Volume 29 Number 3, Fall 1986 7/ie Titanic Revisited ISSN 0029-8182 Oceanus The International Magazine of Marine Science and Policy Volume 29, Number 3, Fall 1986 Paul R. Ryan, Editor James H. W. Main, Assistant Editor Eleanore D. Scavotto, Editorial Assistant Katherine E. Taylor, Summer Intern Catherine L. Colby, Summer Intern Editorial Advisory Board 1930 Henry Charnock, Professor of Physical Oceanography, University of Southampton, England Edward D. Goldberg, Professor of Chemistry, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Cotthilf Hempel, Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar Research, West Germany Charles D. Hollister, Dean of Graduate Studies, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution John Imbrie, Henry L. Doherty Professor of Oceanography, Brown University John A. Knauss, Provost for Marine Affairs, University of Rhode Island Arthur E. Maxwell, Director of the Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas Timothy R. Parsons, Professor, Institute of Oceanography, University of British Columbia, Canada Allan R. Robinson, Gordon McKay Professor of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Harvard University David A. Ross, Chairman, Department of Geology and Geophysics, and Sea Grant Coordinator, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Published by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Guy W. Nichols, Chairman, Board of Trustees lames S. Coles, President of the Associates John H. Steele, President of the Corporation and Director of the Institution The views expressed in Oceanus are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. 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Please make checks payable to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Subscribers outside the U.S. and Canada, please write: Oceanus, Cambridge University Press, the Edinburgh Building, Shaftesburv Rd., Cambridge CB2 2RU, England. Individual subscription rate £19 a year; Libraries and Institutions, £35. Make checks payable to Cambridge University Press. When sending change of address, please include mailing label. Claims for missing numbers from the U.S. and Canada will be honored within 3 months of publication; overseas, 5 months. 7 Piling type 2 The Titanic Revisited by Paul R. Ryan Ballard, Alvin, }. ]., and ANGUS helped document the wreck site for posterity. 16 Low-Level Radioactivity in the Irish Sea by lames H. W. Main A look at the controversy surrounding the Sellafield discharges to the Irish Sea. 28 Research Plays Key Role in Growth of U.S. Aquariums by Eleanore D. Scavotto Some 24 new facilities are planned in cities across the United States. 36 Ocean Drilling Program Altering Our Perception of Earth by Philip Rabinowitz, Sylvia Herrig, and Karen Riedel A summary of the accomplishments made during the first nine voyages of the new IOIDES Resolution drill ship. 42 New Oceanic and Coastal Atlases Focus on Potential EEZ Conflicts by Charles N. Ehler, Daniel ]. Basta, Thomas F. LaPointe, and Maureen A. Warren NOAA group is producing strategic assessments of conflicts over resources within the EEZ. 52 Oceanic Architecture and Engineering in Japan by Paul R. Ryan, and Michael A. Champ Japanese architects are looking to the sea to build future cities, airports, and power plants. 63 Dodge Morgan, the Argos System, and Oceanography by Paul Ferris Smith World solo sailor's "companions" included a satellite transmitter and a host of other modern technical aids. r o URI Symposium Report: The Future of the World's Oceans by lames H. W. Hain Waste management seemed to be the key phrase of the day. Staying Alive— 72 Sea Grant and the Budget Battle by Lauriston R. King Learning from attrition. EPA Puts 76 the Ice on Ocean Burns by Sally Ann Lentz, and Clifton E. Curtis Europe may follow U.S. lead. California Oil Case 81 Tests State-Federal Coastal Role by Timothy Eichenberg Raising intriguing policy questions. o/- Steinbeck & Ricketts: Fishing in the Mind by Bruce Finson and Katherine E. Taylor The tide pools overflowed with biologists. Book Reviews 92 Front Cover: Piece of Titanic's ribbing, railing, and porthole. Back cover: video images from this summer's expedition (see story Page 2). Copyright© 1986 by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Oceanus (ISSN 0029-8182) is published in March, June, September, and December by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 93 Water Street, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543. Second-class postage paid at Falmouth, Massachusetts; Windsor, Ontario; and additional mailing points. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Oceanus Subscriber Service Center, P.O. Box 641 9, Syracuse, N.Y. 13217. The Titanic Revisited by Paul R. Ryan The stern was the hardest place to work emotionally. The bow was still majestic. It still had its nobility and beauty. The stern was a carnage of debris, and you felt it when you were there. You knew what final tragedy had been played out on that stern section. The whole appearance of it looked violent, destructive, torn. -Robert Ballard, July 30, 1986 • In the debris field, a patent leather shoe, and the porcelain head of a doll. • A coffee cup sitting intact primly on top of a huge, half-submerged boiler in the sediments. It must have fluttered down like a leaf through 12,500 feet of water on that fateful night and morning of April 14/15, 1912. • A small safe, one of four seen, the combination lock still looking brightly polished. A British crest clearly visible. The door arm inviting an attempt to open it. • A copper polished cooking kettle looking as if it might belong to one of today's fine restaurants in London or Paris. Other assorted pots and pans. • Corked, chilled champagne bottles still waiting for a celebration. • Numerous electric cabin space heaters, wood stoves, and lumps of coal. • In the bow section, a bronze statue, perhaps of the Greek god Titan. A final omen? • Portholes covered by "eyelashes" of rust, some of which appeared to be flowing from the buckled hull plating like icicles forming at the edge of a red river. • Thousands of calcareous tube skeletons of the wood boring mollusks known scientifically as Xyloredo, which died after an orgy that devoured most of the ship's elaborate woodwork, including the deck planking. I hese were some of the verbally filtered haunting high-tech images that were returned to the world this past summer as the result of Robert Ballard's second expedition to the grave site of the Titanic, lost when it hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic on a clear night in 1912 (see Oceanus, Vol. 28, No. 4). Some 1,500 people perished, making it one of the greatest maritime disasters in history. Ballard and a team of scientists/engineers* left Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on July 9 aboard the Atlantis II, the mothership of the three-man submersible Alvin. It took 3 Vi days to arrive near position at 41 degrees 46 minutes Latitude, and 50 degrees 14 minutes Longitude or approximately 350 miles southeast of Newfoundland. Ballard found the Titanic in September of 1985 while testing an unmanned vehicle named Argo for the U.S. Navy. His second mission to the Titanic involved testing a prototype vehicle, dubbed "Jason Jr." or "J. J." for short that will eventually be married into one Argo/Jason system. "Both are complementary vehicles," explained Rear Admiral J. B. Mooney, Jr., Chief of Naval Research, in a statement on 30 July 1986. "Once Argo finds an interesting object, Jason will be used for close inspection and sampling missions. Jason, when completed, will be a highly maneuverable unit that is tethered to Argo. It will have an advanced manipulator capability that will allow operation in very complex and confined regions, such as rugged undersea volcanic terrain or in wrecks. What this does is allow the eyes and hands of man to be present in dangerous areas without the risk and time penalties associated with manned submersible operations. "Jason Jr., the current developmental model which will ultimately evolve into the true Jason, underwent these sea trials to demonstrate critical system performance before the Woods Hole team enters the next stage of building Jason and integrating it with Argo. "The Argo/Jason system represents a major step forward in the Navy's capability for deep ocean search. More than 20 years ago, the USS Thresher was lost at sea, and required an extensive at-sea search which was hampered by inadequate search systems. Today, Argo/jason's development offers the Navy a very advanced system capable of searching more than 98 percent of the ocean bottom." At a press conference the same day at the headquarters of National Geographic, in Washington, D.C., Ballard, 44, a Senior Scientist in the Ocean Engineering Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Head of its Deep Submergence Laboratory, stated that J. J. had performed at 100 percent of capability about 50 percent of the time, considered a very successful outing for the first time at the operational depth of about 12,500 feet. Minor problems were encountered with J. J.'s four thrusters and 200-foot electrical tether line. The testing of J. J. was accomplished by the workhorse of the deep underwater world, Alvin. The tiny submersible made 1 1 dives out of a scheduled 12— numbers 1705 to 1716— with J. J. operational on five major occasions. The one down day for Alvin was because of battery problems. J. J. was tethered to Alvin and was housed in a basket * Robert Ballard, chief scientist, Deep Submergence Laboratory (DSL); Chris von Alt, Jason Jr. project engineer (DSL); Martin Bowen, Jason Jr. pilot (DSL); Emile Bergeron, Jason Jr. technician (DSL); Elazar Uchupi, in charge of ANGUS Program, Geology and Geophysics Dept.; Earl Young, ANGUS team leader (DSL); Tom Dettweiler, navigation team (DSL); Tom Crook, navigation team (DSL); Ken Stewart, film processing (DSL); William Lange, film and video editing (Graphic Services); Brent Miller, Jason Jr. telemetry system (DSL consultant); Lt. Pat O'Brien, U.S. Navy, deep submersible pilot; Lt. Brian Kissel, U.S. Navy, Jason Jr. pilot; Perry Thorsvik, still photographer; Nick Noxon, U.S. documentary film producer; Graham Hurley, British film producer; Paul Halston, British cameraman; Maurice Hillier, British soundman; Chris Wentzell, British video engineer; Lt. David DeLonga, U.S. Navy, MIT/WHOI Joint Student (DSL); Lt. Michael Mahre, U.S. Navy, Submarine Development Group One, Jason )r. pilot; and Lt. Jeffrey Powers, U.S. Navy, Submarine Development Group One, Jason Jr. pilot. 500 meters LIGHT DEBRIS HEAVY DEBRIS COAL Approximate size of area surveyed by Al- vin, /. /., and ANGUS at the Titanic site. Artist's conception of images in debris field as described by Robert Ballard at press conference. (Drawing by E. Kevin King) Symbol of a gilded age, the Titanic was the largest and most expensive ship of her time. Sailing from Southampton, she paid calls at Cherbourg. France, and Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland, before setting out across the Atlantic, At 11:40 p.m. on April 14. 1912. the Titanic struck an iceberg some 400 miles southeast of Newfoundland. By 2:20 a.m on April IS. the liner went under, there were 705 survivor! in lifeboats, but 1.522 persons lost their lives. Despite speculation that the iceberg tore a gash in the Titanic s bow. the 1986 expedition found no evidence of it R.M.S. TITANIC called a "garage" at the front of the 25-foot submersible. Between J. J. and Alvin, there were a total of 8 independent imaging systems employed on the two craft for the three-man crew to operate. These ranged from hand-held and mounted still cameras to SIT (Silicon Intensified Target) and CCD (Charged-Coupled Device) video cameras, both in black and white and color, respectively. J. J., described by Ballard as "a swimming eyeball," can "see" over a 170 degree vertical scan. At the same time, the operator of J. J. can see what the vehicle is "seeing" on a small monitor built into a compact joy stick steering device. J. J. has 4 propulsion units, orthrusters, and can be maneuvered very precisely. It carried both high-resolution color video and still cameras, operating on Alvin-supplied power of 30 and 120 volts. J. J.'s depth capacity is 20,000 feet or 6,000 meters. At one point, on the surface, J. J. slipped out of its garage, and started to sink. Divers went out quickly in a Zodiac and tied a rope with a buoy around J.J. The crew inside Alvin, then cut the tether and the divers pulled J.J. inside the rubber Zodiac. At another point, during a dive while J.J. was exploring the wreck, power was lost to the vehicle, and it had to be cranked back into its garage with the tether management system. The Atlantis II was not alone at the site. The Navy sent a submarine-rescue vessel called the Ortolan to rendezvous with the Woods Hole ship on arrival. There were 109 enlisted men and six officers aboard. In addition, there were five Navy submarine officers aboard the Atlantis II, three of whom dove on the Titanic. Ballard had taken numerous satellite fixes on his first trip to the Titanic, but had left no "markers" or transponders down. It was an easy matter, however, to lock into the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system, once on site, and find the Titanic again. The ship's echosounder confirmed the location of the wreck. The divers were blessed with weather "like a no-hitter" for their mission: near perfect. After the transponders were placed in a triangular pattern to help guide Alvin to the wreck site, the first dive, a reconnaissance mission began. What follows are edited daily radio reports from the Atlantis II to Woods Hole. July 13, 1986— Dive #1705 Ballard reported today that the Atlantis II arrived at the Titanic site at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, and set the three-transponder net around the wreck. Weather is "excellent." They found the ship with no problem. About 8:30 a.m. today Alvin began Dive #1 705. The wreck had been spotted on the All's echosounder Saturday night. Jason Jr. was tested in its garage at the wreck depth and worked very well. Ballard said there was about a 16 knot current at the bottom and reported seeing "a huge black wall" (the starboard side of the ship). The dive was very brief and the sub surfaced early in the afternoon because of a saltwater leak into Alvin 's battery pack. About 3 p.m., ANGUS (Acoustically Navigated Geophysical Underwater Survey) was deployed to do a 35 mm picture run through the night. (Ballard would later liken the side of the Titanic to a giant sequoia. "Being in Alvin, was like having your nose pressed up against the bark. You couldn't see the forest for the tree." SURFACE LIGHT HULL-MOUNTED CAMERA MANIPULATOR ARM WITH CAMERAS DSV ALVIN The world's most active manned submersible, Alvin has made 1,716 dives of exploration to depths up to 13, 120 feet. It undergoes regular updating to incorporate the latest technological developments. THRUSTERS WOODS HOLE OCEANO&RAPHiG INSTITUTION Alvin, 25 feet long and equipped to carry a pilot and two scientific observers, is linked to lason ]r. by a 200-foot-long tether, lason Ir.'s photographic images are transmitted to Alvin, enabling Alvin 's occupants to maneuver it precisely in confined spaces TASON JR. lason jr. was designed by the Deep Submergence Laboratory of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, with funding from the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research. 35-MN/1 STILL CAMERA COPYRIGHT © 1986 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY The broken hull of the Titanic lies in about 12,500 feet of water and points north-northeast. The bow apparently plunged into the sediment at about a 45-degree angle and then skewed to port. A huge tear occurs after the second funnel of the four-stack vessel and extends to the sediments at roughly a 45-degree angle. The stem section lies some 600 meters behind the bow and faces in the opposite direction. (Sketch © National Geographic Society). Ballard expected to begin Dive #1706 about 8:30 a.m. Monday morning arriving at the wreck around 1 1 a.m. If all goes well, he will stay down until about 3 p.m. Making yesterday's first dive were Ballard; Ralph Hollis, Chief Pilot; and Dudley Foster: today's dive will be made by Ballard; Martin Bowen, J. J. operator; and Hollis. (Ballard later said that the first dive would determine the level of pilot skill needed to make future dives.) July 14, 1986— Dive #1706 Ballard reported: "Had a spectacular day — about five hours of superb color video. We drove the whole length of the ship on both sides. We came in on the bow, sitting like a knife's edge with both anchors visible. The upper deck is dipping forward. We couldn't see the name — there are rivers of rust pouring down the side of the ship out onto the sediment. "We saw rows of portholes, with the glass still in place. We landed in Alvin up on the forward deck by the mast and looked at the windlass/bitts, and chains. We then drove up around the fo'c's'le up to the starboard wing of the bridge. We landed where the wheelhouse was and saw the ship's wheel — minus the wood — all polished. "We then came left and drove over the #1 funnel opening and out over the bow staircase, which is a truly titanic (for lack of a better word) opening. We went out onto the port side of the ship and looked into windows, back up over the ship where the stern is severed, and back down the starboard side. "We then made three high-altitude passes up and down the ship. "There is a very strong current — at least V2 knot, which makes maneuvering very difficult on the starboard side. We have to work bow-to-stern only because the current is like a wind blowing, preventing us from working stern-to-bow. "It was a breathtaking experience. We plan to put Jason Jr. into the grand staircase opening tomorrow and continue surveying the ship. "ANGUS will make another run tonight. Last night, it covered the gap in last year's data between the ship and the debris field. I understand the photos are excellent." (Ballard would later report that surface currents ran about 2 knots, while bottom currents ran between 1/2 to % knots.) July 15, 1986— Dive #1707 "Alvin dropped down and landed about 200 meters from the Titanic. We drove in through the debris field. There were lots of cups and recognizable debris. We rose straight up the side of the hull of the ship and went over and landed at the entrance to the grand staircase and flew Jason Jr. down four decks inside the ship and into a room off the staircase. "We looked at a beautiful light fixture hanging from the ceiling, drove around and back up the staircase region and filmed Alvin sitting on the deck of the Titanic. It was like landing on the moon, sitting on the deck, going four flights into the ship, and looking at the chandelier. We put J. J. back on Alvin and did a complete high-altitude reconnaissance with the Argo imaging system, getting beautiful downlooking pictures of the ship." (At a later press conference, Ballard said that it was "the oddest feeling knowing that J. J. was out there looking back at us with its light coming through our portholes — it was eerie, like a close encounter.") 8 July 16, 1986— Dive #1708 Ballard, Bowen, and Alvin pilot Will Sellars landed at several sites during the course of the 9-hour dive. The first landing site was by the wheelhouse. They sent J. J. down by the fo'c's'le first and then looked in the windows of the crew's quarters, then up the mast to the crow's nest and the brass mast light. "Beyond we explored the wheel in the bridge area," Ballard reported. "Our second stop was the boat deck and we went aft of the starboard wing. Then we went up into the first class entranceway and took J. J. through the door just a few feet and looked into the gymnasium." Next they looked into the officer's quarters and into the promenade. J. J. then went back down the stairs and penetrated deeper into the ship, viewing more light fixtures. They then brought J. J. up the stairs and out. The next stop was the bow. They put Alvin on the sediment with the Titanic looming up and over it. They looked at the anchor. They looked for the name of the ship but it was not there; the paint was gone. They then went up and looked at wording on a brass windlass about the Glasgow manufacturer. Recovery was made under foggy conditions. hard dive," Ballard reported. "The current was very strong, and there was a lot of particulate matter in the water, so it was a hard working dive. "The primary objective today was still imagery from the Jason vehicle and Alvin. With still imagery, you don't know what you've got until it's processed, whereas with the video you know what you've got immediately. J. J. had to fight hard in the current, but we worked on the main body of the ship, and tomorrow we are going to make our first trip down to the debris field. We'll just have to wait for a quieter time to try to go into the stern area. "We did work on the port side of the ship and went into sections of the ship we had not seen before. The boat deck on the port side — we had not really explored that. Then we did go down in the tear area (at the end of the bow section where the ship tore apart) and see inside the tear portion. Also one of the expansion seams is split open and we could look inside the ship and see a wood- burning stove. There seems to have been a fair number of wood-burning stoves aboard the ship. "We photographed the mast light — a big brass feature, and we could see a lot of hardware laying around the deck, doorknobs and things like that." July 17, 1986— Dive #1709 "Well, there are some dives that are easy, and there are some dives that are hard — today was a July 18, 1986— Dive #1710 "We entered the debris field," Ballard reported, "and we found large sections of the hull. It is hardly recognizable. It is just a tremendous twisted Two bitts, used to secure mooring lines, and a railing on the starboard side of the Titanic's bow. Debris litters a section of the hull of the Titanic's stern, peeled outward by the force of the great ship's destruction. A 200- foot section of the stern was found intact, but rotated 180 degrees, with parts of it buried in the ocean bottom, a third of a mile south of the bow section. pile of wreckage that is very difficult to maneuver in because it is so irregular and overhanging. We inspected a large part of it, almost the size of a city block, and then we worked around that large area. Radiating out around the area is a tremendous number of artifacts. It is actually like going to a museum. There are just thousands and thousands of items all over the bottom. "If we were ever going to see any human remains we would have seen them in this area, the closest we saw was a shoe, but no human remains at all. "We did find the ship's safes. They were rather spectacular. The one we went up to had a big handle that looked like it is either bronze or gold. It had a dial and beautiful British crest. It was polished clean. We went over with the manipulator (Alvin's mechanical arm) and grabbed hold of the big handle, but the safe wouldn't open. We then took a picture of it and moved on. "We saw chamber pots and wine bottles and stained glass windows. . .we did a lot of beautiful closeup photography of these artifacts. Everything you could think of was laying all over the bottom. The champagne bottles, by the way, still had their corks in them. "The current wasn't bad. It was easy to negotiate through the debris field, except for the stern area — that was a little dicey. "Tomorrow Martin and one of the naval officers are going down and they are going to be using j. j. on the bow. We are going back to the main part of the ship, and they'll be doing some high-altitude imaging runs." July 20, 1986— Dive #1711 Lt. Jeffrey Powers, U.S. Navy: "I made my first dive today. Along with me were Bowen and the pilot. We went to the bow and had some trouble with Jason Jr. We are correcting that problem now. Then we made some runs over the top of the bow section and looked for some places where we can deploy Jason Jr. in the next couple of dives. I was really impressed with the amount of decay, rust, and devastation that I saw. The cables and steel twisted all around. Kind of chaos and calamity. But it also was kind of peaceful and restful. The silent ship resting there, slowly dissolving in the ocean." Ballard: "Alvin experienced a battery problem, so we didn't go in the water yesterday. Instead we launched ANGUS, the remote camera system, and finally after all this time successfully located the stern section. It turns out that at least a third of the stern section is intact. We were surprised after looking at all the wreckage to find that much of the stern still in one piece. Tomorrow the mission is to explore the stern section and try to see, hopefully, the name Southampton* on the stern. We have not * Ballard erred. Liverpool was the home port of the Titanic. 