INTRODUCTION
In December 2000, the United States Congress requested that the U.S. National Academies assess the feasibility and value of implementing a major, coordinated, international program of ocean exploration and discovery. An expert committee was formed and charged to address a specific Statement of Task (Box 1). The Committee on Exploration of the Seas includes members of the academic, legal, commercial, and non-profit sectors, with expertise in earth and oceanographic sciences, marine engineering, underwater archaeology, and national and international law and policy. The Committee held a series of working meetings and a large international workshop for the purpose of information gathering and deliberation and is currently drafting a final report. Recognizing the widespread interest in ocean issues, intensified recently by the deliberations of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, the Committee decided to issue this interim report presenting the Committee’s broad findings and recommendations. The final report, to be published in Spring 2003, will include much more detailed analyses of the justification for an ocean exploration program and detailed recommendations for implementing such a program at the national and international levels.
Box 1 Committee on Exploration of the Seas Statement of Task This study will assess the feasibility and potential value of implementing a major, coordinated, international program of ocean exploration and discovery. The study Committee will survey national and international ocean programs and strategies for cooperation between governments, institutions, and ocean scientists and explorers, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in these activities. Based primarily on existing documents, the Committee will summarize priority areas for ocean research and exploration and examine existing plans for advancing ocean exploration and knowledge. These findings will then be used to help characterize the technology, human resources, organizational structures, and funding that would be needed to address the identified priorities in the United States and internationally. Finally, the Committee will recommend strategies to facilitate such a program, including information regarding the countries and organizations likely to participate; the institutional arrangements needed (including the possibility of new treaties or laws); the technology and infrastructure needed (including manned and autonomous underwater vehicles [AUVs], ships, observing systems, and data management systems); and an estimate of the potential costs. |
COMPARISON OF OCEAN EXPLORATION AND OCEAN RESEARCH
The ocean remains Earth’s least explored frontier. A well-planned, international program of ocean exploration, taking advantage of new technologies such as AUVs will allow the discovery of the ocean’s living and non-living resources (Figure 1). International agreements (e.g., the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea, the Convention on Biological Diversity), and both new and existing partnerships (e.g., the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program), are key elements to establishing and supporting such an ambitious program of discovery. In the