the ocean and stars as they are. This requires advanced instrumentation, and it is exceedingly expensive. It inevitably leads to heavy emphasis on facilities. Good facilities are required in order to make the observations on which scientific advances in these fields are based. We are very appreciative of the assistance this committee has given in the past in supporting these programs and providing good facilities so that progress can be made in these fields. In the field of astronomy, I will mention first the Very Large Array that has been the major construction effort in recent years. At this time 21 of the 27 antennas are in place and operating; the remaining ones are at the site but not yet completely equipped for operation. There are 37 miles of track on which these antennas are placed. This is an absolutely first-rate observational facility for radio astronomy. Another event worth mentioning in astronomy is the evidence that has been found for gravitational waves growing out of observations of a binary pulsar, and relativity predictions that such a system would generate gravitational waves. The net consequence of the emission of gravity waves on the binary-pulsar system is to cause the system to contract and speed up, the rate of rotation should increase. Such an increase has been observed in just the right amount to agree with the theory. This is the first instance of getting evidence that pertains directly to the emission of gravitational waves. The major new observational thrust coming up in astronomy is in millimeter-wave astronomy, and we are requesting funds to start a 25meter diameter millimeter-wave telescope. This will be particularly useful for observing chemistry in space-some of the complicated molecules in space-whose existence was not even suspected a few years ago. Observations in this region of the radio spectrum provide clear evidence of such molecules. In atmospheric sciences, an exciting development in the instrumentation area is triple Doppler radar, which makes it possible to look at the windfield in convectional storms with a degree of detail that never existed before. This ability provides great hope for improved understanding of these convectional storms. We have conducted during the past year a significant monsoon experiment in cooperation with 10 countries predominantly in the Indian Ocean area. In Earth sciences, a notable new technique that has emerged recently has been the measurement of neodymium isotopic variations resulting from radiation decay of samarium. Applying this technique, we are able to get the ages of geological samples. A significant result obtained with this technique: No crust of the Earth has been found that is older than 3.6 billion years. It appears that any crust existing before that date has returned into the interior of the Earth. The Earth is 42 billion years old, but any crust that existed earlier has apparently been convected back into the Earth's interior. The technique is also useful in that neodymium is chemically similar to plutonium, and that makes it possible to predict how plutonium will spread in the environment. This will be of value in assessing the hazards of plutonium in the environment. Another exciting development has been the contribution to the theory of plate tectonics by the drilling cores retrieved from various ocean sites by the Glomar Challenger. The cores have also contributed and will continue to contribute to our knowledge of past climates and other paleontological information. I hope you have seen the television program on that; it is an exciting one. In ocean sciences, there have been valuable observations of hydrothermal vents at the ocean bottom, showing mineral deposits and unusual life forms. This year was the 50th anniversary of the Byrd flight to the South Pole, and there was a memorial flight in which Congressman Wydler and Senator Byrd took part. It was disturbed in some degree, as you all know, by the crash of a New Zealand airliner in Antarctica. Fortunately, we were able to render good support to the recovery operation and overall the accident had minimum impact on our scientific programs. We will come back to the deep sea drilling program, so I won't say anything about that just now. In this directorate there is a great need for a proper mix of facilities and individual research projects. We are highly aware of the importance of such a mix. There is a difference of opinion at times as to what the mix should be, but both large facilities and research projects by individual investigators are essential to progress. We are attentive to the task of seeing to it that we have the right rates of support in the two areas and we think our budget request represents such a ratio. I will forego any comments on the interdisciplinary nature of research efforts in the directorate, but I will say in conclusion that the programs of this directorate are important, they are intellectually exciting, and they are worthy of the support they are receiving. Thank you. [The prepared statement of Dr. Johnson follows:] STATEMENT OF DR. FRANCIS S. JOHNSON BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH, AND TECHNOLOGY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: This statement is submitted in support of the Budget Request for Fiscal Year 1981 for the Astronomical, Atmospheric, Earth, and Ocean Sciences, for the U. S. Antarctic Program, and the Ocean Drilling Program. The NSF is seeking significant increases in funding for areas of research and specific projects that are of importance to the country. The AAEO Directorate's efforts have been highly successful in recent years in terms of the outcome of the research work that it has been supporting. In large measure this success can be attributed to many new sophisticated instruments and items of equipment that have been obtained as a result of favorable action on the AAEO budget by the Congress and in particular by this Committee. I would like to cite just a few examples of these. In astronomy we have the two 4-meter telescopes at Kitt Peak and Cerro Tololo and the Very Large Array; in atmospheric sciences we are getting interesting and useful results from a pair of independent incoherent scatter radars located in Alaska and Massachusetts, and some valuable modeling of the ocean-atmosphere system with the new computer at NCAR. In the earth sciences arena we are obtaining a wealth of information about plate tectonics and about the past climate of the earth from cores brought up from beneath the sea floor by the Glomar Challenger. For ocean research the Navy has refurbished the deep submersible Alvin and the Foundation has contributed to some modernization of the Alvin's mother ship, Lulu. There is a whole family of new precise measuring devices for trace materials in the sea and in the atmosphere. Instruments provide the cutting edge of the AAEO research program and much of our budget First, in astronomy. The Very Large Array, located a few miles west of Socorro, New Mexico, is nearing completion. I am sure that without the support of this Committee, we would never have been able to build it. The VLA is in many respects the largest radio telescope in the world. All 28 of the VLA antennas have been accepted by the observatory. More than two-thirds of these are in operational use and all of them will be operating by early next calendar year. With those that are operating, we are receiving excellent data, making radio images whose accuracy compares very well with the best optical images that can be obtained. This major facility will be completed on schedule and within its design budget, even though the schedule and budget were set in 1973. The VLA was the only major new NSF start in astronomy during the period 1973-1981. The VLA telescope is already a very popular instrument; it is oversubscribed by users. The researchers are looking deeper and deeper into space, mapping more distant galaxies and quasars. The next several years should see several new discoveries advance radio astronomy. NSF-supported researchers are using the 1000-foot diameter radio telescope at Arecibo, Puerto Rico to verify the existence of gravitational waves, a phenomenon that is predicted by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Others are searching for indirect evidence of black holes, using the Kitt Peak 158-inch telescope, working in concert with the Mt. Palomar 200-inch instrument. Most of you are aware, I believe, that we are in a period of maximum solar activity, in the peak of the normal eleven year solar cycle. The Sun's activity is expected to reach its maximum early this calendar year. The special research efforts associated with the Solar Maximum Year will continue until February 1981. Among the important matters that concern my Directorate are weather and climate, and one of the major factors in determining climate is solar activity. The study of the Sun and solar effects are interdisciplinary matters involving several of our research divisions. As the budget indicates, a major fraction of astronomy research dollars goes for the operation of the National Astronomy Centers. These centers cannot be thought of independently from university research in astronomy. Large, unique telescopes at these centers were built and instrumented for the use of all the nation's astronomers. In fact, 85% of the centers' users are university astronomers. As a result it is clear that the centers are essential to a viable university astronomy program, especially in the smaller schools that cannot afford to build and maintain large astronomical instruments. It is also important to note that the university astronomy community uses the centers' instruments and facilities on a competitive basis without charge. In the meteorology area some exciting and informative work is being carried out with a variety of radar systems. Triple Doppler radar networks (to measure in-cloud winds and water characteristics) and LDAR (Lightning Detection and Ranging) to measure the location of electrical discharges are |