance with international law and with Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27,

1988, on the Territorial Sea of the United States of America, Presidential Proclamation 5030 of

March 10, 1983, on the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States of America, and Presidential

Proclamation 7219 of September 2, 1999, on the Contiguous Zone of the United States. 

Section 8. General. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed as altering existing authorities

regarding the establishment of Federal MPAs in areas of the marine environment subject to the jurisdiction and control of States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin

Islands of the United States, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands, and Indian tribes. (b) This order does not diminish, affect, or abrogate Indian treaty rights

or United States trust responsibilities to Indian tribes. (c) This order does not create any right or

benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable in law or equity by a party against the United States,

its agencies, its officers, or any person. 

William J. Clinton
Ocean Exploration Panel Meeting

August 21, 2000

Good morning fellow explorers! I say fellow explorers because I believe that each and every one of

us is an explorer at heart. You just had the good sense to make it your life’s work! As space explorers

observed over 30 years ago, Earth is a blue planet, an ocean planet. And just as those early explorers

set the nation’s commitment to space exploration, it is up to us today to build a foundation for a

renewed commitment to ocean exploration.

On June 12, President Clinton directed the Secretary of Commerce to put together a panel of America’s

finest explorers, scientists and educators. He wanted the best people to work on a very, very important

task: to develop a national strategy for ocean exploration. I thank each of you for responding to the call. 

Whenever we explore new frontiers — from the American west to outer space — we reap multiple

benefits — to our economy, our technology, our health and our culture. And, as we embark on this

new era of ocean exploration, we can envision extraordinary benefits. For example, the economic

potential of America’s unexplored oceans is vast. Gas hydrates may hold more than 1000 times the

fuel in all other estimated oil and gas sources combined. Already one new anti-cancer medicine

(called Bryostatin) comes from a marine sponge. This drug is estimated to have an annual market

value of over $1.2 billion. And there is more history under the sea than in all the museums of the

world. The ocean is home for treasures of antiquity, sunken vessels and the legacy of our maritime past.

And we have taken steps to protect this heritage. 

The first national marine sanctuary protects the remains of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor.

The newest marine sanctuary — the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary — will protect a collection

of shipwrecks in Lake Huron. It’s been said, rightly, I believe that we only protect that which we understand. By setting out on voyages of exploration and discovery, we build a foundation for conservation. 

Technology is already bringing once inaccessible areas of the ocean within reach of fishermen, miners,

and bio-prospectors. In some ways, we are playing catch-up to these advances. But, as we have learned

REMARKS TO THE OCEAN EXPLORATION PANEL

Secretary of Commerce, Norman Y. Mineta

| APPENDIX C - SECRETARY MINETA ’ S REMARKS TO THE OCEAN EXPLORATION PANEL | 5 3 | 
| 5 4 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

on land, protection must go hand in hand with exploration. Deep ocean exploration presents huge

technological challenges. And as we have seen with space exploration, the solutions often have broad

benefits.

In turn, we will bring back discoveries of new life forms, geological features and chemical processes.

Unraveling their mysteries will spur new developments. In the days of Lewis and Clark, Americans

waited months to learn about their discoveries. Today, through Internet and satellite communications,

you can take us along. As many of you have shown, students and teachers can share in the excitement

of planning and undertaking an expedition. 

As President Clinton noted in calling for a new era of ocean exploration, America needs a sustained

investment to reap the full benefits for society. Exploration is not partisan, nor is it the exclusive domain

of any agency. It requires the full participation of government and the private sector. And, above all,

a successful ocean exploration strategy must engage the public. A truly successful report will give us

a strategy to make all citizens explorers — and move ocean issues beyond this esteemed panel here

today. The effort to reach out and bring the excitement of these endeavors into America’s classrooms

is one of the best investments we can make. It is often said that children are natural scientists. This great

exploration endeavor has the potential to spark and nurture that curiosity through film, television,

and the Internet. But let’s also remember the adults out there — remember to reach out to the explorer

in all of us.

Ask yourself: Where were you when man first walked on the moon? That amazing event remains so

vivid in our minds because all Americans, indeed the world, were able to see it live on TV. That day

inspired a whole new generation of explorers. 

How will Americans be able to join you on your expeditions to new ocean frontiers? Will today’s 
| APPENDIX C - SECRETARY MINETA ’ S REMARKS TO THE OCEAN EXPLORATION PANEL | 5 5 | 

explorations inspire the next generation of ocean scientists — and at home explorers? An ocean

exploration strategy that reaches its full potential must tap all the expertise and resources available to

us. The exploration of the world’s oceans cannot be accomplished by one government agency, nor can

it be accomplished by government alone. 