10 seen any of the stacks; they continue to elude us; but we did find another of the ship's telegraphs, and we've been locating more and more boilers. We are continuing to expand our coverage." July 21, 1986— Dive #1712 "We landed on the bottom in the debris field about 150 yards from the stern," Ballard stated, "and drove up and did some high-altitude flying about that part of the ship trying to familiarize ourselves since we'd never been there before. The large debris field begins 600 meters south of the main bow section and extends another 600 meters further south. We used our Argo camera mounted on Alvin. Then we located the very stern of the ship and went down and landed on the sediments. "The stern is just sitting upright on the bottom. The front portion has buried itself deep in the sediments. The name of the ship was gone. Evidently it was just painted on and it just rusted off. There is no paint on the exposed part of the hull of the ship anywhere. The propellers are buried, but the rudder is quite visible. "Then we rose up and sat on the stern. At the very end of the stern, we placed a Titanic Historical Society plaque commemorating those who perished on the ship. We thought the stern was an appropriate place to place it since that is where most of the people died. It was the last part of the ship to go under. "Then we made a series of runs along the stern section, which is roughly 250 feet long, to the tear at the other end, and surveyed that whole section. Then after that we went and drove through the debris field documenting all the different artifacts both on still and videotape." July 22, 1986— Dive #1713 "This dive was on the main section of the ship," Ballard reported. "The major goal today was to photograph the entire exterior surface of the ship. I can almost say now that there is not a square inch of the Titanic that has not been photographed in beautiful detail in color. "We ran along the entire length of the hull along the waterline, along the sediment line — looking for the gash — and could see absolutely no evidence of a gash, although we did see several of the large plates buckled. "So the question is were we deep enough to see the gash? I know up in the bow, the very bow portion, the gash is not visible because the ship is buried so deep in the sediments. But as we got further aft around the bridge line and aft of the bridge, we were below waterline on the hull of the ship. We could see the water intakes, we could see the copper-painted hull, so we were definitely below waterline and down where the gash should be from the bridge on and didn't see anything. In fact, we were all the way down near the end at the stabilizing fins on the hull that helps against rolling. Rites of Passage, Drip, Drip, Drip When you close the hatch on Alvin at the surface, you begin a condensation process. This is not generally known by a person making his first dive in the tiny three-man submersible. Veteran divers tend to listen to classical music or nod off on the trip to the bottom — in the Titanic's case 21/2 hours. Every half hour there must be communication with the Atlantis II on the surface. Failure to communicate leads to automatic emergency procedures, such as a call to the Coast Guard. The pilot is encouraged to stay awake. On one of the Titanic dives, a U.S. Navy officer began to notice a drip, drip, drip, splat, splat, splat, coming from the hatch area as they descended to 12,500 feet. "My Cod! What's that," he shouted in alarm. Robert Ballard, looking up at the hatch as he has more than a hundred times, exclaimed, "We've had it. We've sprung a leak, we're sinking." After allowing for a moment of general panic to grip the naval officer, Ballard grinned and explained that the drips were the result of condensation caused by the extremely cold temperatures outside the submarine at depth. About that time the plexiglass in the conical viewing ports began to move slightly inward from the outside pressure, another normal occurrence. We didn't see any suggestion of a gash. But we did see several places where the hull is buckled in and plates were sprung — the rivets were sprung. Whether that was caused by the iceberg encounter or whether that was caused by the ship's encounter with the bottom, we'll just have to sit down with a lot of people and look at it. (Ballard later theorized that the iceberg popped rivets along the steel hull plating and that water had thus entered in this fashion rather than from a big gash. It would also explain why passengers had hardly noticed the collision with the iceberg.) "We travelled all the way back to the tear on the starboard side. We looked in the tear near the # 3 funnel (looking forward from the severed part of the bow section). It's just a chaotic jumble of wreckage in that area. The tear is at a 45 degree angle. We filmed all the windows in the hull surface into the officer's quarters, the radio room, the captain's sitting room — and then we filmed along the promenade, looking in the windows of the promenade deck. "We did not deploy ). ). today because of a motor problem. We concentrated on long photographic runs along the entire length of the ship. We circled the ship at least a half a dozen times, clockwise. We're very rich in images. It's going to take many experts years and years to totally absorb what 11 Diving on the Titanic / here is no movie I've seen or book I've read that could equal the eerie scene that I witnessed at the Titanic graveyard. The ship is draped in a cloak of flocculant brown ooze that drifts away when disturbed. The windows, which are clean on the outside, are sometimes coated on the inside, hiding the cold, dark secret of the contents of the rooms, a 74-year- old mystery. What remains of the Titanic is a partially decomposed ghost, blown apart at the third stack, spilling its innards all over the seafloor. Diving on the Titanic was like participating in a ghost story. It reminded me of the picture "The Flying Dutchman," a dark, cold ghost ship with moss hanging from the rigging. Our normal dive day starts before 6 a.m. with a predive check of all systems. Alvin is usually launched and submerged before 8 a.m. The Alvin pilots (there are presently nine) are a very special breed, hand picked for the combination of skills, character, and personality required for this occupation. Alvin is probably the most advanced deep submersible in use today. The propulsion system has been completely updated with direct drive brush/ess D.C. motors. Battery power has been doubled. Instrumentation inside the sphere has been completely renovated. External viewing lights have been increased to 1 1 for better viewing and video. We are continuously reviewing the needs of science. At this time, we have a new navigation system under development. We also are in the process of acquiring new manipulators for Alvin, and a precise depth system. In the near future, we hope to have a system that will give the scientist a detailed, real-time topographical chart of the bottom area on which Alvin's tracks may oe superimposed. -Ralph Hollis, Chief Alvin Pilot we've done. We'll be sending two naval officers down tomorrow (Dive #1714) for part of the training program with the Navy, and then the final day we will attempt more Jason penetration work, (Dive #1716)." July 23, 1986— Dive #1714 Lt. Brian Kissel, U.S. Navy: "We did not operate J. ]. today. We had mechanical problems. Nevertheless, it was really an eye-opening dive, much better than all the video that we had seen so far. We had much more depth and field of vision than you can experience with video or still photography. And you get much more of a feeling of the expanse of the wreck and the quiet tomb-like atmosphere down there. We were very happy to go down as it is just the end of the expedition. And having had significant problems with Jason Jr. throughout the course of the expedition, we were wondering whether we'd make it down or not. "We did do some still photography and used the video camera. We worked in between the bow and the first class cabins in the bridge area, and in the cargo loading area." Lt. Mike Mahre U.S. Navy: "The trip down today was the icing on the cake. It was super. I don't know when I've had a more thrilling experience- maybe, the first time I saw the Grand Canyon. "It's always better to see something in person; pictures just don't do it justice. When you're down there, looking at it close up, you really get a feeling for it, for its immensity, and you get that sense of awe. You look at the bow section — straight down from the top of the bow — and it looks like a tremendous wall, yet two-thirds of the bow section is buried in mud. We couldn't see anything of it. It's a big ship and we really didn't get that impression until we were there looking at it. You won't see that in pictures. "We were sorry about J. )., but that's what research and development is all about. You go out and try something, and if it doesn't work, you fix it up and make it better next time. So that's what we're doing. We're getting closer and closer to a decent finished product. That's where we're headed. I was not disappointed. I'd dive again in a heartbeat." July 24, 1986— Dives #1715 & 1716 Dive #1715 was aborted after problems were experienced with J.J. on the way down. It was decided to return to the surface to correct the problem. A second dive (#1716) was made the same day. Ballard: "Today was clearly the best dive (#1 71 6) of the entire series. Jason Jr. performed flawlessly; just did a beautiful job, and we took our most dangerous penetrations today. We landed the submarine initially on the bow and worked that area with J. J., but then we moved up to the port side of the ship near the wheelhouse just flanking the first officer's cabin near the bridge, landed Alvin on the boat deck, and then sent J. j. over the side of the ship and entered the promenade deck from the side of the ship and went in and explored that area. "In fact, we went up to a brass plaque that said 'This door for crew use only.' We could read it very clearly. We had a problem at the end when J. J.'s cable became entangled in some of the wreckage, 12 X-ray of the burrows of the wood-boring mollusk Xyloredo ingolfia Turner (Family Pholadidae) in a wood panel submerged for almost a year at 3,644 meters depth at the WHOI/ALVIN deep ocean research station 700 miles east of New lersey. The panel was 2.5 centimeters thick and asbestos backed. Note the calcareous lining of the burrows and the shells with which these animals bore. (Photo courtesy Professor Ruth Turner, Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology) but we were able to work it free and return J. J. back to Alvin. "After the dive, we recovered our transponders. We're now on our way home." When Ballard reported to the press in Washington that he had spotted a bronze statue in the bow section of the ship, possibly of the Greek god Titan, he revived memory of Morgan Robertson's 1898 novel entitled "Wreck of the Titan." The novel was about a large luxury liner of almost the same dimensions as the Titanic which hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank in the North Atlantic with great loss of life. After the sinking of the Titanic, 14-years after the fictional Titan, the novel was seen by some as an "omen" bordering on the occult. The stern section's distance from the bow led Ballard to the conclusion that the Titanic did not arrive intact on the bottom. He believes the ship either broke apart on the surface as it went down or that the shear occurred at about 1,000 feet when the stern section may have imploded. At his Washington press conference, Ballard disclosed that the stern section of the Titanic had actually twisted about 180 degrees out of phase so that it now faces opposite the direction of the bow, south-southwest. In addition to the artifacts already mentioned, four of the ship's huge boilers were spotted in the debris field, one with a coffee cup resting on top. Two of the most interesting observations from a scientific point of view were the "rivers of rust" found flowing off the hull plates, and the almost total absence of any wood, or, for that matter, any organic material with the exception of a patent leather shoe. Last year's photos had led Ballard to believe that the deck planking and other wooden items had survived. But on close inspection, it turned out that the planking, wheelhouse, and other elegant interior areas had been "eaten right down to the nub" by wood- boring mollusks. Work done at a nearby site in the North Atlantic by Professor Ruth Turner at Harvard and others had indicated this would be the case. Corrosion specialists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology plan to study the video tapes of the rust for clues to corrosion processes at great depth. Ballard said at a brief dockside news conference on his arrival back in Woods Hole that he was "confident the Titanic can never be salvaged and will never be raised. The bow section is in 50 feet of mud; the ship is in a state of deterioration and is very fragile. Any attempt to salvage will break it up." In fact, in addition to Alvin, only France's submersible Nautile and the U.S. Navy's SeaCliff are capable of operating at the Titanic's depth. It is Ballard's position that the Titanic site should remain an undisturbed memorial to those who died in the 1912 tragedy. The 1985 expedition that found the Titanic was a joint French/American project. The French did not participate in this year's expedition because of a reported lack of funding. 13 A cargo crane extends beyond the starboard side of the Titanic's stern section in a photograph taken from the towed camera sled ANGUS. Robert Ballard, right, discusses dive strategy with U.S. Navy officers aboard Atlantis II. Martin Bowen, second from left, a member of the Deep Submergence Laboratory at WHOI, operated lason /r. on many of the dives. After the expedition, in the spirit of this past summer's popular film "Top Gun" starring Tom Cruise, Secretary of the Navy John Lehman dubbed Ballard the Navy's "Bottom Gun" and presented him with a baseball cap so inscribed. (Photo U.S. Navy/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) 14 An officer's cabin window on the starboard side of the Titanic's boat deck appeared as the manned submersible Alvin surveyed the wreckage of the doomed ship. Looking straight down from the top of the Titanic, a photo- graph taken from ANGUS reveals a tear and collapsed decks on the forward section's starboard side. The hull is buckled outward, showing windows into the liner's prome- nades. A brass capstan on the bow. An Explorer's Club plaque was placed on a windlass in this region. The only thing raised from the Titanic during the summer's expedition was a small piece of rusted cable that hooked on to the ANGUS sled. It was thrown back overboard. The divers saw no evidence of human remains, which was predicted by a deep-sea microbiologist at WHOI last year. None of the Jitanic's four huge smokestacks were spotted in the debris field. Either they lie outside the area surveyed or they disintegrated on the way down from the surface. The wreckage of the Titanic lies to the east of a canyon on the continental rise. Ballard said the canyon may have acted as a barrier that prevented the ship from being swept away by the mud slide or turbidity current that followed a large submarine earthquake in 1929, which severed several transatlantic cables. By the end of the expedition, Alvin and J. J. had spent 33 hours surveying and photographing the Titanic, and ANGUS had spent 100 hours taking more than 57,000 pictures. For Ballard's part, he plans to finish the Argo/Jason project and then use the vehicle to explore the mid-ocean ridge system, a range of submarine mountains that stretches more than halfway around the world. Ballard said at dockside on his return that he hoped he had satisfied "everyone's curiosity," and that "there will be no need to ever go back.* I have no desire to do so," he said. Well, maybe not everyone's curiosity. I'm sure members of the Titanic Historical Society will debate the absence of any gash on the starboard side and Ballard's popped rivet theory for her sinking for a long time to come. Then there are those who are probably wondering what's in those four safes. There is an old adage that "curiosity killed the cat, but that satisfaction brought it back." There may yet be another tale in the Titanic telling. Paul R. Ryan is Editor ofOceanus, published by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution * Ballard is writing an article for National Geographic magazine on the second expedition to the Titanic. It will be accompanied by many new photos of the wreck. In addition, he plans to write an illustrated book about his Titanic adventures. 15 Low-Level Radioactivity in The Irish Sea by James H. W. Main In its January 1986 report on radioactive waste, Britain's House of Commons Environment Committee termed the Irish Sea, "the most radioactive sea in the world." The radioactivity is largely the result of sea discharges from the Sellafield Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Plant on the British coast at Cumbria (Figures 1 and 2). For nearly two decades, the Irish Sea has been a sea of strong emotions, divergent opinions, and varying interpretations of the available facts. The nuclear industry, governments, environmental groups, scientists, and citizens have all taken part. The understanding and decisions are made difficult by technology, concepts, and statistics that are not readily understood. At the outset, the Committee stated, "Of all the inquiries the Committee has tackled so far, this is undoubtedly the most technically difficult." The Sellafield installation is actually a sizeable nuclear complex. On, and nearby, the 600-acre site, are the reprocessing plant, storage ponds, the four Calder Hall nuclear reactors, a prototype Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor (AGR), a new thermal oxide reprocessing plant (THORP) under construction, silos for radioactive liquid waste, and the nearby Drigg solid waste disposal site. Sellafield has a number of distinctions. It is 55- 52- SCOTLAND whitehavcn SELLAFIELD Ravenglass arrow in Furness rpool -55" PRIMER For readers unfamiliar with radiation terminology and concepts, a primer appears on page 27. Figure 1 . The Irish Sea. 16 Figure 2. The Sellafield plant of BNFL on the Cumbrian coast. On the right are the four 50-megawatt reactors at Calder Hall; on the left the sphere contains the 33-megawatt prototype Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor (ACR), now being decommissioned. The original "Windscale Piles" are immediately behind the tall stacks. The reprocessing plant is in the center of the site, and the route of the discharge pipelines to the sea can be seen on the extreme left. (Courtesy British Nuclear Fuels Limited) the world's largest nuclear reprocessing site.* The site contains the oldest operating commercial nuclear power plant. It also is believed to be the largest repository of stored radioactive materials in the world. Prior to the April 26 Chernobyl incident, it was the site of the world's only known graphite- core reactor fire (October 10, 1957). It is the site of Europe's largest civil engineering project (the THORP plant). It has emitted more radioactive discharges than any other site. Largely because of Sellafield, Britain has discharged more radioactivity to the sea than any other nation. Finally, it is perhaps the world's most controversial civilian nuclear power installation. The history of Sellafield goes back to the 1940s. In a secret Defense Ministry project in the late 1940s, nuclear engineers built two nuclear "piles" to produce weapons-grade plutonium. The site was then called Windscale. In Britain, as elsewhere, military nuclear efforts evolved to produce civilian nuclear power. In 1956, Britain opened the world's first commercial nuclear power station, called Calder Hall, on the site. The * Other nuclear reprocessing plants in coastal locations are at the Cogema facility, at Cap de la Hague in Normandy, France; and the Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Trombay, Bombay, India. reprocessing began at Sellafield in 1952, with larger facilities coming into operation in 1964, and expansion and modification continuing to the present. The sea discharge of liquid radioactive waste dates back to the 1950s. Largely as the result of public outcry, Sellafield, nuclear fuel reprocessing, radioactive waste, the Irish Sea, and the health effects of low- level radiation have been examined in some detail. While Sellafield has a record of high discharge levels in the 1970s, and sporadic radiation incidents and accidents, the record also shows markedly decreasing discharge levels in the 1980s. The Irish Sea, however, has been, is still, and likely will be for some time, one of the world's most radioactive seas.