strategies. The steep chemical and thermal gradients associated with many vents make taking uncontaminated and sequential samples a real challenge. He indicated that technological development or improvement is required in ultra-precision navigation, rapid water sample collection, data collection at high sampling rates, repeat sampling by autonomous vehicles, and the development of better data links and new insitu sensors for seafloor observatories. He particularly stressed the need for event detection, possibly by acoustic tomography, of the episodic large releases (burps) of water and gases from active vent systems.

Dr. Kiyouki Kisimoto of the Geological Survey of Japan, in his paper "In Situ Measurements and Observation of Hydrothermal Activity - A Feasibility Study of New Usage of Submersible," discussed the results of the Franco-Japanese STARMER submersible/Sea Beam survey of the Triple Junction in the North Fiji Basin. The group found a white smoker where gypsum rather than sulfides were being precipitated. The STARMER program was a 5-year venture ending in 1992. A new Ridge Flux (energy and mass) program similar to STARMER but including a seafloor laboratory was proposed. The projected areas of study are the Southeast Pacific Rise and BackArc spreading centers in the Western Pacific. The starting date is proposed as April 1992, again to run for 5 years.

Dr. Peter Rona of the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorologic Laboratory (AOML) in Miami indicated in "Frontier of Seafloor Hydrothermal Research" that back-arc basins are an exciting new area of research where the various vent processes occur but with potentially a different set of chemical, thermal, mineralogic, and biologic characteristics due to the different composition of the host rock through which the hydrothermal fluids circulate, i.e., basalts in the oceanic

ridges and andesites and rhyolites in the back-arc basins. Dr. Rona considers this a logical step in the completing of the cycle of the impact of the discovery of the vents as a major process in geologic cycling buffering oceanic, sedimentary, and atmospheric compositions as well as a principal mechanism for economic mineralization. He demonstrated the variability of vent processes by examples of a comparative study of hydrothermal systems from the TAG vents in the Atlantic with the Juan de Fuca system. Investigation of the buoyant plume rising from the vents with the submersible TURTLE was augmented by sonar imaging to track the whole plume. At neutral buoyancy the Atlantic plumes were relatively cold and "fresh" as compared to the Pacific plumes, which were hot and salty. An interesting biologic contrast between oceans was that no tube worms or clams were found in the Atlantic vents where shrimp (inedible due to the sulfides) swarmed near the vents.

"Establishing a Seafloor Observatory: NOAA VENTS Program's LongTerm Seafloor and Hydrothermal Monitoring Experiment" was the topic of Dr. Stephen Hammond's (NOAA's Marine Science Center in Oregon) talk. He outlined some of the chemical fluxes at the vent sites on the Juan de Fuca Ridge where silica is added and phosphorus is subtracted from the oceans. Besides the usual physical and chemiBesides the usual physical and chemical monitoring suggested for on-bottom observatories, Dr. Hammond pointed

from submersibles, ROVs, or bottom sitting. In the fall of 1991, an episodic event detecting device monitoring T-phase signals from submarine eruptions will be deployed followed by an acoustic array for measuring horizontal crustal extension. The pilot seafloor observatory is planned to be in place in 1994-1995 on the Juan de Fuca Ridge as a cooperative venture between the VENTS program and the RIDGE project.

LCDR George Billy of the U.S. Navy outlined the U.S. Navy deep submergence program deep ocean science support. LCDR Billy described the upgrading of the two Navy research submersibles, the SEACLIFF to 20,000 feet and the TURTLE to 10,000 feet. This submersible capability is augmented by ROVS including two SUPER SCORPIO work vehicles. These systems are supported by a civilian manned support ship, M/V LANEY CHOUEST, a 240-foot vessel with berthing for 40 scientists/technicians in addition to the crew. Besides the over-the-side handling capabilities, the LANEY CHOUEST has a SeaBeam surveying system, an integrated deep submergence vehicle (DSV)/ROV navigational system, dynamic position, and well equipped and spacious wet and dry laboratories. Access to these facilities has been improved by a cooperative agreement between the National Undersea Research Program of NOAA and the U.S. Navy.

on the ridge-rise crest, although the vents occur along a back-arc rift of continental character rather than oceanic. Black smoker with giant clam communities were observed during dives in the SHINKAI 2000. The tectonic picture of the economic Kuroko landbased hydrothermal deposits 15 million years ago is similar to that found today in the present Ryukyu Arc. Active vents also have been discovered behind the Izu-Bonin Arc, but in a more oceanic setting. Comparative studies between the two rift systems in tectonically different back-arc areas are proposed. Continuing on this theme, Dr. Hiroshi Hotta, also of the Deepsea Research Group of JAMSTEC, discussed a proposal for the across submersible transect around the Japanese subduction zones. This will include dives by both the SHINKAI 2000 and SHINKAI 6500 comparing (1) the Continental Rift versus the Oceanic Rift, (2) accretion versus nonaccretion, with (3) an acrossarc submersible transect. Dr. Hotta also described a proposal to place a geological-geophysical observatory in the Japan Trench as part of the MODEPAC program of monitoring of the motions of the Pacific Plate. The initial phase is to start in April 1992 pending funding approval.