I urge you, in your deliberations, to envision a new collaboration among governments, academia,

and the private industry that reaches out to everyone. In addition, a successful ocean exploration

strategy should explore through time. Voyages to remote places are essential, but so are those that occur

through time as well. The establishment of networks, observatories, and data arrays on the seafloor

and in the ocean’s water column often reveals more to science than a snapshot approach ever will.

Two hundred years after Lewis and Clark forever changed the American landscape, you can chart a

new course to explore the American seascape. My hope is that, with public outreach, future generations

will view this commission as a turning point for exploration of the oceans. Thank you all for your

willingness to be part of this critical task for our future. I eagerly await your report. May it mark a new

era of ocean exploration and conservation — a new era of stewardship for the oceans.

Norman Y. Mineta
Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA)

The EPA’s mission is to protect and restore the

environmental quality of ocean ecosystems. 

A priority must be established for the exploration

of coastal ecosystems because they are particularly

threatened by pollution, coastal development,

and overexploitation of resources. These stressors

can cause habitat loss, nuisance algal blooms,

hypoxia, toxic contamination of marine life,

and ecological degradation. Although coastal

systems are the most easily accessible to study,

our understanding of how they are structured

and how they function is still not well established.

To ensure that we manage these systems in a

sustainable manner, we must understand them.

We should explore coastal ecosystems with new

and efficient measurement techniques to establish

baselines for status and trends and to allow us

to interpret the causes and consequences of

AGENCY SUMMARIES

OF OCEAN EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES

 | 5 6 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

change. We must ensure that exploration and

discovery of the resources in the oceans do not

lead to overexploitation and degradation of these

same resources, as they often have in the past.

National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA)

NASA is one of the earth science discovery agencies

of the federal government. Scientific exploration

of the Earth is an essential step in understanding

weather, climate and natural hazards. It may also

assist in the quest for the origins of life. NASA’s

mission in the area of ocean exploration is to

support the migration of ocean observing techniques from research to operational use, conduct

and preserve high-quality, long-term, systematic

measurements of the oceans, facilitate data

exchange and real-time assimilation within an

integrated ocean observing system, and increase

public awareness of the critical role the oceans

play in our lives on Earth. 

To achieve this mission, NASA conducts oceanobserving missions that reveal the new and unforeseen phenomena in Earth’s oceans. NASA also

develops enabling technology for ocean observing

missions throughout the solar system, and contributes to the development of an integrated ocean

observing system. NASA also conducts research

missions that explore techniques for ocean observation, including new satellite technologies and

sensors for ocean remote sensing, in-situ ocean

sensors made ready for space environments and

vice versa, and creating or refining ocean circulation models.

NASA explores the practical application of its discoveries in ocean science though several partnerships

and programs, including the U.S. Global Climate

Research Program (USGCRP), National Ocean

Partnership Program (NOPP), Integrated Global

Observing Strategy (IGOS), and NASA’s Seasonalto-Interannual Prediction Program (NSIPP). 
| APPENDIX D - AGENCY SUMMARIES OF OCEAN EXPLORATION ACTIVITIE S | 5 7 | 

Dynamics (GLOBEC), Marine Aspects of Earth

System History (ESH), Surface Heat Budget of

the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA), Science Ice Exercise

(SCICEX), and Shelf-basin Interactions in the

Arctic (SBIA). Integrating research and education

is a high priority for NSF.

NSF provides significant support to facilities

and technologies that enable access to various

regions of the ocean and ensure effective research

and communication capabilities. NSF is the

primary supporter of numerous surface vessels,

including the academic research fleet (consisting

of 28 ships of various sizes), polar vessels,

and icebreakers. NSF is also a major supporter

of manned submersible activities. Other support

includes both the technological development

and emplacement of seafloor observatories, 

remotely operated vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles, and other instrumentation such

as communications technology. Finally, the Ocean

Drilling Program, supported by NSF in concert

with numerous international partners, enables

access to the Earth’s undersea crust by drilling

into the sea floor to recover rocks and sediment. 