* Radiation levels found in the seawater and on the sea bottom are magnified hundreds and sometimes thousands of times along the pathway to man. To date, doses received from this source have not exceeded internationally-established limits, although in the face of uncertainty, coupled * Eric H. Tucker of British Nuclear Fuels Limited advises (based in part on The House of Lords Select Committee July 1986 Report on "Nuclear Power in Europe") that: the natural radioactivity of the Dead Sea and the Great Salt Lake (Utah) result in greater total activity per unit volume than concentrations in the Irish Sea even in the vicinity of the Sellafield outfall. 17 with new findings, discharge limits and human dose limits have been continually revised downwards. Incidents and Inquiries In its 40-year history, Sellafield has a record of what environmentalists say have been more than 300 radiation incidents. After the October 10, 1957, reactor fire, the government statement was reassuring — and uninformative. After a few days, it was disclosed that a number of workers had been contaminated, milk within a 14-mile radius was ordered destroyed, and a contaminated area of 200 square miles was reported. In 1973, an accident to one reprocessing unit contaminated 35 workers with ruthenium-106. The plant was cleaned up, and is again in use, but in a different capacity. By 1977, while expansion plans were approved by the government following a public inquiry, government officials noted the depth and magnitude of public opinion. A more recent focusing of public attention stemmed from a November 1983 British television documentary entitled, "Windscale: The Nuclear Laundry." Three weeks later, plant washings were accidentally transferred to a sea tank and subsequently discharged to the sea. Widespread contamination of public beaches occurred, followed by a major clean up. At about this time, the name was changed from Windscale to Sellafield — in what has been termed a clear public relations maneuver to divert public attention. In January of 1985, the Environment Committee began its inquiry into radioactive waste. In July of that year, British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) was convicted on four criminal charges relating to the beach contamination incident. This year, 1986, again contained recurring incidents. In January, nearly a half ton of uranium was dumped into the Irish Sea. A week later, a mist of plutonium nitrate vapor contaminated 1 1 workers in a reprocessing building. In February, the government appointed a 12-member panel to begin a detailed safety audit of Sellafield. Finally, in the Sunday Times of February 16, it was reported that Sellafield discharges for the period 1953-55 may have been underestimated by a factor of 40. In its report, the Environment Committee found, "Not only is [Sellafield] not glamorous, it has become a by-word for the dirty end of the industry in the nuclear world. The impression it conveys is one of error and misjudgement. Against this background, it must be difficult for the industry to expect its figures on dose rates, safety levels, and minimal risk to be believed by the public." Not everyone agreed with this appraisal.* Joseph Lelyveld in the New York Times of April 6, 1986, reported that a member of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet, Peter Walker, the Secretary of Energy, dismissed the committee's report as "non-sense," saying Sellafield was "good for Britain and good for the economy." There is no * Radioactive Waste — The Nuclear Industry's Response to the Environment Committee's Report, was published in July 1986 by British Nuclear Fuels Limited and a consortium of industry and government agencies. It is available from Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London. doubt that the industry provides jobs, more than 10,000, and has provided economic rescue for West Cumbria following the closing of steel mills and coal mines. The harsh words expressed in the committee's report, however, were not one sided. Certain of the environmentalists, namely the Greenpeace organization, had much of their testimony discredited. The report reads, in part, "At times, the actions of some environmental groups are even more blameworthy than those of the industry. We were made forcibly aware of this by statements given in evidence by Greenpeace. Greenpeace stretched a passing reference to the point of extreme distortion, just for the sake of sensation or, more seriously, in order to mislead the Committee. Greenpeace's credibility as witnesses was certainly diminished in our eyes and considerable doubt accordingly thrown upon the rest of the evidence they submitted." The Irish View In Ireland, as elsewhere, the views differ. Dick Spring, Irish Minister for Energy, on March 21, 1986, called for the minimization and early elimination of the Sellafield discharges. He further stated, "The safety record at this plant has been less than satisfactory, and we have lost confidence in their safety procedures." On the other hand, George Duffy, Chairman of the Nuclear Energy Board in Dublin, on March 14, 1986, stated, "The level of radioactivity in the Irish Sea recorded by the Nuclear Energy Board's own Radiation Laboratory, and Irish college and university researchers, permits the Board to clearly state that radiation from this source does not pose a significant health hazard to the Irish public. What worries me. . .is the four 30-year-old Calder Hall reactors on the site. If I were offered the choice of stopping the reprocessing completely at Sellafield or shutting down the reactors, I would without hesitation choose shutting down the aging reactors. It is my opinion that they pose a greater health risk to us on this island than the much discussed discharges of radioactivity into the Irish Sea." The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Economic and strategic factors are used to justify the re-cycling of nuclear fuel. Spent, or irradiated fuel is not necessarily waste, since it typically contains up to 96 percent unburned uranium. Also, since plutonium is a man-made by-product of nuclear fission, and can only be obtained from reprocessing, reprocessing is of interest because of plutonium's use in the new Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs), and in military weapons applications. For continued operation, nuclear power plants require periodic replacement of the reactor core fuel, and about a third of the fuel is replaced every 12 to 18 months. A standard nuclear power reactor discharges about 30 metric tons of spent fuel rods each year. Reactors built in Britain prior to 1971, about 26 in number, are of the "Magnox" type. The name comes from the magnesium alloy casings (also called "canning" or "cladding") inside which the natural uranium fuel rods are housed. 18 Figure 3. Reprocessing fuel from overseas involves sea transport of spent nuclear fuel. Several purpose-built ships owned by BNFL's subsidiary, Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited, or by BNFL itself, are used. The larger ships each have a capacity of 28 flasks and a total load of 60 tons of spent fuel. The fuel flasks are offloaded at the BNFL terminal at Barrow. (Courtesy BNFL) Inside the reactor, the fuel is placed in a graphite moderator, cooled by carbon dioxide. The reprocessing at Sellafield was originally established for the reprocessing of this Magnox-type fuel. The reprocessing takes place in several stages. But before any reprocessing can begin, a period of submerged storage is required, as the spent fuel is typically hot and radioactive upon its removal from the core. Therefore, the fuel is placed in water-filled storage ponds at the reactor site for about 6 months (water is a very effective radiation shield and dissipator of heat) to allow the radioactivity and heat output to decline. Later, after transport to the reprocessing site (Figures 3 and 4), it typically receives additional time in fuel-storage ponds. In the first stage of the actual reprocessing, the Magnox cladding is mechanically stripped off the uranium rods. The stripped cladding becomes stored solid radioactive waste. The uranium rods are next put through a series of acid baths and treated chemically to separate out the unburned uranium, the plutonium, and the "fission products" (radioactive debris from the atoms split by the chain reaction). The uranium and plutonium can then be stored and re-cycled. More recently, Britain has developed Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactors (AGRs), which burn more efficiently. Here, the fuel is composed of uranium-oxide pellets encased in stainless steel. But, the existing facility cannot reprocess fuel from these newer AGR reactors. To accommodate this fuel, Britain decided in 1977 to build a new thermal-oxide reprocessing plant (THORP) at Sellafield. The THORP plant, scheduled to be completed in 1992, is to treat 6,000 tons of spent fuel from Britain and abroad in its first 10 years. When completed, it will be the largest such facility in existence. figure 4. The fuel flasks are transferred to special BNFL- owned railway cars for transport to Sellafield. The fuel transport flasks comply with the regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency. (Courtesy BNFL) 19 AUTHORIZED LEVELS 6000 E 111 5000- E III a O 4000 111 o 3000 W 2000 111 1000 AUTHORIZED LEVELS n 1950 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 Discharges to the sea of "total alpha" from the Sellafield site. Not shown by the graph is that the total alpha radiation is a fraction of the total radioactivity discharged. For example, in 1978, the total alpha was 1,800 Curies, while the total radioactivity discharged was 218,000 Curies (Data from C. ]. Hunt, MAFF Aquatic Monitoring Reports) In all its reprocessing operations, Britain depends heavily on foreign contracts. British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL), the government-held company operating Sellafield, has reported contracts with utilities in Japan, West Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, and Canada. The business thus generated is sizeable — and may form up to two-thirds of the total revenues. In 1985, for example, BNFL reported profits from foreign contracts totalling $188 million. BNFL also reported that a large portion of the construction costs of the new THORP plant, some $2 billion, have been underwritten in advance by orders from foreign utilities. Clearly, Britain, like several other countries, has a large and strong commitment to nuclear power. This is based on both economics and resources. Britain has no uranium of its own. This, at a time when uranium prices were high, led to an interest in reprocessing. Further, because of a shortage of land for storage (like Japan), an interest in discharge was created. Since then, the nuclear business has become a strong and economically attractive undertaking. However, since the 1970s, when much of the Sellafield planning took place, the world has undergone several changes: 1. Electricity demand in Britain is significantly less than forecast in 1978, 2. Nuclear power programs around the world have fallen well short of the growth expected in 1978, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, 3. New and very high-quality uranium reserves have been found in Canada and Australia, 4. The expected shortfall in uranium supply relative to demand has not materialized. The price of uranium has dropped dramatically, and is expected to remain low for some time to come. These factors may influence the activity at 20 Sellafield, although it is unlikely that they will change the direction. A second set of factors has come to the fore since the 1970s — an increasing concern with the effects of radioactive waste on the environment, and on human health. The problem with reprocessing, from the environmental point of view, is the large quantities of radioactive waste it produces. Sellafield Discharges There are two basic methods for dealing with radioactive waste: containment and discharge. With containment, the philosophy is to isolate the waste to prevent exposure to harmful effects. With discharge, the philosophy is to release the wastes in such a way that dispersion and dilution render them harmless. Both treatments have many facets, and both methods are acknowledged to be imperfect. Sellafield, like other installations, does both. In this article, the focus is on the sea discharge of low-level* liquid wastes. The sea discharges from Sellafield contain a suite of radioactive components, a suite that varies over time in both composition and quantity relative to the operation of the plant. The radioactive discharges arise from a number of sources — fuel storage ponds, reprocessing streams, and plant- cleaning operations. Using cesium-137 as an example, from 1970 to 1974, 70 percent of the discharge came from the storage of irradiated fuel rods under water in the cooling ponds. (Ironically, the spent Magnox fuel is shielded in storage ponds, but the submerged cladding deteriorates, releasing radioactivity to the pond water — which then must be dealt with.) Since 1974, more than 90 percent of the radioactivity has come from storage, and less than 10 percent from fuel reprocessing. In normal practice, a fraction of the pond water is * Low-level wastes (LLW) are generally classified as high- volume waste of low radioactivity. The term is felt to be somewhat misleading, as LLW sometimes contains long- lived alpha-emitters which may be potentially harmful. continuously replaced and discharged. This sea discharge takes place, at present, through twin pipelines, 0.3 and 0.5 meters in diameter, and some 2.5 kilometers long, to the seabed at a depth of about 20 meters. Low-level radioactive waste is discharged, heavily diluted, in quantities of up to 1 million gallons of water per day. The most significant discharges from Sellafield, because of their long half-life are cesium-137 and -134, ruthenium-106, strontium-90, plutonium-239, and americium-241.* To date, Sellafield has handled more than 25,000 tons of spent fuel (a mix of civilian and military material). The theoretical annual capacity is 1,500 tons, and up to 1,100 tons of spent Magnox fuel is in storage at any one time — awaiting reprocessing. In the mid-1970s, Sellafield released about 200,000 Curies per year into the Irish Sea. In 1984, this had been decreased to 45,000 Curies. The Irish Sea The Irish Sea is taken to extend from the Mull of Galloway to a line from St. David's Head to Carnsore Point (Figure 1). A series of depressions forms an axial trough extending the whole length of the Irish Sea from north to south, roughly parallel to the Irish Coast, and lying 20 to 30 miles from it. The trough contains a number of closed sedimentary basins. It is flushed almost wholly by Atlantic Ocean water that enters from the south through St. George's Channel. There is a counterclockwise gyral circulation within the Irish Sea, a very small and probably sporadic return flow southward out of St. George's Channel, and some variability in the distribution of outflow water northward into the Scottish Coastal Current. Nevertheless, the mean circulation patterns of the Irish Sea are relatively simple and constant (Figure 5). The discharges from Sellafield into the Irish Sea fall generally into two components, the soluble and the non-soluble. The distribution of the soluble water-borne radionuclides is illustrated by cesium- 137 (Figure 6), while the distribution of the non- soluble, largely sediment-bound, fraction is illustrated by plutonium-239/-240 (Figure 7). The soluble radionuclides in the discharges have an Irish Sea residence time of about two years. They then are moved northward through the North Channel, around Scotland, and into the North Sea. Residence times in the North Sea increase from north to south, from a few months to less than two years. Dilution in the main Sellafield plume between the Irish Sea outflow and the North Sea inflow, though variable over the short-term, is estimated to average a factor of three. The available data convincingly demonstrate that the flow around Scotland into the North Sea is the major pathway for the dispersion of nuclide- labelled water leaving the Irish Sea. The radionuclide-bearing waters are in turn discharged * Cesium-134 and ruthenium-106 are not particularly long-lived, relative to the others, with half-lives of 2 years and 1 year, respectively. . a Hague 64 -56° 48° Figure 5. Surface circulation patterns in the vicinity of the discharged nuclear fuel reprocessing wastes to the Irish Sea. The location of the Fisheries Research Laboratory in Lowestoft, responsible for studies of radioactivity in surface and coastal waters of the British Isles, is also shown. (After Livingston and others, ). Mar. Res. 40(1): 259) The Hanford Discharges B ritain was not the tirst to discharge radioactive wastes to the sea. The first deliberate introduction of anthropogenic radioactivity into the ocean was via the Columbia River when nuclides were added to the river at the Hanford Reservation near Richland, Washington, 360 miles upstream from the mouth of the river. Beginning in the 1940s, thousands of Curies of low-level nuclides were discharged through the cooling water of Hanford's reactor plants. Unlike present nuclear power reactors where the primary coolant is contained in a closed system, the Hanford plutonium production reactors were cooled by water that passed through the reactors and was then discharged into the Columbia River. Nine reactors were built at Hanford; during full operation (from 7955 to 1964) about 1,000 Curies per day were deposited directly into the Columbia. The first plutonium-producing reactor at Hanford began operations in 1944, and the last reactor to be cooled by river water was shut down in January 1971 . The results of the investigations by independent academic researchers concluded that the discharge from the Columbia River into the North Pacific Ocean at the rate of about 1,000 Curies per day did not affect marine organisms or jeopardize the health of man. —Source: NACOA 1984 Report, p. 91 21 55 54 53 52 52L Figure 6. The concentration, in picoCuries per liter, of cesium-137 in seawater of the Irish Sea; (A) July 1973, (B) lanuary 1976, (C) May 1978, and (D) November 1984. Radiocesium values in the Irish Sea peaked in the mid-1970s and have decreased since. (Redrawn with permission from D. F. lefferies and others, 1982, Deep-sea Research 29(6A): 724-725; and G. I. Hunt, 1985, MAFF Aquatic Environment Monitoring Report No. 13) 22 from the North Sea to the Norwegian Coastal Current. While there are measurable quantities of the Sellafield effluent in the North Atlantic surface circulation, according to Hugh D. Livingston, Senior Research Specialist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, most of the release appears to be headed toward, or is already resident in, the sub-Arctic seas and the Arctic Ocean. The sediments of the Irish Sea have become the sink for the non-soluble components of the Sellafield discharges. This component tends to adsorb strongly onto particulate matter, and is carried to the seabed, where it accumulates. As a result, such nuclides as plutonium, americium, and ruthenium are mostly immobilized in the sediments near to the discharge point, within approximately 30 kilometers. It is known, for example, that more than 90 percent of the plutonium discharged from Sellafield appears to reside in these sediments, and some sediments are contaminated with up to 105 picoCuries per gram of plutonium-239/-240 (this is about 3 orders of magnitude greater than what would be considered normal background levels). R. J. Pentreath and others (see Selected References) report that at least 6,500 Curies of plutonium-239/-240 and 7,800 Curies of americium-241 are associated with the seabed in a coastal strip 30 kilometers wide in the vicinity of Sellafield. (According to Livingston, typical "background" levels, due primarily to bomb fallout, in an area of 1 ,000 square kilometers of coastal marine sediment at this latitude, would be about 2 Curies of plutonium-239/-240 and about 0.5 Curies of americium-241 .) The sediment sink, however, is neither perfect nor permanent. The Environment Committee stated, "that radionuclides arrive back on land is confirmed in research." The pathways to man from this source appear to be via two principal directions: indirectly through shellfish, and directly through contact with resuspended sediments. Results reported by the Environment Committee show that the dominant radioactivity in shellfish is attributable to ruthenium-106, and that concentrations in the vicinity of Sellafield are high as compared with other areas. As an example, the mean radioactivity of winkles (small, edible, sea snails) taken from the Sellafield shoreline was 486,000 picoCuries per kilogram, compared to 2,000 picoCuries per kilogram in samples from other areas around the British Isles. A second mechanism for return is through the resuspension of sediment (storms and local hydrography), which results in some accumulation of radioactive muds in estuaries and salt marshes on the nearby coasts. In general, it is the fine- grained muds and silts prevalent in estuaries and harbors, rather than the coarser-grained sands on the beaches, which adsorb the radioactivity. Radiation exposure via this sediment pathway may be generalized exposure (gamma radiation); direct — from contact with muds or fishing gear; or through ingestion and inhalation — of silts exposed at low tide, dried, and subsequently airborne. These factors are taken into account when calculating the radiation exposure of local Figure 7. Estimated quantities, in picoCuries per square meter, of plutonium-239/-240 lying within the top 30 centimeters of the Irish Sea sediments as of 1977/78. (Redrawn with permission from R. /. Pentreath and others, 1986) fishermen who regularly work on the mud-flats. In general, the Committee viewed the radionuclide-bearing sediments as the most significant pathway to man. Moreover, they state, "the environment around Sellafield has effectively become an open store of long-lived radioactivity," and that due to, "especially the alpha-emitters. . . the Irish Sea will be a source of radiochemical pollution for many years to come." There may be additional difficulties in the sediments. New Scientist on February 27, 1986, reported that, "were operations to end at Sellafield tomorrow, the radioactive pollution of the Irish Sea would continue to increase. Some nuclear waste decays into radionuclides which are more dangerous, biologically, than their parent compound. Plutonium-241 as discharged from the Sellafield pipeline is a low-energy beta emitter. But, it decays fairly rapidly to form americium-241, a high-energy alpha emitter. By the end of the next century, it is calculated that alpha emissions will be appearing in the Irish Sea at a rate which is greater than the alpha discharge limit of the Sellafield Plant before 1970." Lastly, it appears that some of these radionuclides are not restricted to the sediments. Several recent studies reported by Livingston and others have indicated that small but significant concentrations of plutonium and americium do not adsorb to the sediments, but rather move with the soluble nuclides dispersed in the circulating