Dr. Kazuo Kobayashi, representing his colleagues Masaharu Watanabe and Suguru Ohta of the Ocean Research Institute of the University of Tokyo, gave a presentation via video tape on the deep-sea monitoring system onboard the R/V HAKUHO MARU. The system is connected to the ship by an optical fiber/electrical composite cable with 6 kilometers of wire on the drum. The on-bottom package includes stereo color television, a pair of still cameras, four 300-watt halogen lamps, CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth), a sixbottle rosette water sampler, and a signaloperated clamp for remote release of special instruments such as pop-up OBS

(on-bottom seismometer), etc. An acoustic transponder is attached to the frame for location. There is no individual maneuvering capability so the system is hung in the water or towed at speeds under 1 knot along the bottom. Ancillary information as to position, time, etc. is superimposed on the video tape record and the output of the recorder is displayed on two video screens on deck. The video tape presentation showed operations of the ship and the system during research cruises to the Japan Trench and the Manus Basin.

PROGRAMMATIC DEEP-SEA RESEARCH

Dr. Donald Heinrichs of the National Science Foundation (NSF) discussed the current policy and directions of that funding agency. In the near term, emphasis will be on the Global Change Initiative with the RIDGE program an active component. NSF's evaluation criteria with respect to marine research programs include (1) adequate scientific and technological planning, (2) integrated approach, and (3) international cooperation.

the summer of 1992. Besides supporting various on-bottom and over-theside instrument packages, this ship will operate the PISCES V submersible and a modified remote-controlled vehicle (RCV)/ROV.

The closing speaker was Gregory Stone of NOAA, currently on a 2-year tour at JAMSTEC, discussing "Deep Ocean Science Needs, NOAA, UJNR, JAMSTEC." Drawing from his paper (with William S. Busch) titled "Deep Ocean Science and Facility Needs" from the summer 1991 issue of the Marine Technology Society Journal, Stone gave the results of a survey of 62 submersibleusing scientists on research needs in the range of 4,000 to 11,000 meters. The peaks of interest were in the depths of 5,000 to 6,000 meters, corresponding to the flanks of the RidgeRise system and the abyssal plains, and 10,000 to 11,000 meters, representing the oceanic trenches. Some 80% of the respondents would be satisfied with 8 hours or less of bottom time. Stone noted that the nations now in the forefront of submersible development are Japan followed by France. One feature of the Japanese approach to deep-sea research was the extensive use of towed and ROVS in pre-site surveys prior to actual dives with expensive submersibles. This not only enhanced the science that could be planned during the short dive times but provided more regional background data and technological experience, which is not accomplished with the general U.S. policy of dive with limited pre-site surveys.

Prof. Alexander Malahoff of the University of Hawaii outlined the cooperation between NOAA's National Undersea Research Center within the umbrella of Hawaii's Undersea Research Laboratory. The emphasis is on submarine volcanism in the tropical regions. A keystone of the program will be the establishment of an on-bottom volcanological observatory on Loihi Seamount, the "next" Hawaiian island just south SUMMARY of the big island of Hawaii. In 1992 monitoring will begin routinely with the laying of a fiber optic cable from Loihi to the southern tip of Hawaii. In support of the Loihi observatory and other operations, the 220-foot KAIMIKAI-O-KANALOA is under construction with a completion date of

Japanese progress in deep ocean technology is developing rapidly on several fronts. They have new and technologically advanced submersibles and are planning ones with even greater depth capabilities. They are using submersibles and sophisticated remote

vehicles to do the preliminary survey work for pioneering deep-sea observatories and remote instrument stations, planning to link them together and to the beach. This would give them a quasi-synoptic capability for seafloor monitoring. Much of their efforts are justified not as pure science but as filling practical and publicly understood needs such as for earthquake monitoring, fisheries evaluation, environmental testing, and the development of new medicines. In this way the Japanese efforts are seemingly well financed and actively supported by both the government and industry. American efforts are characterized by innovation, but compared to the Japanese we are paying the price for the diverse sources of funding and the fragmentation of oceanographic efforts. Unlike the Japanese programs with a readily identifiable "practical side," even the U.S. programs with a multidisciplinary focus like RIDGE are sold on the pure science side, essentially unintelligible to the general public or even to scientists outside the particular areas. Accordingly, in this time of fiscal restraints on

research, much of what was proposed by American scientists appears to be just that: proposals. As such, they are unlikely to be either funded adequately, realized imperfectly, or carried out by workers in other countries. On the other hand, a comprehensive general oceanographic effort by a single state such as that in Hawaii, although on a smaller scale, has many similarities to the Japanese programs. Hawaii is an island state like Japan; thus, there is a high awareness of the importance of the oceans in the political, private, and public sectors. Also, being a small state there is only one academic/research institution located in the capital to engage in marine research.

In general, the increasing ability to operate efficiently and effectively at deeper depths either remotely or in human occupied submersibles indicates that both the technology and the research side of investigations in the deep ocean will continue to develop and produce valuable results. It is not unlikely that within 10 years there will be no depth in the ocean inaccessible to human inquiry.

Pat Wilde joined the staff of the Office of Naval Research Asian Office (ONRASIA) in July 1991 as a liaison scientist specializing in ocean sciences. He received his Ph.D. in geology from Harvard University in 1965. Since 1964, he has been affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley in a variety of positions and departments, including Chairman of Ocean Engineering from 1968 to 1975 and Head of the Marine Sciences Group at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (1977-1982) and on the Berkeley campus (1982-1989). He joined ONRASIA after being the Humboldt Prize Winner in Residence at the Technical University of Berlin. Dr. Wilde's speciality is in paleooceanography and marine geochemistry, particularly in the Paleozoic and Anoxic environments. He maintains an interest in modern oceanography through his work on deep-sca fans, coastal and deep-sea sediment transport, and publication of oceanographic data sheets showing the bathymetry with attendant features off the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.