United States Department

of Commerce, National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA)

Exploration is the first step in understanding

Earth’s environment, undertaking wise stewardship

of resources, and understanding ecosystem 

functioning. NOAA’s mission in this area includes

finding new resources, bioprospecting materials

from exotic species, inspecting new life forms,

investigating gas hydrates and associated ecosystems, and exploring mineral-rich geologic

deposits. Additionally, NOAA is charged with

protecting, developing, and conserving poorly

understood resources, including unexplored

fisheries, their habitats and ecosystems, deep

National Science Foundation (NSF)

The National Science Foundation is a primary

player in ocean exploration and discovery. NSF

supports disciplinary and interdisciplinary research

efforts and the means, particularly ships and

other equipment, necessary to access the oceans 

from the surface to deep in the sea floor. 

Core programs include investigator-initiated

research in biology, chemistry, physical

oceanography, and marine geology and geophysics, including research within polar regions.

Focused programs include Continental Margins

(MARGINS), Life in Extreme Environments

(LExEn), Ecology of Harmful Algal Blooms

(ECOHAB), Coastal Ocean Processes (CoOP),

Environmental Geochemistry and Biogeochemistry

(EGB), World Ocean Circulation Experiment

(WOCE), U.S. Joint Global Ocean Flux Study

(JGOFS), Ridge Interdisciplinary Global Experiments (RIDGE), Global Ocean Ecosystems
| 5 8 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

corals and live bottoms, and our cultural heritage,

which encompasses shipwrecks and submerged

cultural resources. In addition, NOAA’s ocean

management programs, such as the National

Marine Sanctuary System, seek to fill large gaps

in our fundamental understanding of coastal and

ocean phenomena through use of exploration

technologies and programs. NOAA is also seeking

to understand ocean noise, both natural sound

levels and human-induced noise, and their effects

on marine animals. The organization also works 

toward developing technologies to support exploration, which will facilitate access to remote, difficult

environments, surface to sub-sea floor, and longterm observations and sampling of the biota and

environment. NOAA’s mission also includes a

mandate to conduct education and outreach

activities to build an ocean constituency and educate the public on ocean issues. The three most

prominent ocean exploration programs currently

housed at NOAA are the National Undersea

Research Program, the Sustainable Seas Expeditions,

and the VENTS Program. NOAA is also hoping

to introduce an Ocean Exploration Initiative for

FY 2002, which would support discovering new

resources, understanding ocean sound, exploring

frontier areas, protecting America’s maritime

heritage, education and outreach activities, as well

as data management activities. NOAA strongly

supports the concept of a Census of Marine Life,

and technology development to improve fish

stock assessments.

United States Department

of Interior, Minerals Management

Service (MMS)

The MMS, a bureau of the U.S. Department of

the Interior, is this nation’s manager of mineral

resources on and under the sea bed of the outer

continental shelf (OCS). The bureau has a twofold mission: 1) Collect, verify and distribute

mineral royalties from tribal and federal offshore

and onshore lands and ensure a fair return to

the American public; and 2) Manage the oil

and gas and other mineral resources of the OCS

in a safe and environmentally sound manner.

In order to meet its environmental and safety

responsibilities, the MMS conducts environmental

and engineering research to provide information

for management decisions on all phases of mineral

resource development activities on the OCS.

This research is focused to meet management

needs for informed decision making. Environmental research is conducted through the

Environmental Studies Program, which has been

funded at $19.5 million per year for the past

several years. Scientists from academic and

research institutions, the private sector, state

agencies and other federal agencies conduct

virtually all of MMS’s research. The MMS has

formal research partnerships, called “Coastal

Marine Institutes,” with Louisiana State University,
| APPENDIX D - AGENCY SUMMARIES OF OCEAN EXPLORATION ACTIVITIE S | 5 9 | 

the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, and the

University of California at Santa Barbara. 

 While MMS research is directed to specific

information needs for OCS mineral management

purposes, some of that research has been

exploratory in nature and has led to major

scientific discoveries. Some examples are: discovery

of chemosynthetic communities and species in

the Gulf of Mexico; initial understanding of noise

impacts on marine mammals; better understanding of three-dimensional water circulation

on the shelf and slope; and knowledge about

the migration patterns of several species of

endangered whales via satellite telemetry.

Extensive MMS research efforts in the 1970s

and 1980s led to the discovery and classification

of numerous new species of benthic invertebrates

from the OCS.