water. Bioaccumulation and Critical Pathways Results have shown that "dilute and disperse" works only imperfectly for the sea discharge of liquid radioactive wastes. Although all mechanisms and pathways are far from being known, radionuclides have been shown to return to land and ultimately to the human environment. Several examples are illustrative. One of the early pathways to man involved 23 Radiation and Human Health I he relationship between low-level radiation and human health is, at present, unclear. The concern, of course, is that radiation leads to cancers and genetic defects. But, conclusions about the effects of low-level radiation on human health are based on an array of facts that include radiation science, risk estimates, and statistical analyses. Although there is a good deal of uncertainty, the current literature reports general agreement on several points: • Cells most affected by radiation are those that are rapidly dividing, such as blood and blood- forming (bone marrow), basil skin layers, intestinal lining, and in males, germ cells. Data also suggest that the embryo, fetus, and young child are relatively susceptible to carcinogenic effects of radiation. • Just as bioaccumulation occurs in marine organisms used as food, bioaccumulation likewise occurs in human tissue. Radionuclides are known to accumulate in the intestine, thyroid, muscles, bone, and other organs and tissues. • There is no threshold level of radiation. That is, there is no level of radiation exposure that is without effect. • Under normal circumstances, more than 95 percent of the radiation a person receives is a total of natural (from cosmic rays and naturally-radioactive materials on and in the earth), and medical (from X-rays, radioisotopes, and other radiation treatments). Less than / percent is from man-made nuclear releases. • Radiation-induced cancers and genetic effects have no distinguishing features by which they can be recognized, and, they often do not appear until years or decades atter the irradiation. Further, similar cancers and mutations often occur in the absence of any radiation, natural or man-made, and are attributable to other causes. • Statistics used to infer probabilities of childhood cancers and other radiation effects have sometimes been misused. Statistical inference is at its most robust with high incidence rates, large sample sizes, and long time scales. It is least reliable at low incidence rates, small sample sizes, and short time scales. The overall view is accurately reflected in the conclusions of the Environment Committee on this top/'c. /After reviewing its evidence, the Committee stated, ". . . so far, there is no proof to show that discharges have caused adverse health effects to humans." In the face of uncertainty, however, it, like many others, recommended a reduction in discharges. It also noted, "throughout its history, the nuclear industry's discharge limits have had to be continually revised downwards as more knowledge about health effects has become available, and this is good reason to be at least cautious rather than dismissive in our approach." . ., —Catherine L Colby the seaweed, Porphyra umbilicalis, a seaweed harvested and used in the preparation of a Welsh delicacy called laverbread. In the vicinity of Sellafield, Porphyra accumulated 10 times the concentration of cesium-1 37, and 1 ,500 times the concentration of ruthenium-106 found in the water. Despite the high concentrations of radioactive materials in these algae, they were unaffected by them. Surveys carried out in South Wales (where almost all the consumption took place) showed that 26,000 people consumed up to 75 grams per day of laverbread regularly. A small group of 170 adults, however, had individual consumption rates of about 160-388 grams per day. Of the variety of radionuclides concentrated by Porphyra, the most important was ruthenium- 106, which accumulates in the lower large intestine. Calculations based on conservative assumptions showed that the critical sub-group was receiving between 25 to 50 percent of the maximum recommended annual dose limit (set by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP)) via this pathway. In the mid- 1970s, Porphyra ceased to be a significant pathway when it was no longer used in the preparation of laverbread. Fish and shellfish next emerged as the critical pathway to man. In this case, the dominant radioactivity in fish is attributable to cesium-1 37. Locally-caught fish assumed a critical position. In 1976, the critical group among members of the public received 25 percent of the ICRP- recommended dose of cesium-1 37 from this source. In subsequent years, the figure was reduced to about 10 percent of the limit, as discharges were reduced and preventive measures were enacted. In shellfish, the dominant radioactivity is from ruthenium-106 and other non-soluble radionuclides.* In 1982, new surveys by the * Naturally-occurring radionuclides also are concentrated within the marine food chain. For example, P. McDonald and others (/. Environ. Radioactivity 3: 293-303, 1986) report that mussels in the vicinity of Sellafield, as well as 24 Nuclear reactors operating and under construction as of 1981 — 565 nuclear reactors for generating electric power in 39 countries. (Courtesy Rockefeller Foundation Illustrated 5: 8-9, 1981) Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (MAFF) revealed that the estimated consumption by the critical group of consumers had increased threefold, and that their intake of plutonium and americium had increased by a similar factor. It had also been discovered that the uptake of plutonium from food by the human gut is five times higher than was formerly thought. The dose of plutonium received by the critical group was thus increased by a factor of 15, bringing their total exposure to 39 percent of the ICRP annual dose limit. Subsequently, steps are now being taken to further reduce the discharges of alpha-radioactivity. An Improving Trend Since the high discharge levels of the 1970s, there had been a substantial investment by BNFL aimed at reducing discharges. As a result, discharges to the sea from Sellafield have been progressively reduced during the last 10 years. In general, 1984 discharges were 1/10 of the 1974 levels. A cable from John G. Shaughnessy of the BNFL Information Services Department reports that, "discharges, which in 1984 had amounted to 1 1 percent of the authorized limit for beta and 6 percent for alpha, were halved in 1985. These levels are scheduled to be substantially further reduced to near zero progressively over the next few years." BNFL and MAFF monitoring programs likewise report that radioactivity levels in the from remote British and French coastal sites, concentrate naturally-occurring pollonium-210, an alpha-emitter with a half-life of 138 days. The levels may equal or exceed those due to plutonium and americium from localized discharges, and may be a major contributor to human radiation exposure in some instances. waters of the Irish Sea have been declining in the past 6 to 8 years. However, while the water-borne radioactivity is decreasing both due to the reduction in discharges and the flushing from the Irish Sea, the sediments in the vicinity of Sellafield remain both a repository and a source of radioactivity. The Global View While the Sellafield discharges are primarily a regional issue, on the broader scale, they, like most discharges or inputs, are also a global issue. As regional discharges disperse, they become trans- boundary in nature, and subsequently constitute a portion, large or small, of the total capacity of the world oceans. These policy issues are addressed in Oceanus, Vol. 24, No. 1. On both the regional and the global level, cumulative effects are being considered. While individual and isolated inputs to a large, but finite ocean may, in themselves, be inconsequential, a continuing accumulation of radioactive waste is occurring. The approximately 360 nuclear detonations by the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France, and China are estimated to have input about 55 million Curies of radioactive cesium and strontium into the oceans. Several hundred million Curies of tritium (radioactive hydrogen) have been input from these same explosions. This fallout is the largest source of anthropogenic (man- produced) radioactivity in the ocean. Accidental input also occurs. On January 21, 1968, a B-52 U.S. aircraft crashed near Thule, Greenland, depositing plutonium isotopes onto the ice and into the sea. On April 10, 1963, the U.S. nuclear submarine USS Thresher sank off the New England coast. The USS Scorpion sank in late May, 25 1968, off the Azores. The U.S. Navy has estimated that about 30,000 Curies remain in the reactor compartments of each submarine — they will be released to the environment when the submarines deteriorate. In 1964, a satellite nuclear power generator from a tailed satellite re-entering the atmosphere deposited about 17,000 Curies of plutonium-238 into the atmosphere.* On land, a major accident was the explosion of a Soviet nuclear waste dump at Kyshtym in the Ural Mountains in 1957. Perhaps the worst U.S. commercial nuclear accident was the partial core meltdown at the Three Mile Island reactor in Middletown, Pennsylvania, on March 28, 1979. The most recent major incident has been the Chernobyl reactor fire, near Kiev, on April 25, 1986. Conclusions Near the end of its report, the Environment Committee states, "It may prove in centuries to come that we have been over-cautious; that the low levels really are not significant; and, that the health consequences are negligible. Conversely, the reverse may be true; and the releases, of even very small amounts of long-lived and dangerous radionuclides into our environment today, will prove to be seriously harmful in a hundred years time, when it will be too late." * The waste discharges at Sellatield represent a small fraction of the total man-made contribution. The single event of the nuclear satellite power source alone deposited about 12,000 Curies of plutonium-238 into the ocean, while the Sellafield discharge during the 21-year period, 1957 to 1978, amounted to 14,000 Curies of plutonium-239/-240. Looking to the future, there can be little doubt that alternate energy sources (alternate to fossil fuels) will be not only desirable, but required. If nuclear power is to be one of those sources, and used sensibly and safely, then radioactive waste management is essential. Britain, among others, has taken a leadership role. The checks and balances between government, industry, citizens, scientists, and environmental groups, however, has been shown to be important, both throughout the world, and on the shores of the Irish Sea. lames H. W. Main is Assistant Editor of Oceanus, published by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Selected References Deese, D. A. 1978. Nuclear Power and Radioactive Waste. 206 pp. Lexington, Massachusetts: D.C. Heath. Environment Committee, House of Commons. 1986. Radioactive Waste, Vol. 1 First Report from the Committee, Session 1985- 86. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere. 1984. Nuclear Waste Management and the Use of the Seas. 1 1 3 pp. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. Needier, C. T., and W. T. Templeton. 1981. Radioactive waste: the need to calculate an oceanic capacity. Oceanus 24(1): 60- 67. Park, P. K., D. R. Kester, I. W. Duedell, and B. H. Ketchum (eds.). 1983. Wastes in the Ocean, Vol. 3, Radioactive Wastes and the Ocean. 522 pp. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Pentreath, R. )., D. S. Woodhead, P. ). Kershaw, D. F. )efferies, and M. B. Lovett. 1986. The behavior of plutonium and americium in the Irish Sea. Rapp. R-V. Reun. Cons. Int. Exp/or. Mer. 186: In Press. Upton, A. C. 1982. The biological effects of low-level ionizing radiation. Scientific American 246(2): 41-49. Willrich, M., and R. K. Lester. 1977. Radioactive Waste. 138 pp. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. Attention Teachers! We offer a 40-percent discount on bulk orders of five or more copies of each current issue - or only $2.85 a copy. The same discount applies to one-year subscriptions for class adoption ($12 per subscription). Teachers' orders should be sent to Oceanus magazine, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543. Please make checks payable to W. H.O.I. Foreign checks should be payable in dollars drawn on a U.S. bank. Special Student Rate! We remind you that students at all levels can enter or renew subscriptions at the rate of $15 for one year, a saving of $5. This special rate is available through application to: Oceanus, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Mass. 02543. 26 A Radiation Primer /\ review of some chemistry may be helpful to the understanding of nuclear radiation. All atoms are composed of a central, heavy, nucleus orbited by a "cloud" of electrons. The nucleus is composed of protons and neutrons. The number of protons defines the chemical characteristics of an atom, and hence of any element composed of these atoms. This number is the atomic number. The number of electrons in an atom equals the number of protons, but the number of neutrons may vary. These variants, known as isotopes, have the same chemical properties, but differ in nuclear mass. For example, the atomic number of uranium is 92, but there are several isotopes. In nature 99 percent of uranium occurs as uranium-238, while 0.7 percent occurs as the isotope uranium-235 (the only naturally-occurring fissionable material), which has 143 instead of 146 neutrons in the nucleus. Because of fewer neutrons in the nucleus of uranium-235, it is unstable. To approach stability, atoms seek to alter the proton/neutron ratio, and in so doing, emit particles and energy. These emissions are radioactivity, and the unstable emitting isotope forms are radioisotopes or radionuclides. As the emissions progress, and the isotope approaches stability, the composition of the nucleus changes, and the isotope decays, often in stages, to eventually arrive at a different but stable isotope. The final (stable) decay product, for example, from uranium-238 (after passing through several intermediate stages) is lead-206. Each radioisotope has its characteristic form of emissions. The radiated emissions are in the form of particles and/or electromagnetic radiation. The three principal types of radiation emitted by radioisotopes have a characteristic form and properties: • alpha radiation — the largest particle emitted during radioactive decay, consists of a heavy chunk of the nucleus, comprising two neutrons and two protons. However, because of its mass, it has low penetrating power, and is stopped by paper or a thin layer of tissue (less than 0.01 3 centimeters). It is intensely ionizing, however, and can cause more damage to tissue than other radiation types. Alpha radiation is of biological consequence primarily if taken into the body by ingestion or inhalation. • beta radiation — consists of electrons. It varies widely in energy level, and has moderate penetrating power (can be stopped by 40 millimeters of tissue). Like alpha particles, their biological significance is greatest if a beta-emitter is taken into the body, although beta penetration can be deep enough to constitute some danger from decay of nuclides on the ground or on the skin (producing skin burns). • gamma radiation — a form of electromagnetic radiation, similar to X-rays. It has high penetrating power (lead shielding required), can pass easily through matter and tissue, and while less intensely ionizing than other forms, because of penetrating power, can irradiate the whole body. Both alpha and beta emitters, especially the latter, may also emit gamma radiation. The rate at which these unstable atoms will disintegrate or decay is often stated as half-life, or the time in which one half of the atoms will decay. Each radioisotope decays with a specific half-life. For example, the half- life of uranium-238 is 4.5 billion years, while that of iodine-131 is 8 days. There are several units applied to measuring the rate of release of alpha and/or beta particles. One is the Curie (Ci), defined as 37 billion disintegrations per second. Since this is a high level, a commonly-used smaller unit is the picoCurie (pd), at — 1 x /O12 (one trillionth) of a Curie. The emission so measured can be of one type (alpha or beta), or a mixture of both. Since the level of radioactivity is more significant than the mass of the material, it is common to express the total amount of the substance in terms of the number of Curies it contains. Since radioactivity (Curies) is inversely related to half-life, a substance with a short half-life will be intensely radioactive, while one with a long half-life will display lower radioactivity. The volatile iodine-131 , for example, has a short half-life, but is intensely radioactive. Given equal radioactivity, however, 1,000 Curies of iodine-131 will exist for a short period, while 1,000 Curies of plutonium will be present in the environment for a long, long, time. Finally, since, in addition, plutonium is an alpha-emitter (intensely ionizing to human tissue), it is regarded as one of the most toxic radionuclides known. 27 An aquarium's extensive collection of marine animals, such as the sharks, salmon, striped bass, and other open-ocean fishes in this tank, forms a researcher's paradise. (Photo courtesy of Monterey Bay Aquarium) Research Plays Key Role in Growth of U.S. Aquariums by Eleanore D. Scavotto The sea is always the same and yet the sea always changes. — Carl Sandberg LJ nbeknown to many visitors who walk through the front doors, behind the colorful display tanks of many aquariums are active and important research programs. Aquariums in the United States— presently multiplying at an exotic rate — possess vast potential for research with their wide varieties of aquatic life and water systems that can imitate many coastal environments. These controlled ecosystems and the laboratory space and research equipment of many large aquariums provide opportunities for scientific studies not open to most universities and research laboratories. Aquatic research in aquariums helps scientists understand natural environments by permitting experiments where physical and biological variables can be changed at will. Controlled environments are easily manipulated, yet retain much of the complexity of the real system, and thereby are more easily studied than the natural marine environment. Expertise of aquarium staff in water quality control and husbandry also offers many opportunities for research — often for problem solving in animal care, water treatment, and disease. Aquariums have common goals to promote 28 Biochemical studies of the coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae, a rare "living fossil" fish, contribute to the knowledge offish evolution. (Photo courtesy of the Steinhart Aquarium) awareness and understanding of the marine environment through education and research, each of which they stress in different degrees. A complete review of those institutions with research programs is not possible here because of limited space; but by going behind the exhibit tanks of some of the larger aquariums, we can learn how scientific projects add to our knowledge of the aquatic environment. The Steinhart Aquarium The Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco, California, has used aquatic animals for research since it opened in 1923. The Aquarium, a division of the California Academy of Sciences, conducts research on object discrimination by dolphins,* the behavior and biochemistry of bioluminescent fishes, the adaptation of deep-sea fishes, and the breeding of many invertebrates and fishes, among other programs. Staff and visiting scientists use the vast water systems to imitate various aquatic environments for controlled experimental studies. In conjunction with the California Department of Fish and Came, aquarists and herpetologists are trying to breed several rare and endangered species in captivity and then release them when they mature. Steinhart's expeditions to exotic aquatic outposts, such as the Amazon, and the Comoro Islands in the Indian Ocean, have yielded rare specimens for study, including freshwater dolphins and flashlight fishes. The Aquarium has studied the behavior and bacterial symbiosis of several flashlight fish species, including Photoblepharon palpebratus, Anomalops katoptron, and Kryptophanaron alfredi. In addition, biochemical studies of the frozen tissues of the coelacanth — the rare "living fossil" fish — have * The names dolphin and porpoise are often used interchangeably: dolphin is a Creek word, while porpoise is the Roman name for the same animal. Researchers who separate dolphins and porpoises recognize dolphins as those small cetaceans with a long beak and conical-shaped teeth (family Delphinidae) and porpoises as small cetaceans with no beak and spatular-shaped teeth (family Phocoen/dae). contributed to the knowledge of fish evolution. The department of Aquatic Research at the California Academy of Sciences was created in 1982 to encourage expanded use of the Steinhart Aquarium by biologists. The department's research tends to be behavioral and physiological rather than systematic. Current projects include studies of the growth and buoyancy control of the chambered nautilus, responses of sharks to weak electric fields, anaphylaxis in fish, continued studies of coelacanth anatomy and physiology, the breeding behavior of Jackass penguins, and the symbol-discrimination abilities of Pacific white-sided dolphins. John E. McCosker, Director of the Steinhart Aquarium and Curator of Aquatic Biology, focuses his research on studies of the behavior of the great white shark, the systematics and evolution of tropical eels, the relationships of bioluminescent fishes and their symbiotic bacteria, and the evolution of the Galapagos fish assemblage. Research associates and other outside scientists, supported by grants or by their home Current research at the Steinhart Aquarium includes studies of the growth and buoyancy control of the chambered nautilus (Nautilus pompiliusj. (Photo courtesy of the Steinhart Aquarium) 29 LIVING MARINE ECOSYSTEMS EXHIBIT PUMPS SALT MARSH MUD FLAT MUDDY BOTTOM ROCKY SCALLOP SHORE BOTTOM MAINE SHORE FORE REEF BACK REEF REEF LAGOON CARIBBEAN REEF The Smithsonian's marine ecosystems simulate the functions of the shallow water Caribbean coral reef and the Maine coastal waters. (Drawing done by Charlotte Johnson) institutions, and Academy staff conduct research. In the future, the department hopes to hire some of its own researchers and to expand the laboratory space currently available for scientific work. Other future research, according to McCosker, includes continued white shark research with the intent of keeping a specimen alive in the aquarium for behavioral and physiological study, husbandry of striped bass with the intent of replenishing depleted stock, and the fabrication of a living shallow water Pacific coral reef for public display and research. The Smithsonian's Marine Microcosms The Smithsonian's Marine Systems Laboratory (MSL) at the Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., uses Caribbean Reef and Maine coast microcosms as manipulative models for the study of animal behavior, the relationship between algal turf community structure and nutrient levels in both environments, studies of wave action and current flow, and other research. The microcosms closely simulate the functions of the shallow water Caribbean coral reef and the Maine coastal waters, respectively, providing a means of comparing the two types of ecosystems as well as controlled and natural environments. The microcosms are used for applied as well as basic research. Collecting plants and animals for the microcosms, which are designed not just to look lifelike, but to be lifelike, demanded a different strategy from that usually followed by aquarium scientists. The microcosms were developed not by attending to the needs of individual organisms, but by supporting the physical and chemical needs, and general patterns of energy exchange, that typify either ecosystem. Both ecosystems are almost self- sufficient: their water requires no changing or special chemical treatment, and their animals feed themselves; only a minimal amount of outside food is supplied. Algal scrubbers add oxygen and remove animal waste and carbon dioxide much as the ocean would. Each microcosm has two interconnected tanks that recreate their natural physical and biological characteristics. Constant, automatic monitoring of salinity, oxygen, acidity, and nutrients ensures that these parameters stay close to their natural levels. The reef, opened in 1980, currently contains 300 different species of algae, fish, coral, and other invertebrates. The shape and community structure of the reef have been scaled after a typical eastern Caribbean reef, as have the light, wave energy, and current conditions. Research includes work on the production rates of algae in conjunction with light conditions and wave action. According to Jill Johnson, Chief Technician of the MSL, from what has been learned about algae production, and growing algae on artificial substrates in the microcosm scrubbers, the MSL is raising a Caribbean King Crab, Spinosissimus, in the Caribbean; the crabs are growing on algae on screens on floating rafts. Nutrient levels of nitrogen and phosphorus also are studied in the reef microcosm. After 20 years of research in Atlantic subarctic-coastal waters, Smithsonian scientists made a model of a realistic, representative ecosystem from that region. With funding from Chevron USA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the scientists enlarged the exhibit and opened the Maine coast microcosm to the public in June of 1985. With 50 to 100 species, current research involves kelp production and invertebrate grazing behavior. MSL scientists have worked in the field on an improved method of mussel mariculture that grows kelp on floating rafts along with the mussels. Walter Adey, Director of the Marine Systems Laboratory and curator of paleobiology at the Natural History Museum, said the ecosystem's most important contribution may be to marine ecology. Monterey Bay Aquarium Research at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California, focuses on the regional marine habitats of central California. Present studies deal with the ecology, behavior, physiology, and natural history of local organisms. Open since October 1984, the Aquarium also conducts studies related to the maintenance and health of species on display. Research is overseen by a Research Advisory Committee, which includes prominent scientists from other marine research institutions on Monterey Bay. The primary goal of the research program, the major portion of which the aquarium is still planning, 30 The study of how physical and biological disturbances affect the biological structure of kelp forests is a long-term research project at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (Photo courtesy of Monterey Bay Aquarium) will be to establish a broad, multidisciplinary study of the Monterey Bay region, with initial focus on the Monterey submarine canyon. The principal emphasis will be on the biology and ecology of resident organisms, with secondary emphasis on physical oceanography, marine chemistry, biochemistry, and geology as they relate to biological problems. According to James M. Watanabe, Research 31 Biologist, the Aquarium is searching for a director for its research program and hopes to have a better idea of where it is going with the program within the next few years. Research projects fall into three catgories, the first two of which are already instituted. The first, in- house research, includes monitoring the growth and development of biological communities within the exhibit tanks and developing techniques for treating and controlling diseases, and for maintaining various organisms that have been traditionally difficult to keep. The second is basic research: two field projects, both long term, are now under way. Scientists study the population biology of tagged sea otters in the Monterey Bay area by collecting data on the movements, foraging patterns, and reproductive behavior. The other project is a study of local kelp forests and how physical and biological disturbances affect their biological structure. Deep-sea research, the third category, will focus on the Monterey Submarine Canyon and deep water habitats of central Calfornia. This research is still in the planning stage. Mystic Marinelife Aquarium Mystic Marinelife Aquarium, located in Mystic, Connecticut, is a division of Sea Research Foundation, Inc., and like most aquariums is dedicated to education and research. Staff members and adjunct scientists have run a research program in several disciplines, including marine mammal biology, husbandry, and medicine since the institution opened in October 1973. Some of the aquarium's contributions to the science of marine mammalogy are the development of techniques for acclimatizing adult northern fur seals to captivity, the first successful hand-rearing of orphaned seal twins, and the development of a chemical method for estimating maximum allowable ammonia concentration in saline water. These contributions and others impact such areas as fishery resources management, fish biology, aquaculture, and water quality maintenance. The number and scope of research projects undertaken at Mystic Marinelife Aquarium increases annually. Projects for 1985 included studies on chlorophyll chemistry, growth rates, and nutrient requirements of three species of oceanic phytoplankton; the development of methods to rear brine shrimp to adult size in batch culture for application in aquaculture; changes in the chemistry and bacteriology of seawater used to transport fishes; continuing work on enumeration and isolation of bacteria and yeasts found on wild, beach- stranded, and captive marine mammals; the study of teeth of beluga whales, and other projects. Since most research at the Mystic Marinelife Aquarium is opportunistic, a schedule of 1986 research programs is not yet available, but would probably include the 1985 projects, many of which are ongoing. Ground breaking for a Whale Study Center, to be dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and research of sick and injured marine mammals, is targeted for the Spring of 1988. Proposed Aquariums Bill Sargent, Director of the Coastlines Project in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, said that about 24 major aquariums are presently in the planning stage in America and Canada, as many cities follow the impetus of waterfront renewal that has been sparked by such aquariums as the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts, and the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland. According to Quenton Dokken, Executive Director of the Texas State Aquarium Project, and Christopher Roosevelt, head of a group in Stamford, Connecticut, working on the proposed Norwalk Maritime Center, aquariums have been proposed in New Orleans, Louisiana; Clearwater, Florida; Denver, Colorado; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; St. Louis, Missouri; Portland, Maine; Charleston, South Carolina; Toronto, Canada; and several other cities. The planned Texas State Aquarium, in Corpus Christi, Texas, for example, with a targeted opening date of Spring 1991, will develop research programs with various universities. Aquarium staff will study marine ecology, animal physiology, and biology. Graduate students in marine science and other related fields will use the aquarium for thesis research. Universities across the state will conduct cooperative research projects. The Corpus Christi Aquarium Organization is a nonprofit group of private citizens who will help create the aquarium and act as its managing entity when it opens. Forty percent of the required funds have already been raised, and another major fund raising effort started this past summer. The proposed Norwalk Maritime Center in Norwalk, Connecticut, will be mostly educational with spinoff research in conjunction with various universities — the University of Connecticut, Yale University, Columbia University, and others. A public laboratory and a laboratory area for more specific research groups will encourage a broad spectrum of academic research. With a planned opening date of April 1 988, the half-aquarium, half- maritime center will accept research fellows with funding and be a place where graduate and doctorial candidates, and post-doctoral fellows can use the facilities to develop research projects. The science program will be based on existing research and education programs of the Oceanic Society. The center will have a 40-foot research vessel with ocean and marine biological equipment for both the aquarium's own and visiting researchers. Limited Research Programs While most aquariums, both existing and proposed, plan to or already participate in scientific studies, research programs generally evolve as the aquariums themselves grow. Thus, recently opened aquariums, such as the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland, and The Living Seas in Orlando, Florida, are still implementing research, a process that often takes years. Nancy Hotchkiss, Assistant Director of Public Programs said the National Aquarium is interested in research, but currently that is not its major focus. The Aquarium, only five years old, is still establishing 32 Mass standings of marine animals, such as whales, provide research opportunities through necropsies. (Photo courtesy of New England Aquarium) its collection. A research program is evolving, and the aquarium is in the process of planning an expansion with space for a separate research laboratory. The primary research done so far is through the Department of Veterinary Medicine. Other than water quality testing, quarantine, medicine and day-to-day operations, no major research currently is being done beyond the short- term study of observations of new animals. By intensifying certain conditions and observing the animals' behavior, researchers can focus on adaptation. Robert Jenkins, Director of the Husbandry and Operations Department, said that to date, most of the research has been empirical: as an interesting situation develops, it is studied. Research in husbandry and medical areas hopes to allow the aquarium to improve how animals are kept, such as through disease prevention. Medical studies of bacteria in sharks and fish immune systems will contribute to this aim. The costs of research are hidden in the normal operation budgets, but equal about a fifth of the total operating budget. Another aquarium that presently has a limited research program is The Living Seas at the Epcot Center in Orlando. Tom Hopkins, Marine Mammal Curator, said that research at The Living Seas, only open since January 1986, is still developing. Two types of behind-the-tanks research currently involve studies of ozone levels and vocalization of dolphins. Scientists are studying the effects of changes in the ozone level to the water systems. Dolphin vocal behaviors are being studied. In a conventional aquarium situation, a trainer gives a signal, and the dolphin responds with a given behavior. Here, a computer that records and analyzes specific sounds will allow the dolphins to exert some control over their own environment. For example, every time a dolphin emits a given sound, even if that sound in nature connotes hunger, a trainer will throw a ball in the water (or some other action). By reinforcing, or linking, a dolphin-produced sound to a trainer response or environmental change, the dolphin can communicate in a limited way. In this manner, researchers can study dolphin behavior. Seabase Alpha, The Living Seas Underwater Research facility designed to explore man's deep- rooted relationship to the oceans, allows visitors to view many experiments conducted by research divers. Future research includes training divers to monitor the condition of reefs, testing manufacturers' diving gear (research and development), and developing remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Aquariums with Research Institutions An aquarium's extensive collection of living and preserved aquatic animals and birds, including many rare and endangered species, form a researcher's paradise. In the carefully designed environments, the animals' behaviors afford opportunities for meticulous scientific observation. Thus, it is not surprising that research institutions are adjacent to some of the larger aquariums. New England 33 American Aquariums Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium Route 1 Gretna, NE 68028 Aqualand Route 3 Bar Harbor, ME 04609 Aquarium of Niagara Falls 701 Whirlpool St. Niagara Falls, NY 14301 Research Fields: Water quality; dietary supplements; marine mammal husbandry, and skin properties. Belle Isle Zoo & Aquarium Box 39 Royal Oak, Ml 48068 The Cleveland Aquarium E. 72nd St. & Interstate 90 Upper Gordon Park, OH 44103 Dallas Aquarium Box 26193 Dallas, TX 75226 Depoe Bay Aquarium Box 89 Depoe Bay, OR 97341 Discovery Place 301 N. Tryon St. Charlotte, NC 28202 Research Fields: entomology; ichthyology; history of technology. Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery Aquarium Rt 1, Box 293 Yankton, SD 57078 The Living Seas Epcot Center Orlando, FL 32830 Marineland, Inc. Box 937 Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90274 Marineland, Inc. Route #1, Box 122 St. Augustine, FL 32084 Research Fields: specimen health and maintenance. Marine Systems Laboratory Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. 20560 Marine World Africa USA Marine World Parkway Vallejo, CA 94589 Research Fields: dolphin communication; sea lion gestural comprehension; sea lion breeding; river otter reproduction; killer whale vocalizations. Memphis Zoo & Aquarium 2200 Galloway Memphis, TN 38112 Miami Seaquarium 4400 Rickenbacker Causeway Miami, FL 33149 Research Fields: study and raising of sea turtle hatchlings; behavioral and nutritional studies concerning Florida manatee husbandry. Monterey Bay Aquarium 886 Cannery Row Monterey, CA 93940 Mystic Marinelife Aquarium Coogan Boulevard Mystic, CT 06355 Research Fields: marine mammal husbandry; seawater chemistry. National Aquarium in Baltimore, Inc. Pier 3, 501 E. Pratt St. Baltimore, MD 21202 National Marine Fisheries Aquarium Woods Hole, MA 02543 Research Fields: fisheries research by Northeast Fisheries Center. New England Aquarium Edgerton Research Laboratory Central Wharf Boston, MA 02110 Research Fields: monitoring of water quality of Boston Harbor; animal husbandry; fish diseases; marine mammals. New York Aquarium West 8th St & Surf Ave Brooklyn, NY 11224 Research Fields: all aspects of aquatic animal biology; fish genetics. Oceana — Marinelife Center Cedar Point Sandusky, OH 44870 Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium 5400 N. Pearl St. Tacoma, WA 98407 San Antonio Zoo & Aquarium 3903 North St. Mary's St. San Antonio, TX 78212 Sea-Arama Marine World Box 3068 Galveston, TX 77550 Research Fields: ridley sea turtles; sharks. Sea Life Park Makapuu Point Waimanalo, HI 96795 Sea World, Inc. 1720 South Shores Drive Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute 1700 South Shores Road San Diego, CA92109 Research Fields: marine science. Sea World of Florida 7007 Sea World Drive Orlando, FL 32821 Sea World of Ohio 11 00 Sea World Dr. Aurora, OH 44202 Sealand of Cape Cod, Inc. Route 6A Brewster, MA 02631 Seattle Aquarium Pier 59, Waterfront Park Seattle, WA98101 Research Fields: biological fields relating to marine life. |ohn G. Shedd Aquarium 1200 South Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60605 Research Fields: marine and fresh water fish; zoology. Steinhart Aquarium Golden Gate Park San Francisco, CA 941 18 T. Wayland Vaughan Aquarium Scripps Institute of Oceanography University of California La lolla, CA 92093 Research Fields: fish diseases; pigmentation; aquariology. Waikiki Aquarium 2777 Kalakaua Avenue Honolulu, HI 96815 Research Fields: ecology of shark species; age determination and growth rate studies; reproductive activities of £xa///as brevis; larval fish research; discovery of new species of Ho/acanthus; Nautilus tracking; biology of giant clam. * Compiled from the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums' list of aquariums and the 1986 edition of The Official Museum Directory's listings of re- search fields. Not all research fields are listed. 34 Aquarium, in Boston, Massachusetts, and Sea World in San Diego, California, have made research such a big part of their programs that both feature research institutions. The New England Aquarium conducts research through its stranding programs and the Edgerton Research Laboratory. The Aquarium, along with Sealand of Cape Cod and the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine, handles strandings of beached mammals in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire as participants in the Northeast Regional Stranding Network. The Aquarium is searching for answers to the mystery of strandings through a combination of laboratory research and behavioral studies of live animals at sea. The new Animal Care Center, part of the Marine Mammal Rescue Program, enables the aquarium to handle the annual influx of orphaned seals, as well as stranded whales and dolphins or sick aquarium animals. Strandings provide information on animals otherwise unobtainable (see Oceanus, Vol. 21, No. 2, p. 38). Aquarium staff work with distressed and injured mammals doing systematic analyses of tissue samples and collected data. Necropsies— autopsies performed on dead animals — yield data on the natural history of the animals and can provide clues to the cause of death. Scientists measure the animal, determine its age by tooth counts, check stomach contents and parasite loads, and look for significant pathological findings. Live animals often are brought back to the Aquarium for medical evaluation. Besides strandings, the Edgerton Research Laboratory (ERL) is an integral part of the New England Aquarium, supplying research in the basic and applied sciences. The Aquarium sponsors studies in marine biology/invertebrate zoology, aquatic microbiology/marine biodeterioration, aquatic chemistry, ichthyology/community ecology, and marine mammals. The establishment of the Edgerton Endowment for Research in 1982, with its goal of a million dollars, will enable visiting scientists to conduct aquatic research. The ERL developed water quality analysis techniques, specifically in Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay. Several research projects have centered on physical, chemical, and biological problems surrounding oil drilling operations on George's Bank. Another area of research is the development of captive breeding and aquaculture techniques, and conservation-related studies of threatened and endangered species. Aquarium researchers also have initiated long-term studies of the ecology, reproduction, and behavior of whales in the North Atlantic, particularly the endangered right whale. Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute in San Diego, California, established in 1963, continues to evolve as a highly productive marine research foundation. Working in the areas of mariculture, conservation, resource management and education, ecology of marine animals and animal behavior, the Institute is located adjacent to Sea World. Sea World, through its parent company, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., provides working facilities for the Institute, opens its collection of marine animals for research projects, and encourages its staff to work with Hubbs' scientists on joint field expeditions. Current research projects, many of which are helping to solve ecological problems, include the enhancement of white sea bass and California halibut sport fisheries through the development of mariculture techniques; studies on Mono Lake, where use of the lake as a Los Angeles water source has caused increased salinity and affected marine organisms and avian populations; and bioacoustic studies, which are expanding our knowledge of animals' vocal dialects. Two of the Institute's more frequent areas of study range from studies of population dynamics to analyses of cetacean echolocation and vocalization capabilities. Other research in physiology and physiological ecology investigate the metabolism of marine mammals and birds during diving, swimming, thermoregulation, and free-ranging energetics. Future research will focus partly on a comparative study of cetacean hydrodynamics and swimming energetics. The Institute also specializes in polar biology and worldwide studies of whale and dolphin population dynamics. A joint effort of Hubbs, Sea World, and the National Science Foundation concentrated on the field and laboratory analysis of penguins. Research findings are applied to aviculture, mariculture, animal medicine and husbandry. There is a constant two-way flow of information between the pure and applied science programs. For example, advances in husbandry at Sea World that have contributed to successful maintenance of bottlenosed and common dolphins, beluga and killer whales, sharks and clownfish, leopard seals, penguins and other birds, have made it possible to study their behavior and sensory capabilities. The Institute's primary funding comes from private contributions, a corporate giving program, allocations from an endowment fund, government contracts and grants, and assistance from the Helmsmen, a 120-member volunteer support group. The budget for 1986 is approximately $1 million. Much of the research is contracted by local, state, or federal agencies as part of government's ongoing effort to monitor and protect the marine environment. Think Tanks, Too The study of controlled environments that support marine animals and other organisms advances our understanding of the oceans. Aquatic research provides information that can be applied to marine ecology and biology, aquaculture, husbandry, and other areas. Aquariums play a key role in this process through their research and public education programs which provide the knowledge for laws, environmental management decisions, and conservation programs that, in turn, protect oceanic resources. As aquariums continue to open, and research projects continue to develop, more informed decisions can be made to enable us to interact wisely with the ever complex marine ecosystem. Eleanore D. 5cavotto is Editorial Assistant at Oceanus magazine, published by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. 35 Ocean Drilling Program Altering Our Perception of Earth *p _• z*t:**m JOIDES Resolution dr///ed /n the Labrador Sea and Baffin Say on Leg 705 where she encountered 38 icebergs. Drilling above the Arctic Circle at the highest latitude and in the deepest water ever drilled by a scientific vessel, the ship retrieved almost one mile of sediment and rock samples from depths up to 3,500 feet 0,147 meters) beneath the seafloor. (All photos courtesy Ocean Drilling Program) by Philip Rabinowitz, Sylvia Herrig, and Karen Riedel With nine internationally staffed scientific voyages completed (as of this writing), IOIDES Resolution, mothership of the relatively new Ocean Drilling Program (OOP), appears destined to return results that will alter our perception of Earth. Shipboard analyses of samples, geophysical logs, and implementation of new technology have already made apparent a number of very important contributions to the Earth Sciences. In some instances, however, it will take many years of detailed analyses to complete the scientific results. For example, Leg 108 off the northwest coast of Africa recovered nearly 4,000 meters of core — the highest recovery in the history of ocean drilling. These cores will help us understand, among other problems, key paleoclimatic responses. But the samples obtained must be investigated in painstaking detail to determine information about the responses which occurred during periods of Earth-orbital changes 20,000 to 100,000 years Before Present (BP). The Ocean Drilling Program* is operated by Texas A&M University, which is responsible for operating and staffing the IOIDES Resolution. The program gives scientists from the international community an opportunity to participate in cruises of approximately eight weeks duration. By examining the cores, scientists can better understand the ages of ocean basins and the processes of their development, the rearrangement of continents, the structure of Earth's interior, and the evolution of life in the oceans, in addition to the history of worldwide climatic changes. The program is the successor to the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP), which was operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) of the * The U.S. National Science Foundation, Canada, the European Science Foundation Consortium for the Ocean Drilling Program, West Germany, France, Japan, and Britain fund the Ocean Drilling Program. JOIDES (Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling), an international group of scientists, provides overall planning and program advice. JOI, Inc. (Joint Oceanographic Institutions), a nonprofit consortium of 10 major U.S. Oceanographic institutions, manages the program. Lamont- Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University is responsible for the logging operations. 36 Crewmen are shown lowering the frame for the television camera which is used to help the ship find a drill site and re-enter a hole. University of California at San Diego. The drilling vessel Glomar Challenger was operated by Scripps between 1968 and 1983. That drill ship logged 375,000 miles, drilled 1,092 holes at 624 sites, and recovered 96 kilometers of core. Throughout the life of the program, major advances were made in the understanding of fundamental Earth processes as well as in ocean technology. As a result of those advances, the Ocean Drilling Program was launched with high expectations — a new 10-year international program of scientific ocean drilling aboard a larger drill ship with expanded laboratory facilities and capabilities of retrieving cores from the remotest regions on Earth. The Search for a Ship The search for a new drill ship began in mid-1983 (see Oceanus, Vol. 27, No. 4, p. 85). Only a handful of drill ships in the world were capable of meeting the new program's needs. Our mission: to find a drill ship capable of 1) housing a scientific and technical party of 50; 2) operating in high latitudes and rough seas; 3) being converted into a research vessel with fully operational laboratories and an ultra-long drill string; and perhaps most formidable of all, 4) having an affordable price tag. The search led to SE DCO B/P 47, now known to the scientific community as 1OIDES Resolution. She came to us a 470-foot, dynamically positioned drill ship with a 200-foot derrick and facilities for housing and feeding 1 10 people for 70 continuous days. We added a seven-story laboratory stack, strengthened the hull, and made room for 30,000 feet of drill string. Her conversion began in late April 1984. Nine months later, we had a floating laboratory with some of the most sophisticated, state-of-the-art scientific and drilling equipment in existence. Converting the Ship The changes required to turn a commercial drill ship into a scientific research vessel were numerous: the derrick, top-drive, guide-rail assembly, and new crown and traveling block were installed and reinforced to withstand heavier loads; the position reference system was modified to include capability for long-base line, short-base line, and ultra short- base line systems; the draw works horsepower and braking capacity were increased considerably; the world's largest heave compensator, capable of keeping the drill string stable relative to the seafloor even in very rough seas, was installed; the pipe racker was modified to increase its capacity in order to accommodate a longer drill string; and an iron roughneck was added to the rig floor to increase efficiency and safety by eliminating the need to manually connect pipe sections. To make the most efficient use of space, we planned the laboratories using a seven-story design. We constructed three levels in place below deck by taking over a part of the casing hold, added three more laboratory levels above the main deck, and connected the entire six-story structure with a stairway and an elevator. On top of the structure, we added a downhole measurements lab which overlooks the drill floor. We installed a library and study area on the fo'c's'le deck, and an under way geophysics lab on the fantail of the ship. 37 Marine technicians Henrike Groschel, Greg Simmons, and Harry (Skip) Mutton number and label pieces of basalt recovered from the Mediterranean on Leg 107. The finished product is a laboratory structure that contains the world's largest and most varied array of research equipment in operation at sea. The laboratories provide space and equipment for sedimentology, physical properties, paleomagnetics, paleontology, chemistry, and petrography, as well as dedicated laboratories for a scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction/X-ray fluorescence equipment, a borehole instrumentation laboratory, and as mentioned previously, an under way geophysics laboratory. Computer, photographic, and electronics repair facilities, refrigerated core storage, offices, and a scientific library provide critical support for all scientific research activities. The Shakedown The inaugural cruise (Leg 100) of the newly- converted ship began in January 1985. During that cruise, all of the drilling systems and scientific laboratories were tested and the scientific and technical crews were trained on the numerous pieces of sophisticated equipment. The dynamic positioning system was tested in hostile sea conditions with winds between 45 and 55 knots and 18- to 20-foot seas. The 1OIDES Resolution remained stable and held station to within 50 feet (water depth 3,000 feet). Even in these adverse conditions, high quality cores were retrieved. The 18 days of testing and shakedown proved the ship to be ready; all systems performed up to, or exceeded our expectations. After only two days in port, she was ready to begin her mission. Scientific Mission and Accomplishments In 1964, the Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling (JOIDES)* was formed. JOIDES is a consortium of international** and domestic institutions dedicated to the study of the Earth beneath the ocean. It was this body that called for a Conference on Scientific Ocean Drilling (COSOD), held in Austin, Texas, in November 1981. The conference's primary objective was to outline the scientific merits of a follow-up program to the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP). The scientific objectives of highest priority were the origin and evolution of ocean crust, the tectonic evolution of continental margins, the origin and evolution of marine sedimentary sequences, and the causes of long-term changes in the atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere, biosphere, and magnetic field. To address these problems, the Ocean Drilling Program began an ongoing R&D program to improve tools and drilling systems. The highly successful coring system is one example. The development of a hard-rock spud-in system, which allows scientists to sample rocks from beneath the seafloor in areas of highly fractured rocks with little or no sediment cover, is our most recent development. At sea, Leg 105 proved to be one of our most environmentally challenging. The /O/DE5 Resolution withstood the rigors of stormy seas and icebergs while drilling in the high latitudes of Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea. These regions have played an important role in Earth's climate by serving as the corridor for the exchange of water masses between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans from the Late Cretaceous (approximately 71 million years ago) until the opening of the Norwegian Sea (60 million years ago). The objectives on this cruise were to determine the timing and nature of the tectonic evolution of these two high-latitude basins and to examine the paleoceanographic development of this region. The sediments recovered during Leg 105 have demonstrated that major glaciation began 2.5 million years BP in the Labrador Sea and possibly earlier in Baffin Bay. We also have made important inroads in our study of passive — or Atlantic-type continental margins. These margins are thought to have been formed by processes associated with the rifting of continental crust and the embryonic emplacement of oceanic crust during the early formation of an ocean basin. On Leg 103, scientists identified several stages of rifting on the Galicia Margin that include 25 million years of episodic faulting and tilting accompanied by subsidence. Of interest here is that the recovered cores have required us to completely reinterpret the seismic stratigraphy of this region. "JOIDES institutions are: University of California at San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory; University of Hawaii, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics; University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science; Oregon State University, College of Oceanography; University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography; Texas A&M University, Department of Oceanography; University of Texas at Austin, Institute of Geophysics; University of Washington, College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences; and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. ** Non-U.S. members are Department of Energy, Mines, and Resources, Earth Sciences Sector, Canada; European Science Foundation Consortium for the Ocean Drilling Program — Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey; Bundesanstalt fur Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, West Germany; Institut Francais de Recherche pour I'Exploitation de les Mers, France; University of Tokyo, Ocean Research Institute, Japan; and Natural Environment Research Council, Britain. 38 Ocean Drilling Program site locations / 985- / 987. Black blocks indicate sites drilled. Shaded blocks are future sites. (Note: Leg 1 10 took place lune-August 7986). 70 120 90' 60° 30° 0° SITE LOCATIONS 1985 - 1987 30° Sequences of seaward-dipping seismic reflectors of controversial origin have been observed on many borders of Earth's passive continental margins. On Leg 104 off Norway, more than 900 meters were drilled into these seaward-dipping seismic reflectors. The rocks recovered were volcanic and consisted of two series: an upper series of cyclic, subaerially-extruded tholeitic basalt flows with interbedded volcaniclastic sediments and a lower subaqueous, andesitic series related to the rift- to-drift transition. The discovery that these seismic reflectors are volcanic in origin will have a profound influence on our understanding of continental breakup. One of our principal objectives is to study the nature and evolution of oceanic crust. To date, the program has established two deep (greater than 500 meters subbasement) standard ocean-crustal sections in the Atlantic ocean at formerly-drilled DSDP sites — one in relatively young crust (about 7 million years BP; DSDP site 395) and one in older crust (about 108 million years BP; DSDP site 418). Extensive downhole geophysical experiments were performed. The preliminary interpretations suggest that the older crust becomes sealed by alteration products within the pillow-basalt units in contrast to the younger sites where the upper basalt is relatively porous and permeable. Perhaps the most exciting endeavor in our exploration of oceanic crust has been the major engineering effort in developing a system to drill very young volcanic rock. Traditional drilling methods into deep-ocean basins depend on thick layers of sediment to provide lateral support for the flexible drill string to penetrate a hard rock surface. Because the ocean floor at the mid-ocean ridge is too young to have accumulated such a sediment, drilling into the newly-formed crust called for a different technique. During cruises 106 and 109, scientists used a camera similar to the one which helped discover the Titanic in 1985 (see Oceanus, Vol. 28, No. 4) and were able to view their target — a submarine volcano almost two miles (three kilometers) below the sea surface. A 20-ton guide base was lowered to the seafloor and locked in place with 2,000 cubic feet of cement. The base provided the stability needed to drill and re-enter into the rocky surface. Despite 39 On the rig floor, the crew removes the 31 -foot-long (9.5 meters) core from the core barrel. It is cut into 5-foot sections for analyses. difficult drilling conditions caused by the hard, fractured volcanic rocks, 50.5 meters were penetrated into the volcanic interior. The technological achievement at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge has provided a permanent undersea laboratory for future studies of the rugged mid-ocean terrain. The technology employed on Legs 106 and 109 also opened other new opportunities for the scientific community. By using the underwater television camera and by adopting mining technology to the bottom of the drill string, we now have the capability of drilling single-bit holes at selected areas, either sediment-covered or hard-rock seafloor. An exciting scientific result on Leg 106 arose from our capability to drill shallow holes on a transect across a newly discovered, active hydrothermal-vent field in a rift valley of the Mid- Atlantic Ridge. The samples recovered at this exciting location should provide new insight into how sulfide-ore bodies are formed. Further, on Leg 109 our technology has allowed us for the first time to re-enter a hole in more than 3,600 meters of water without the traditional re-entry cone. Leg 110 This past summer saw the IOIDES Resolution drilling in waters off Guadeloupe, Martinique, Barbados, Tobago and Trinidad — known in the Caribbean as the Lesser Antilles. The region has a turbulent geological history. Stretching from the Virgin Islands at the upper point of the crescent to the islands just off the north coast of Venezuela, the Lesser Antilles is a complex structure known as an island arc in geological terminology. These island groups are found all over the world and typically consist of an arc-shaped chain of volcanic islands bounded by a relatively shallow basin on the concave side and a deep trench and ocean on the convex side. A series of huge plates carry ocean and continental crust across the Earth's surface. When two plates meet, several events can occur. The Lesser Antilles island arc is an expression of the volcanism created by the North American plate moving westwards and sliding under, or subducting beneath, the Caribbean plate at the rate of about 2 centimeters (almost an inch) a year. As the North American plate moves under the Caribbean, sediments scraped off the under- thrusting plate are piling up, creating huge masses of crumpled rock and, in some instances, raising some areas above sea level as islands. The process is analogous to shoving your foot into a pile of dirt, accumulating a layer of dirt on top of your shoe. In plate tectonics, the pile transferred from one plate to another is called an accretionary prism. The island of Barbados, on the eastern edge of the Caribbean plate, is one portion of an accretionary prism that has built up above sea level. The IOIDES Resolution drilled into the prism at four sites to recover cores of sediment. Scientists hope to obtain information on the processes associated with active accretionary margins. They are particularly interested in the structural and hydrologic characteristics of the prism formation. At the base of the Barbados prism is what scientists call a decollement — a detached surface- that in this case separates the over-thrusting prism and the under-thrusting North American plate. Little is known about how these detachment planes develop and what their role is in active accretionary margins. Previous drilling results have shown that this particular decollement contains high-pore pressure and unusually warm fluids which migrate upward. Scientists hope to learn more about the nature of the pore pressure, the source of these high-temperature fluids, and whether or not they are consistent throughout the detachment fault. This fall, the IOIDES Resolution will drill at two sites off the coast of Central and South America. The first site — about 300 miles off the coast of Central America — will be at the deepest hole ever drilled into ocean crust. The ship will deepen the 4,125-foot hole another 1,000 to 1,400 feet. During the last leg of 1986, the ship will drill into the Peruvian margin, where the Pacific plate is sliding underneath South America. The results gleaned from these cruises will alter our perception of Earth. We are now in a phase where basic Earth processes can be examined, analyzed, and measured more precisely than ever before. Philip Rabinowitz is Director of the Ocean Drilling Program and Professor of Oceanography at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Sylvia Herrig is the Administrator of the program and Karen Riedel is Coordinator of Public Information. Selected Readings Foss, G. N. 1985. The Ocean Drilling Program II: IOIDES Resolution, scientific drill ship of the '80s. Proc. Marine Tech. Soc., "Ocean Engineering and the Environment," p. 124-132. Huey, D. P., and M. A. Storms. 1985. The Ocean Drilling Program IV: deep water coring technology, past, present, and future. Proc. Marine Tech. Soc. Conf., "Ocean Engineering and the Environment," p. 146-159. Kidd, R., P. D. Rabinowitz, L. Garrison, A. Meyer, A. Adamson, C. Auroux, ). Baldauf, B. Clement, A. Palmer, E. Taylor, and A. Graham. 1985. The Ocean Drilling Program III: the shipboard laboratories on IOIDES Resolution. Proc. Marine Tech. Soc. Conf., "Ocean Engineering and the Environment," p. 133-145. Moos, D., R. N. Anderson, C. Broglia, D. Goldberg, C. F. Williams, and M. D. Zoback. 1985. The Ocean Drilling Program V: logging for the Ocean Drilling Program — results from the first two legs. Proc. Marine Tech. Soc. Conf., "Ocean Engineering and the Environment," p. 160-169. 