Beginning in FY 2001, MMS will initiate a marine

biotechnology effort. Specifically the bureau,

working through its California and Louisiana

Coastal Marine Institutes, will conduct research

on the taxonomic and genetic biodiversity found

on offshore oil and gas platforms, and analyze

selected taxa for bioactive compounds that may

have pharmaceutical and other commercial

applications. Other research initiatives are the

intensive investigation of the physical oceanography and benthic ecology of the deep water 

(water depths greater then 350 meters) Gulf of

Mexico, and continued field investigations of

the impacts of human-induced noise on marine

mammals. 

United States Department

of Energy (DOE)

Ocean exploration to DOE is the search for

energy resources in the ocean’s coastal zones

and continental shelf. Offshore oil and gas

production has been an integral part of domestic

and global energy supply for more than 30 years.

That contribution has been made possible by a

vast investment in the knowledge, technology,

and infrastructure needed for production at

steadily increasing water depth. With the 

continuing decline in our domestic onshore oil

production and the projected increase in natural

gas use, the economic, safe, and environmentally

benign production of oil and gas resources in deepand ultra-deep water will be even more important.

To achieve that goal, DOE will partner with other

agencies, industry, academia, the national laboratories, and other stakeholders in developing the

knowledge and technologies needed. DOE will

also be seeking an understanding of the role the

oceans play in the Earth’s carbon cycle, and how

this understanding can contribute to climate

change. DOE has also been given the lead

responsibility for an interagency program on

methane hydrates — ice-like structures containing

methane — which are estimated to have a

resource potential exceeding that of all other
 | 6 0 | DISCOVERING EARTH ’ S FINAL FRONTIER | 

fossil resources. Understanding the nature and

behavior of hydrates and their possible impacts

on deep-water oil and gas production and climate

change, as well as determining whether their

contained methane can be economically and

safely produced, will be important elements in

our understanding of the ocean and its resources.

United States Navy

With the ocean critical to our national security

and its primary operating environment, the Navy

plays a key role in federal ocean programs. 

The Office of Naval Research supports ocean

exploration as part of its discovery and invention

program. The Oceanographer of the Navy is

responsible for all operational oceanography in

the Navy, including advanced research and

development to support it. Ocean exploration is

often an outcome and benefit of systematic in-situ

and remote data collection activities that the Navy

undertakes to map the ocean bottom and 

diagnose its structure and behavior in support

of military operations. Science and exploitation

are often built upon such ocean survey results.

Navy niches in such partnership efforts include

technology, data management, operational

oceanography, cutting-edge science, and the

opportunity for pure discovery.

United States Geological Survey

(USGS) 

Maps, in the broadest sense, are one of the most

valuable products of exploration. The mapping

of the deep EEZ through the mid-1980s showed

that systematic mapping can be carried out on a

large scale. The value of a systematic and phased

effort was also demonstrated. Detailed seafloor

maps invariably expose new features and provide

evidence of unknown processes. As map coverage

expands, the variety and large-scale structure of

the seafloor is revealed. Subsequent developments have enabled high-resolution mapping

in shallow waters. Results from the shallow

shelf are no less exciting and no less surprising.

Mapping is only one facet of exploration, but a

critical one that returns a picture of the previously

unknown and guides further exploration. 

 
On June 12, 2000, the President directed the

Secretary of Commerce to convene a panel of

leading ocean explorers, scientists, and educators

to recommend a national ocean exploration

strategy. The responsibility for convening the

panel of experts within 120 days was delegated

to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA), within the U.S.

Department of Commerce. At the request of

the Undersecretary for Oceans and Atmosphere,

Dr. D. James Baker, the NOAA Science Advisory

Board (SAB) selected the panel of experts,

and specifically designated the Chair of the

Panel. Technical experts within the federal

government were added to the Panel in an

advisory capacity.

The Ocean Exploration Panel was designated

as a working group of the NOAA SAB, a federal

OCEAN EXPLORATION PANEL

PROCESS

| APPENDIX E - OCEAN EXPLORATION PANEL PROCESS | 6 1 | 

advisory committee. The 23-member Panel

met twice. At the first meeting in Washington,

D.C., on August 22-23, 2000, they reviewed

current ocean exploration activities presented

by government agencies, industry, and non-profit

organization representatives. Following this

meeting, the Panel drafted their report. A notice

of the meeting was published in the Federal

Register and public input was solicited. The Panel

met again on September 14-15, 2000, in Monterey,

California, to review progress on the report.

The Panel’s work on this report was completed

through the extensive use of e-mail following

the meeting in Monterey. To consult with various

federal agencies during this process, an Interagency

Task Force was created. NOAA, NASA, DOE, EPA,

USGS, MMS, NSF and the Navy were represented

on this Task Force. NOAA provided all necessary

administrative and logistical support to the Panel

to carry out this assignment. Information and

points of contact were provided throughout

the process on a public website maintained by

NOAA.