40 SOMETHING NEW UNDER THE SEA Sol id-State Memory Microprocessor Control Instant Data Retrieval State-of-the-Art Sensors CMOS Circuitry User Programmable PC Compatible Easy to Use Solid State Sensor Systems CURRENT METERS WAVE & TIDE GAUGE MINI-CTD DATA LOGGER PLUS Reliable, Economical Buoys, Releases, Winches S4 Current Meter S4D 6000M Current Meter WTG/S4 Wave & Tide Gauge CTD/S4 Multiparameter Probe S4P Profiler 1 3540 aero court sandiego, ca. 92123-1799 usa (619)565-8400 telex 181-701 fax (619) 268-9695 New Oceanic and Coastal Atlases Focus on Potential EEZ Conflicts by Charles N. Ehler, Daniel J. Basta, Thomas F. LaPointe, and Maureen A. Warren Producing atlases of coastal and oceanic areas as a means of providing information for decisionmaking is not a new idea. Since the 16th century — the time of Gerard Mercator — atlases have been used to present new information about the world. During the 1 7th century, sea atlases printed information previously available only on sea charts for the use of merchants. Through its Strategic Assessment Program, the Ocean Assessments Division of the Office of Oceanography and Marine Assessment, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), produces and uses comprehensive data atlases to effectively compile, synthesize, and communicate large amounts of complex technical information on the coastal and oceanic areas of the United States. These atlases use mapped data and other information for national assessments. Our experience indicates that thematic maps can be powerful tools for assessments. Decisions about the use of coastal and oceanic resources are made constantly in Congress, in state legislatures, in executive agencies at all levels of government, in board rooms, and by individual citizens. They are made over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, from site-specific decisions to federal policy and programmatic decisions that affect the entire nation — from real-time to long-range. Information of varying types and quality is required for making resource use decisions throughout this range of scales. NOAA's Strategic Assessment Program Since 1979, NOAA has been compiling information on important characteristics of the coastal areas and the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the United States. These data are being organized in the context of a national program of "strategic assessments" of potential conflicts among the multiple uses of resources within these areas. The assessments are characterized as strategic because they develop information appropriate for setting and modifying national objectives to 1) develop and conserve coastal and oceanic resources, 2) identify various means to achieve these objectives, and 3) evaluate the potential effects of their implementation. They are intended to complement, not replace, the detailed "tactical" analyses required to make site-specific decisions. Strategic Assessment activities bring together four general types of information relevant to decisionmaking: 1) physical and chemical characteristics of resources and their surrounding environment; 2) biological characteristics, including species distribution abundance, life history, and habitat; 3) economic characteristics, including resource extraction and production, marine recreation, and land use; and 4) environmental quality, including pollutant discharges, ambient water quality, and hazardous materials disposal. One of the most important products of the strategic assessment program is a series of atlases. The atlases serve as the principal vehicles for consistently coalescing and organizing this wide range of information. Data presented in the atlases are finding increasingly wider applications, ranging from the evaluation of ocean waste disposal strategies, to environmental assessments of major federal activities, such as outer continental shelf oil and gas lease sales, oil spill response, and research planning. Primary users include executives and their technical staffs within NOAA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Minerals Management Service of the Department of the Interior, the United States Coast Guard, and the Army Corps of Engineers. All are federal agencies responsible for managing human activities that directly or indirectly affect estuarine, coastal, and oceanic environmental quality. Coastal states are a growing collection of users as NOAA's new information and assessment capabilities become better known; congressional staffs, interest groups, and business organizations are also users. The Atlases Three distinctly different types of atlases are being developed, each presenting information for different decisionmaking requirements. When completed, the atlases will include more than 700 thematic maps; almost 400 have been developed already. A series of thematic atlases for the EEZ, the first type of atlas, is the original and still principal thrust of the national program. Four of the most 42 figure 1 . Strategic Assessment Regions of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone: 1) East Coast; 2) Gulf of Mexico; 3) Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas; and 4) West Coast and Culf of Alaska. heavily used regions of the EEZ are the principal focus: 1 ) the East Coast; 2) the Gulf of Mexico; 3) the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas; and 4) the West Coast and Gulf of Alaska (Figure 1 ). A strategic assessment atlas of thematic maps has been or will be produced for each of these regions. Using a consistent format, each atlas brings together for the first time the best available information on important characteristics of each region (see box on page 51). A second type of atlas is a folio of national maps that presents comprehensive information on the use and health of coastal waters. Its national perspective covers the entire United States on a single page. The general public is its principal audience, and education, its primary purpose. The third type is an atlas series on estuaries throughout the contiguous United States that aims to present consistent and compatible information on the nation's estuarine resource base. The first volume includes information on the physical and hydrologic characteristics of these areas. Future volumes will include land use, the distribution and abundance of biological resources, and pollutant discharges. Individual volumes have the format of a workbook that provides information for further scientific and engineering analysis. Regional EEZ Data Analyses An Eastern United States Coastal and Ocean Zones Data Atlas was published in 1980, following a year and a half of data compilation and organization. It was produced in response to concerns among federal agencies about the environmental quality effects of outer continental shelf oil and gas exploration and production activities, and the location of projected petroleum refineries in adjacent coastal areas of the East Coast. The atlas contains 127 maps of the East Coast, a brief introductory text, and a reference section. A scale of 1:4,000,000 (one inch = approximately 64 miles) was chosen for data presentation to illustrate the spatial extent of natural resources and human activities on a base map covering the entire East Coast. A Culf of Mexico Strategic Assessment Data Atlas was published by the U.S. Government Printing Office in March, 1986, after about 4 years of data compilation and synthesis. The atlas contains 163 maps of important characteristics of the Gulf of 43 Mexico, including the Mexican sector (Figure 2). The quality of the information content and graphic presentation of the Gulf of Mexico data atlas has been significantly improved when compared to the East Coast atlas. Introductory text has been added to each major section and a brief descriptive text written for each map. An extensive "life history table," which summarizes additional information on each species, such as habitat requirements, is included in the "living marine resources" section. This atlas also includes examples of the synoptic capabilities of oceanographic satellites, such as Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sea-surface temperature maps, showing the highly variable nature of the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico and chlorophyll-a maps of the entire Gulf of Mexico region derived from Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) data. A Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas Strategic Assessment Data Atlas will be printed in early 1987. The atlas will contain 1 1 2 maps of the Arctic region, including the Canadian Beaufort Sea and the Soviet Bering and Chukchi seas (Figure 3). A major departure of this atlas from its two predecessors is the emphasis on a relatively extensive description of each map. Special maps developed for the Arctic atlas include sea-ice dynamics and sea-ice type (derived from AVHRR satellite imagery); marine sediments, chlorophyll-a (based on Coastal Zone Color Scanner imagery); and subsistence activities of Alaskan Natives, a particularly important human activity in the Arctic, developed from detailed anthropological field surveys conducted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. A West Coast and Gulf of Alaska Strategic Assessment Data Atlas, scheduled for publication in early 1988, is the fourth and final atlas in the series on the EEZ. It will contain approximately 150 thematic maps. While the format and content of this atlas is similar to its predecessors, one improvement is the addition of another dimension of oceanic space to the maps. A profile of the vertical distribution in the water column is included for each animal portrayed in the "living marine resource" section (Figure 4). The Health of Coastal Waters A folio of 20 maps will be printed in color by the end of 1986, showing the nationwide distribution of human population, municipal sewage treatment plants, fecal coliform bacteria discharges, and areas closed to commerical shellfish harvest, and other indicators of "environmental health." Additional information, such as tidal ranges, coastal circulation, and dredging activities, also will be included. Each thematic map is accompanied by about 2,000 words of text, plus figures and tables. Atlas pages will be added or updated periodically to include new information generated through ongoing field monitoring programs, such as NOAA's National Status and Trends Program, also managed by the Office of Oceanography and Marine Assessment, which is measuring the ambient concentration of toxic chemicals in mussels and oysters, bottom- feeding fish, and sediments at 150 coastal and estuarine locations. Gulf of Mexico Coastal and Ocean Zones Strategic Ass 1 ~ Figure 2. Sample map from the Gulf of Mexico Data Atlas. National Estuarine Series The first atlas in this series was printed in 1985. Mapped and tabular data are presented for the 92 estuaries that account for about 90 percent of the freshwater inflow to coastal waters and 90 percent of the estuarine surface water in the United States. Several small estuarine systems and other coastal 44 >nt: Data Atlas * . - **«.«» «.M.-«M ,.* ,' " -* MOJV.I.MNU.. *-" IT Red snapper Lutjanus campechanus Guachinango Description Range The red snapper a bony dsh o( ihe family Lutjanidae is found along the western Atlanhc from New England lo Ihe Yucatan Peninsula and th»oughoui the Gull of Mexico 11 is panic ularly abundant on me Campeche Banks, the shell afeas of wesi Florida, and Ihe noihern Gulf Habitat These demersal fish are found over sandy and rocky botloms. around reefs and underwater objects at depths between 0 to 200 meters and possibly beyond l .200 meters in the northern pan of iis distribution area adult red snapper favor deeper waters Juveniles mhaDii shallow nearshore and estuanne waters and are mosl abundant over sand or mud bottoms Feeding and Behavior A common inhabitant of reefs, ihe red snapper leeds along Ihe bottom on fishes and benih.c organisms such as tumcates. crustaceans, and molluscs Juveniles feed on zooplankton. small dsh. crustaceans, and molluscs The red snapper .5 a schooling species Reproduction Spawning grounds are located m offshore waters and are active Irom June lo October Juveniles are found m esiuanes and inshore coastal areas Movement: Little movement is shown by tagging studies, excepl possibly a general offshore movement m cold weather As |uvemles mature, they move inlo deeper waters Fisheries. Commercial fishing lor ihis species m the Gulf is more extensive than lor any other snapper wiih year-round fishery reported oM the coasts of western Florida ID Te»as and off the Yucatan In lerms of landed pounds. Ihe red snapper is the largest component o< the snapper lishery The fed snapper is highly esteemed as a recreational sport tish Recreational fishing grounds are located offshore in Ihe northern Gull and both coasls o' Florida References Benson N G . ec . 1982, Bradley E , andC E Bryan. 1974 Camber C I 195$ Collins, L A . J H Finucane. and L E Barger 1980 Fischer W . ed 1978 Gulf ol Mexico Fishery Management Council, i980b. US DOI, FWS Office of Biological Services. 1978 Adult Area (Year-round) Major Adult Area (Year-round) Nursery Area (Year-round) '\ Commercial Fishing Ground (Year-round) Recreational Fishing Ground (Year-round) Spawning, from June lo Oclober. occurs throughout adult areas References Rivas. L R pers comm Strategic Assessment Branch Ocean Assessments Division Office of Oceanography and Marine Assessment National Ocean Service/NOAA and the Southeast Fisheries Center National Marine Fisheries Service/NOAA 3.36 areas are included because they represent significant coastal features. Data elements include 1) the dimensions and boundaries of estuarine waters and drainage areas; 2) freshwater inflow rates; 3) tidal parameters; 4) stratification classification; and 5) surface area of salinity regimes. A map of each estuarine system is accompanied by selected vertical cross-sections of the estuary and a table of selected freshwater inflow and tidal data (Figure 5). A second data atlas, containing information on 25 categories of land use within each estuarine drainage area, will be 45 II Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas Strategic Assessment: Data Atlas Walleye Pollock Thefaya cfiato 3.34 Description in « murr«i l 11*1*1. puffinj nonTwrn FUI I** I, M« I #9*1 SUlut a"d M.n^prrw.1 »cl o> I0T8 (PL M 2«5| m*n«g«in«nt juradicooo und» No-Hi PaoV: F una * dvnng ma Mrty 19701 cviuii CiUiomn » ChuMchi S« Distribution M.«» 197; P«,,B,,, RH,« ano 8«>«»ia tfl'8 wwotira. Simp* ind Mann. • Biology - Sp«*n Februiry. July evil April »*»r»g» iBCundny BQOui «J7000 tool pw iwiMk. tu» FwnMM m*y reiuu «ggi M it ooc» or in O'OBtn .Gcrtiu-u.t 1954. Zwitova. 1M9. 90-T'O mm lirw yoar Mila* pndominal* among linwiim HI fine atKXJl «uli ll m»lunty AduO I? 100-100 m««i wmpviim* 0 10*C OPOmurn 2 S'C tpawnn 100- lo300-m**o^rtnt 0-33-C inaniy* mm«mein apoanxilty rMiUd tc a condi Fsclors influencing Poputstlons Mitunt Jdg. irtf Tiupfc 1073 MRO. 1VT4 Somanpn i°78 Fr««i and UMry iMla.b Harry mucu) Uy*r Emutuftod oil 13 .ngmtoO nxxi ' by ftih« 1ry>no 10 mimtiin wolciosmolx Mlu Current «)ui«bflum yi Persona Con«utt*d Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas Strategic Assessment: Data Atlas Foreign Commercial Fishing 4.12 Description •• In* rruing ol rwatnttly 323). and Asm mackiral Sabl*fi*n rociftin« and los Ettscts Catch Statistics The toi^jn citcn from th« Miwrn Senna S«i and 'orngn calcrt irnm IT* vnv* £ iciu*v Zon* |EEZ) ol ttw USA r> )M2 «nO i it 87% i M2 I" liM. Poland. PiytuDU inO in* USs'fl t DMBfy ts trw 1mm Jufy (Tinmen Octoox Tr* Kvttwm ind ««»m Bving So* n rcw-in* to- m. So* Irom Srat- 3«y m rhe loutrwn coul ol S*«n» Rsgulstlon Forwgn "••* B*nng S«a riMnl Aci iMFC n*n»ry o E.Uaw. Economic Zor» ol ma US*1 no»pi ft* SUUK* Progiam. 19B4) Uon> man naff ot D>* •n ftVwry rwoureaa ana d Via EEZ aicapi *n*n r» lhan 75% ol (h* __._:. Ji' IBO4 (National OL. * nan i ApixDiinaian; 31 •nd HOP* d> th* Banng ''-.** f tha Fishing UvttxxM oy to-wgr ccxrvnooal ItenafTTwn (Hamvy iM4i «aaAco> and -*., mam aboard «• mguia; mtarvui • method UMC) pnmanry By in* JapamM • m* MFCMA al • -. riir-rig .mm mEEZ IrrWinioon 4 comprtad On ma fiinmg loiai calcfi oy XMCIM and c«crv-»"Dn. POM to f» Mediation Japan >u W» on*, natton r»(»njn() A M 100 M*nc Ton* n 111 500 or greater I 250 499 I 100 • 249 I 50 - 99 EU" Figure 3. Sample of facing pages from the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas Data Atlas. published in 1986. When complete, the National Estuarine Inventory will be used to make comparisons, rankings, statistical correlations, and other analyses related to resource use, environmental quality, and economic values among estuaries. Although the atlases are a very visible and important part of the Strategic Assessment Program, 46 v •^I—S'V Walleye Pollock Theragrs cftatafpsrrrna 3.34 M Ofounddrt tJcnuvy ihfwjgh GMcwnbw) i (Jwiuw wougrt D««mtMn - • ! Foreign Commercial Fishing 4.12 M QroundW> (Janu*ry tttrou^ Mcrcnj Pofcx* (Januwy tnrough March) they represent only one step in an evolving process to develop operational capabilities for assessing national coastal and oceanic resource use problems. Another step involves information bases/systems with computer mapping and analysis capabilities. Computer-Based Mapping Capabilities A key to developing useful information and practical 47 National Estuarine Atlas Adult Distribution Open Ocean Shore Juvenile Distribution Open Ocean Shore Reproductive Stages Distribution Open Ocean Shore 42°- ; , / i « 4 * 41»- '? f)n *• u?c Mate MyOT* »• Nl IMUU 1«M. PHYSICAL AND HYDROLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS PHYSICAL FRESHWATER INFLOW TIDAL DATA 'mi if ir Afttf (mi?) Flow Rutif (10OO ctt) Prevailing Tide Semidiurnal Fluvial Drainage 0010 Period 1970- Esiua'ine Drainage 7,230 0' Record 1982 Esiuanne Zones Long Term ^ 0 ph*u* tony* ol TW» fffj Tidal Fresh 29 Average Daily Map Key Station R nge Mining Zone 165 J 299 J 144 A 191 Seawater 1087 F 334 A 11 a B 375 Total 1281 Averaoe M "0 S 122 C 215 OfeMfwfoiM Monthly A 664 O 19 1 D 370 Length (mi ) 199 0 M 44 S N 24 0 E 22 ' W.fJih (mi ) Average Minimum Maximum '24 J 21 7 O 31 2 F 367 0 7 7-Day, 10-Year G 2M 22 6 Low Flow H 24g Average Dept (fi ) 63 8 50- Year Flood 222 9 i 339 Average Depl to Width Ratio 100 Year Flood 234 1 J 257 Flow Ritios K 26 1 Stritittc lion Ctmwticiti in Average Annual OOlO L 267 3-Monlh High low VH High Flow Pe"Od OOtB 3-Monlh Low low VH Low Flow Period 0 004 A neous. VH Moderately Slratiliefl MS. Highly Stratified, MS 1 Cross Section , 1; HalK) A' 1 UN.niPoinl The Race NapalteePonl Notes: One hundred percent ol Estuarine Drainage Area is shown on map Drainage Divide represents portion ol Esluar ne Drainage Area boundary not coinciding with US Geologica Survey cataloging unit boundary References: Cenvone, et al . 1982 Garvine. 1974 Hill and Sheridan. 1970 Koppelmann. 1972 Spaulding and Beauchamp, 1983 Thomas, et al . 1983 U S Department ol Com- merce. 1983a Figure 4. A profile of the vertical distribution of Pacific hake. assessment capabilities is the recognition that a number of factors, many for which knowledge is highly uncertain, affect almost every coastal and oceanic resource use decision. In this decisionmaking context, where incomplete knowledge and uncertainty exist, assessment capabilities are required that enable the analysis of different assumptions, about both the state of scientific knowledge and alternative management strategies. The new NOAA information bases/ systems are designed to apply these capabilities to coastal and oceanic resource use decisions. An innovative feature of these capabilities is their emphasis on building "expert systems" that use available information and knowledge in an efficient and easily understood manner. The operating principle is to guide users through "menu-driven" computer programs that logically organize various levels of details and combinations of data aggregations and graphic presentations. Another important feature is the emphasis on "audit trail" capability so that the quality of the information itself can be evaluated. Information mapped in the data atlases illustrates the types of data bases being developed. Each data base is organized geographically so that characteristics can be compared, computer-mapped, and assessed across combinations of spatial units, 48 f "T\ l SSACHUSET 01 (CONNECTICU | F > 01100004 24 MILES UKJK 10 20 30 40 KILOMETERS ,000 USO8 Aooou*« Unt« ol l 7.600.000 NOAAM06 KM 1 10.000: No 13201. Jm Long Island Sound NY, CT, MA Tide Gage Flow Gage FA] Head of Tide Estuarine Drainage Area (EDA) Tidal Fresh Zone Mixing Zone Seawater Zone Hydrologic Cataloging Unit Boundary County Boundary Salinity Zone Boundary • Low Variability Salinity Zone Boundary - Moderate Variability Salinity Zone Boundary - High Variability Strategic Assessment Branch Ocean Aueumenta Division Office of Oceanography and Marine Aaataamont National Ocean Sarvlce/NOAA 1.17 F/gure 5. Sample map from the National Estuarine Inventory Data Atlas. depending on the problem. On land, information is organized by county, urban area, drainage basin, estuary, and in some places, simply by latitude and longitude. The spatial structure of the data bases contains, for example, 316 coastal counties and 92 estuaries throughout the contiguous United States. Two data bases/assessment systems illustrate the national capabilities being developed. The National Coastal Pollutant Discharge Inventory (NCPDI) is a data base of discharge from all land- and ocean-based sources of pollution. Since most discharges affecting environmental quality in the EEZ come from land-based sources, information about the nature of these coastal sources is essential. The analytical capability developed through the NCPDI permits the assessment and mapping of the effects of different combinations of economic, technologic, and policy assumptions about the levels and distribution of pollutant discharges. The inventory is being developed to represent conditions during the period from 1980 to 1985. The type of water pollutants considered include 1) oxygen-demanding materials; 2) nutrients; 3) heavy metals; 4) petroleum hydrocarbons; 5) synthetic organics; 6) sludges; and 7) pathogens. Source categories include all point, nonpoint, and riverine sources in coastal and 49 Sockeye Salmon COnco r hy nc hus nerka} B302700. Adult Major Major area CJune5 Adult Area Adult Concentrations 42 1 00 42 1 01 42 1 02 J JJ JJ Figure 6. A computer-generated Arctic species map. oceanic areas. The Living Marine Resource Life History Data Base is a computer mapping and assessment system based on the species distributions mapped in the regional data atlases. Mapping the life history distributions of important living marine resources is a major part of each strategic assessment. This activity is conducted jointly with NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service. Developing life history maps is the most complex and difficult part of each strategic assessment. As the overall program evolves, so will the content, complexity, and accuracy of information portrayed about living marine resources. Maps are being developed for more than 300 species of marine invertebrates, fishes, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Each map is a synthesis of existing information (published, unpublished, or computer data bases) on a species that is compiled, assimilated, and evaluated by a team of scientists in each region. Each map portrays the distribution of adults; juveniles; reproduction; routes or corridors of migration; relative abundancies; and areas of commercial, recreational, and subsistence exploitation (Figure 6). No Shortcuts The declaration of 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones by many coastal nations has stimulated new interest in marine resource atlases. In October, 1985, the Challenger Society and the Royal Geographical Society sponsored an international meeting and exhibit in London on marine resource atlases. One of the atlases exhibited was a Piscatorial Atlas of the North Sea and St. Georges Channels that had been published in color in 1883, containing 50 maps of fish life history distributions. Before the current NOAA effort, similar marine resource atlases had not been developed for the coastal and oceanic waters of the United States. This body of information and operational assessment capability have been under development by NOAA for almost seven years. Among the lessons learned is that there are simply no shortcuts to developing these capabilities systematically and carefully. The operational task of integrating data atlases and analytical capabilities is a difficult one, requiring creativity, consistency, and continuity. The process of developing thematic atlases serves as a focal point for codifying consistently what is currently known about important characteristics of the marine environment. The analytical capability to combine, compare, analyze, and map these characteristics comprehensively provides NOAA and other parts of the marine scientific and resource management communities with a basis to organize 50 The Atlas Preparation Process While the processes for preparing each type of atlas varies, four activities are applicable to all: • Designing the Base Map. The scale of the base map for data presentation is determined by the smallest scale that will allow data presentation on a single atlas page. This criterion is important because the thematic information displayed on the maps, such as the life history of living marine resources, often covers the entire region. A Lambert Conformal Conic projection is generally used to minimize the distortion of geographical features. A standard base map is then compiled from the best available sources. • Selecting Data to Map. National and regional coastal and oceanic resource use decisions usually require some combination of information about 1) physical environments (for instance, wetlands and seagrasses); 2) living marine resources; 3) economic activities; 4) marine environmental quality; and 5) jurisdictions, such as boundaries of maritime zones, state coastal management programs, and federal agency jurisdictions. Explicit criteria are used to select and prepare data maps within these categories. The data have to be 1) relevant to the assessment of known or perceived coastal and oceanic resource-use compatibilities or conflicts; 2) geographically comprehensive — cover the entire region with uniform accuracy; 3) reasonably available and accessible within the time constraints of the assessment schedule; and 4) of relatively known quality. Strict adherence to these criteria often leads to significant gaps in mapped data. • Data Collection and Initial Mapping. Data for the atlases are collected by and from scientists and analysts throughout NOAA as well as from a wide variety of other sources, including federal, state, and local agencies, universities, other research institutions, private industry, and trade associations. In a few cases, data are compiled and mapped from existing published sources; more often data are collected from unpublished sources and personal communications with various experts, but in many cases, original work must be undertaken to develop data to be mapped. All data sources and quality are thoroughly documented, with typically hundreds of people providing, checking, and validating data. • Validation and Final Mapping. Validation of the working maps is a lengthy, repetitive process. Maps are checked and rechecked, drawn and redrawn, based on source material and consultation with experts both within and outside NOAA. Whenever possible, data and their presentation on atlas maps are checked with the individuals who compiled the original data. The maps generally represent a conservative interpretation of the data. Draft maps are often eliminated because of serious data limitations and others are not included for which even the very best available data raise more questions than they answer. and communicate in a timely manner on the effects of alternative policies and actions. As the products and services of this NOAA program are applied, tested further, and refined, they should provide previously unavailable opportunities for improving the process through which important coastal and oceanic decisions are made. Charles N. Ehler is the Director of the Office of Oceanography and Marine Assessment, National Ocean Service, NOAA. Daniel /. Basta is (he Chief of the Strategic Assessment Branch of the Ocean Assessments Division. Thomas F. LaPointe and Maureen A. Warren are project managers in the Strategic Assessment Branch. Selected References Basta, D. ]., and others. 1985. The national coastal pollutant discharge inventory. Proceedings of COASTAL ZONE '85. pp. 961-977. Ehler, C. N., and D. ). Basta. 1982. Information for assessing the future use of ocean resources. Marine Pollution Bulletin. Vol. 1 3, No. 6. pp. 186-191. Ehler, C. N., and D. J. Basta. 1984. Strategic assessment of multiple resource-use conflicts in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. In Proceedings of the Exclusive Economic Zone Symposium at the OCEANS '84 Conference, pp. 1-6. Ehler, C. N., D. J. Basta, and T. F. LaPointe. 1983. An automated data system for strategic assessment of living marine resources in the Gulf of Mexico. Proceedings of AUTO-CARTO 5. pp. 83-91. Lee, A. )., and J. W. Ramster, eds. 1980. Atlas of the Seas Around the British Isles. Southampton, England: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 61 maps + text. Olsen, O. T. 1 883. The Piscatorial Atlas of the North Sea and St. Georges Channels. London: Taylor and Francis. 50 maps + text. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 1986. Gulf of Mexico Strategic Assessment Data Atlas. Washin'J'on, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 161 maps + text. U.S. Department jf Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the President's Council on Environmental Quality. l^-iO. Eastern United States Coastal and Ocean Zones Data /Ubv Washington, DC: NOAA. 127 maps + text. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1985. National Estuarine Inventory Data Atlas. Volume ': Physical and Hydrologic Characteristics. Washington, DC: NOAA. 92 maps + text. 51 CENTER PLAZA Oceanic Architecture and by Paul R. Ryan, and Michael A. Champ Anything that one man can imagine, another man can realize. —Jules Verne I he Japanese consider ocean space to be a natural resource. Limited in the amount of land usable for future development, they are pioneering a new breed of architect — young Frank Lloyd Wrights of the sea working to meet the severe space demands 52 expected by the middle of the 21st century. Their ambitious dreams — indeed some would say fantasies — include entire ocean cities, some floating or standing on their own sea legs and others resting on man-made islands, as well as modern coastal Japanese student design for a marine complex (above and below) in a coral reef setting. Engineering in Japan mmm 53 Sea of Japan Pacific Ocean Figure 1 . Candidate sites for location of offshore man-made islands. fishing villages and sites for at-sea energy and chemical plants. There are even concepts for industry that embrace the idea of building textile and other types of plants in foreign waters, such as in India and areas of Southeast Asia, where inexpensive labor-intensive situations exist. A mountainous island nation, only about 30 percent of Japan's land area (380,000 square kilometers) is habitable, supporting 117 million people. This figure, it is estimated, will reach 140 million by the middle of the next century. Much of the habitable land is also prime agricultural land. Presently available offshore areas suitable for man-made islands, to water depths of 20 meters, total approximately 7.6 million acres, of which 50 percent is being used in one fashion or another (for mariculture, shipping routes, and so on). In the next two decades it is estimated that the demand for this type of ocean space will exceed supply by about 3.7 million acres (Figure 1). Marine engineers and architects are thus looking to site their projects in deeper water. Studies by the Ministry of Transport and other Japanese organizations have supported the feasibility of constructing large cities and man-made islands with the aid of advanced technologies from the fields of harbor construction, undersea tunnel construction, long-span bridge construction, offshore structures, and high-volume earth and sand transportation. The construction of man-made islands in Japan is not new. The practice dates from the early 19th century, when some fortified islands were built in Tokyo Bay for defense. In the 1950s, others were constructed for the mining of undersea coal. In the 1960s, an era of high economic growth, reclaimed land attached to shore was developed for industrial use in various parts of Japan. Emphasis on land reclamation then shifted in the 1970s to man-made islands off the coast as a means of avoiding industrial pollution. The major use to date has been for expanded harbor facilities and airports. Major man- made islands constructed in Japan during the last 20 years and their uses are shown in Table 1. Japan's ocean architects are thus conceiving plans for new cities at sea, power plants, industrial complexes, educational and research bases, vacation resorts, fishery farming complexes, and a host of other conventional land space uses. In general, there are six structural possibilities for the construction of offshore man-made islands — reclamation, piling, bottom-fixed, jack-up, floating, and semi-submersion (Figure 2). The reclamation type of man-made island is constructed by reclaiming the sea area enclosed by revetments* using caissons,** double-wall sheet piles, and other materials. This type of island is vulnerable to strong earthquakes, but resists moderately high waves. In the piling concept, a platform is fitted on top of piles driven into the seabed, and structures are built on the platform. This type of structure is affected by earthquakes and wave action. The bottom-fixed type of island consists of a structure built on a caisson or a floating body that is towed to the ocean site. This type of island is suitable for relatively shallow water. A jack-up type of island also consists of a structure built on a floating body that is towed to an ocean site. Once at the site, the floating body is jacked up to the appropriate height on legs fixed to the seabed. Many oil rigs in the North Sea use the jack-up principle. Structural weight is restricted by leg strength and jack-up capacity. The floating concept requires mooring the structure and is affected by the pitching and rolling caused by waves. However, it is less susceptible to earthquakes. Finally, in the semi-submersion type of island, part of the floating-body is submerged to dampen the effect of pitching and rolling. This type of structure was built in Okinawa many years ago to house the World's Fair. Ocean Communications City One of the most ambitious projects on the Japanese architectural drafting tables is the creation of the Ocean Communications City (OCC). Described in publicity as a "technological marvel for the 21st century," the large marine city is the brainchild of Professor Kiyohide Terai, Secretary General of the study group for Ocean Communications City. Indeed, if the concept is realized, it would be the largest and greatest marine engineering and architectural feat since the construction of Venice, Italy. It would be comparable to the United States effort in landing a man on the moon. The basic plan for the city consists of four levels or decks each measuring 5 by 5 kilometers. Each level would have a height of 20 meters. The * Walls made of various material to protect an embankment. ** An airtight chamber, open at the bottom and containing air under sufficient pressure to exclude the water. 54 Table 1. Major existing man-made islands in Japan Name Use Water depth (m) Wave height (m) Soil quality Construction period Area (1,000m2) Ogishima Industrial land 0-15 3.4 Clay 1971-1975 5,150 Higashi Ogishima Harbor facility and transportation 0-10 — Silt 1972-1984 4,340 facility Yokohama Daikoku Harbor facility greenery 12 5.5-6.0 Silt 1963-1985 3,210 Nagoya Port Island Soil dump 6-7.5 2.0 Clay, silt 1975-1987 1,140 Nagoya Kinjo Harbor facility, foreign trade facility, 0-5 1.0 Soft soil 1963-1985 1,910 exhibition hall, greenery Yokkaichi Kasumigaura Harbor facility, industrial land 4.5-12 4.0 Soft soil 1967-1988 3,870 Gobo Thermal Power Plant Power plant site 5-18 17.5 Sandstone, 1980-1983 350 sandy soil Osaka South Port Harbor facility, urban development 10 3.3 Clay 1958-1984 9,370 site, commercial facility, park, greenery Osaka North Port Harbor facility, industrial land, waste 10 3.3 Clay 1972-1988 6,150 disposal facility Kobe Port Island Harbor facility, international exchange 10-13 — Clay 1966-1981 4,360 facility, urban development site Rokko Island Harbor facility, urban development site 10-14 — Clay 1971-1985 5,830 Kanda Earth Dump Dredged sand dump, park 7.5 2.5 Soft soil 1977-1986 1,530 Nagasaki Airport Airport 10-18 2.0 Clay, basalt 1971-1974 1,630 Mitsui-Miike Island (No. 3) Vertical ventilation shaft 10 3.3 Soft soil 1969-1970 6 Kansai International Airport Airport 20 — Soft soil 1985- 1,200 lowest deck would be 20 meters from the surface of the sea, making the top deck 80 meters above sea level. The area of each deck would be 25 square kilometers for a total surface area of 100 square kilometers. It is estimated that the city would be able to support a permanent population of 1 million people and be able to accommodate 500,000 visitors. The price tag for this venture has been estimated at $200 billion in 1986 dollars, or 40 trillion yen. The top deck of the city would support an international airport with two 6-kilometer-long runways (Figure 3). In addition, there would be a sports center with eight golf courses, 400 tennis courts, 2 domed air-conditioned baseball stadiums, swimming pools, and so on. It is also planned to have an international research center for ocean development, as well as other international scientific research centers. The second deck will be given over to a large international business center, including a financial market. The third deck is a living area with 40 percent of the space devoted to roads and parking lots, 20 percent for hotels, restaurants, and shopping areas, and the remaining 40 percent to 5- story buildings for private dwellings. The lower deck would be devoted to utilities and services for the city, such as garbage collecting, water works, energy facilities, and so on. On the lower deck, there also will be a port for 1,000-passenger vessels called Surface-Effect Ships (SES), described as similar to hovercrafts, but much faster (cruising speed between 80 and 100 knots) and providing access to Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, Shiznoka, and other cities in japan (Figures 4 and 5). In its conceptual stage, the study group has attempted to envision an extremely advanced and sophisticated central electronics computer facility to coordinate and operate the wide range of technological innovations to be incorporated in the city's design. Discussions have even suggested that perhaps it would house the seventh generation computer. Professor Terai said that the "legs" supporting the city would consist of, from the top down, a pillar, a ballast tank, and a column. Each leg structure would rest on a specially designed foundation. Reclamation type 7ZMML rfl-n -? Piling type Bottom-fixed type n rThn n " \ -7- F v rf Vn _2J r rOn -^rJ L - V \l I/ _/~\ i-n £~ K v L II II d! I llllll \ ^ -=- / III 19 HI inn \ — - / I ^\j Jack-up type Figure 2. Strucfura/ types of man-made islands. Floating type Semi-submerged type 55 Figure 3. An artist's conception of the top deck of the Ocean Communications City. Whereas the pillar and tank would have to be strong enough to withstand the dead weight pressure, the column and foundation would be under comparatively little stress because the entire structure would be half-floating. The steel required for the project is roughly 100 million metric tons, which would make it by far the largest steel structure in the world. Sensors in the legs would monitor changes in pressure arising from local differences between the weight and buoyancy. Information from the sensors would be fed back to a master computer, which would control separate adjustments in individual legs to compensate for any pressure change. If pressure between the legs became uneven, the relevant ballast tanks would be readjusted by increasing or decreasing the water level in the tanks (Figure 6). Terai said the city's structure could be thought of "as being generally the same as that of a ship in that both are affected by external pressure from waves of varying height and length. Naturally, the larger the wave length and height, the greater the external pressure. The dimensions of the structure and the thickness of the plates normally would have to be increased to compensate, resulting in a large increase in the total weight of the structure. But the computer system for adjustment of both weight and buoyancy is intended to solve the problem without an immense increase in the size of the structure. Recent innovations in corregations of the exterior surface now allow for tremendous increases in strength with a sizeable reduction in weight. The legs also have a built-in shock absorber called a SAUCER (Shock Absorber Used for Column Erection) to make the city safe from earthquakes and tsunamis (Figure 7). Another safety factor is the fact that the city has been designed as a hybrid structure of semi-floating and partially fixed structures. Thus it will be compartmentalized or built in cells. Looking to the future, Professor Terai leaned back in his plush office in the downtown Tokyo NNT building, Japan's equivalent to AT&T headquarters, and sighed: "In Japan, when transportation is included, it takes a full day [and green fees of $100] to play a round of golf. In our ocean city, offices are located on the second deck, and housing on the third. In 1 5 minutes, you can be on the golf course or travel (Figure 8) from one point in the city to the next." The one-day business trip between Tokyo and Washington will become a reality in the 21st century, Professor Terai continued, citing President Reagan's directive this year to NASA to design a 56 Figure 4. A side view of the Ocean Communications City, consisting ot (our separate decks. high-speed plane capable of Mach 25 by the year 1996. Professor Terai admits that the funding for his city will be difficult. He expects to raise the $220 billion needed for the project both from government and private sectors. At the moment, he has submitted a proposal to the government to build a military training airfield in the waters near the Izu islands off Sagani Bay for the United States as one option among several being considered by the Japanese government, in what has proved a delicate political matter. "The price tag," he said, "would be $200 million and would give us a chance to test and evaluate, on a smaller scale, several of the Ocean Communications City's engineering and design concepts, and also the social ramifications of intensive population settlement in a small area of the ocean. Training of Ocean Architects Many of Japan's ocean architects have come from the College of Science and Technology at Nihon University in Tokyo, which has a Department of Oceanic Architecture and Engineering. Professor Wataru Kato, Dean of the college, has written that with the establishment of many 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones, ocean space itself in Japan became a natural resource. "The need for multi-purpose, efficient utilization of ocean space," Kato notes, "is not limited to Japan alone, but is important as an international proposition. The basic tenet of Oceanic Architecture and Engineering lies in the preservation of comfortable human living conditions and the conservation of the land and water environment in coastal and offshore areas where human life and social activities intermingle closely." In 1985, Nihon University hosted the First International Symposium on Ocean Space Utilization (the brainchild of Dean Kato) to bring together the world's experts on ocean engineering. The Conference Proceedings (in English) were published as a two-volume set by Pergamon Press in Toyko to bring together an extensive overview of existing knowledge. The Department of Oceanic Architecture and Engineering at Nihon University has a faculty of 63 members with instruction at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. To our knowledge, it is the only such training facility in the world. Kenji Hotta, an assistant professor in the department, and an international advocate of ocean space use within environmental parameters, instills the need for new ocean construction theories in his graduate students. "They must conceive their ideas," 57 Figure 5. The high-speed 1 ,000 passenger ferry SfS (left) and semisubmersible cargo boat (right). can not Ibe bent uncrackable load fracture/ vv,, \\ ^ \\ \\ T» deck buoyancy tank " -4» no deformation no fracture Figure 6. The automatically-adjusting weight control system. 58 Ocean Communications City; Mechanism of Basic Structure (mechatronic structure) w w. j S I UP Figure 7. The legs and SAUCER system. t UP CT -.bsorber for olumn ";'-.ection F/gure 8. Nonpolluting cars would be provided for city dwellers at a fee. A magnetic card would act as a pass key to any parked vehicle. he said, "with the knowledge that there is already a high-density in the utilization of offshore space in Japan, what with shipping routes, fish farms, industrial complexes, and the like." Dr. Hotta, who took his Master's degree at the University of Hawaii and his doctorate in Japan, believes that many other nations in and bordering on the Pacific could use some of the ideas being developed in his department. In fact, he is looking for foreign oceanic architectural challenges for both himself and his students. This fall he will visit countries in Southeast Asia to discuss various ocean space projects. The Problems Ahead The problems standing in the way of materializing many of these concepts include coexistence with fishermen, development of the necessary engineering capabilities, centralized management of information on ocean currents, depths, seabed conditions, and winds and waves — not to mention the huge construction funds required. The Japanese, however, do not seem to be deterred by large-scale engineering problems. One they are presently grappling with is the construction of a man-made island in Tokyo Bay that will facilitate the route of the Trans-Tokyo Bay Highway, a combination of tunnel and bridges that will stretch 15 kilometers across the bay (Figure 9). The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is an example of a similar but smaller project. As envisioned, the island will be used for cultural and technical exchanges among people from many countries as well as for providing multi- purpose nearshore space to meet metropolitan Tokyo's increasing demand for ocean recreation and retirement housing for the elderly. The highway, officially begun this year, is a 10-year project. The reclaimation-type island would be located 4 kilometers off Banshu, Kisarazu City, in water depths up to 25 meters. Applications for U.S.? Many of the new design and construction alternatives that the Japanese marine architects and engineers are developing have extensive application in many environments; particularly in those that have harsh conditions. The development of new materials and construction concepts will only enhance the longevity of structures on land, let alone for ports, harbors, and marinas. The tremendous advances that will spin off these activities will be of the same nature as teflon or the micro-chip or the many thousands of advanced applications that have come from space exploration and development. These advances are necessary if coastal Architectural student's design for modem Japanese fishing village. 60 World marine information center To Kawasaki \\ Deck of refuge Breakwater for refuge (normally for fishing) Restaurant deck ^ f -\ f Qceacctesear-chrce International exchange zone Leisure/u rmary sc°o land \\ and secondary school / VT Event berth Berth of refuge from Park (Sewage-planl Berth of refuge from storms Mari nTV— *-L_ vH — ^t Condominium withv N^— J n _ a . Deck of refuge Breakwater for refuge (normally for fishing) Resfaurant deck Trans-Tdkyo Bay Highway D Kisarazu 10 KlS£ Figure 9. Concept of International Communion Complex planned for Tokyo Bay in the next decade. 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