Norman Y. Mineta

Secretary of Commerce

The Secretary of Commerce, Norman Y. Mineta, wishes to acknowledge the work of Dr. Marcia McNutt

and the Ocean Exploration Panel. The Panel maintained a rigorous schedule to create this report

within a mandated 120-day period. Additionally, the hard work of the Science Advisors to the Panel

assured that this report will meet the needs of a community of ocean technology and scientific experts. 

The Secretary also wishes to thank Marcia Collie, Claire Johnson, Michael Kelly, Christine Maloy,

Barbara Moore, and Pam Rubin, the NOAA support team whose hard work and dedication produced

this document and organized the working of the Panel.

For further information, contact:

NOAA Public Affairs

202.482.6090 or 301.713.2483

For additional copies of this report, contact:

U.S. Department of Commerce

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Office of Constituent and Public Affairs

14th and Constitution Ave., N.W.

Washington, DC 20230

202.482.6090

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

CREDITS / DESCRIPTIONS

Photographs and Illustrations

Cover

 Kerby, Terry. National Undersea Research Program/University of Hawaii

Page 8

 Map of Lamont Core distribution. Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

Page 11

 Deployment of a scientific device from an oceanographic vessel that tests the Conductivity, Temperature, and Density

 of water (also known as a CTD).

Page 13

 Map of the sixth largest impact crater on Earth found about 200 km south of Washington, D.C.

 United States Geological Survey

Page 14

 Multibeam sonar images permits in-depth characterization and mapping of the sea floor. United States Geological Survey 

Page 16 (top)

 Ice worms are the only known animal to inhabit gas hydrates on the seafloor. National Undersea Research Program

Page 16 (bottom)

 Map provided courtesy of the National Geographic Society © NGS 

Page 19

 Education and outreach captivates students, educators, and the general public. Wilder, Randy © Monterey Bay Aquarium

Page 21 (top left)

 The Alvin submersible. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution © WHOI

Page 21 (top center )

 The head of a statue in basalt representing a Pharao, which had been found during excavation of an archaeological site.

 Gerigk, Christoph © Hilti Foundation/Franck Goddio/ Discovery Channel

Page 21 (top right)

 A rendezvous between the DeepWorker 2000 submersible and the Atlantis passenger submarine off the coast of Hawaii

 during the January 2000 Sustainable Seas Expeditions. Evans, Kip F./National Geographic Society © NGS

Page 22

 Future scenario of global ocean exploration grid. U.S. Navy

Page 23 (left)

 Oceanographic vessel at sea.

Page 23 (right)

 Dense patch of sponges found at Davidson Seamount. Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute © 2000 MBARI

Page 28 (left)

 Vibrant christmas tree worms. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Page 28 (center)

 Vampyroteuthis infernalis, vampire squid. Reisenbichler, Kim/Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute ©1996 MBARI

Page 28 (right)

 Polyorchis pencillatus, midwater jelly. Raskoff, Kevin/Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute ©1998 MBARI

Page 30

 The Jason XII Expedition to Hawaii 2001 logo: A Living Laboratory. © The Jason Project

Page 32

 A diver examining a marine archaeological artifact. Gergk, Christoph © Hilti Foundation/Franck Goddio/Discovery Channel

Page 36 (top)

 Three seagliders aboard the R/V Miller in Puget Sound, WA. Seagliders are small remotely controlled autonomous vehicle

 that repeatedly glide down and up through the ocean as they measure temperature, salinity, current, oxygen, chlorophyll,

 and other properties. They are designed to dive as deep as 2 km, operate for many months, and travel as far as a quarter

 of the way around the world. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution © WHOI

Page 36 (bottom)

 The Autonomous Benthic Explorer known as ABE. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution © WHOI

Page 37

 Compilation of hydrophone sites for passive underwater acoustics. Fox, Chris/National Oceanic and Atmospheric

 Administration

Page 38

 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution © WHOI

Page 42

 The Alvin submersible with microchemical sensor in manipulator at a hydrothermal vent. Woods Hole Oceanographic

 Institution © WHOI

Page 44

 A molecular biologist refines probes for detecting toxic algae. Leet, M. Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute © 1997

 MBARI

DISCOVERING

U.S DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

NAT OI NAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRAT OI N

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE