the dissolved oxygen in the water makes it impossible for most marine organisms to survive and also results in the production of hydrogen sulphide, a toxic, malodorous gas. Even when the treatment methods are successful in preventing excessive oxygen depletion, the fertilizing elements remain in the effluent and can stimulate excessive growth of objectionable plant populations in the process known as eutrophication. This plant growth can produce as much organic material as was removed at considerable cost in the treatment plant, thus partly defeating the purposes of sewage treatment. Because of the biodegradability of domestic pollution, it is not persistent in the environment, except for the added fertilizing elements. For the oceans as a whole, therefore, domestic pol'ution is not a significant problem, but it is important in more confined areas where the density of the human population is high and the recovery capacity of the system is limited. I have computed, for example, that the population of metropolitan New York discharges into the Hudson estuary about 5 to 10 times as much domestic pollution as the system can recycle without an adverse impact (Ketchum, 1969). Fortunately, the mixing in the Hudson estuary is vigorous and by the time the water leaves the Harbor and enters the New York Bight the dilution is sufficient to reduce the concentrations of nutrients to acceptable levels. A corollary of the fertilizing effects of domestic pollution is the fact that it could be used beneficially to stimulate the productivity of the sea if it were discharged within the limits of the receiving capacity of the ecosystem. This must be carefully done to avoid unfortunate side effects but it is possible, theoretically at least, to use this type of pollution for beneficial purposes rather than to dispose of it in ways that cause deleterious effects. Solid Wastes Solid waste disposal has become one of the most urgent and difficult problems in crowded urban centers. The types and amounts of waste materials dumped at sea in the coastal waters of the United States in 1968 is presented in Table 2 (Council on Environmental Quality, 1970). Nearly 50 million tons of waste material was dumped in United States' coastal waters, most of which was dredging spoils resulting from channel and harbor development. The Council estimated that 34% of these dredging spoils could be considered polluted. Pearce (1970) has presented data to show that both the polluted dredging spoils and the sewage sludge from waste treatment plants which has been dumped in the New York Bight have caused damage to the bottom dwelling population in the area. The Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 regulates the transportation and dumping of materials into the oceans, coastal zones and other waters. A permit system is established to be administered by the Army Corps of Engineers for dredging and filling and by the Environmental Protection Agency for all other purposes. TABLE 2.-OCEAN DUMPING:1 TYPES AND AMOUNTS, 1968 Ocean dumping is also a subject of international concern. An intergovernmental conference convened by the United Nations was held in London. 30 October to 10 November, 1972. A Convention on the Dumping of Wastes at Sea was adopted and will be open for signature from 29 December, 1972, until 1 December, 1973. It will come into force when it has been ratified by 15 nations. The Convention prohibits the dumping of some materials; requires a special permit for the dumping of other identified substances; and a general permit for all other substances. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR WATER QUALITY EVALUATION In an effort to summarize in one figure the various aspects of marine pollution which I have been discussing. I submit a diagram in Figure 1 showing the various processes which must be understood in order to evaluate the marine ecosystem and its capacity to accept and recycle various types of pollutants. If the diagram appears to be complicated, it is because we are discussing a complex problem. Many, but not all, of the entries in this diagram have been discussed above. One must know the source and the amount of the specified pollutant and the routes by which this material reaches the sea, whether by runoff, discharge or by atmospheric transport. It would be desirable to have a screening mechanism established to evaluate the possible impact of new chemicals, hundreds of which are being produced annually. Where the hazard is great, these chemicals should be recycled and not permitted to enter the environment. Once the pollutant does enter the environment, its impact on the marine ecosystem and on the communities, populations and organisms which live in the ocean need to be evaluated. It is important to appreciate the fact that the impact need not be direct and immediate by causing the death of organisms but can have more subtle, sublethal effects which influence the survival or behavior of the organisms. The various chemical and geological processes which need to be considered in terms of each pollutant are listed under the "non-living" category and it is, furthermore, important to know whether two or more pollutants introduced simultaneously will augment each other's impact (synergism) or will interfere with each other's impact (antagonism). Only when the complex nature of the marine ecosystem, and the various processes taking place there, are understood can one evaluate the possible receiving capacity of a given system for a given pollutant. Naturally, it is of concern to evaluate whether or not the pollutant can return to man in the seafood that he needs for his nutrition. Also, the impact on endangered species can be of special concern. An example of this type of impact is the mortality of many birds which result from oil spills. Dead, oiled birds on the beaches constitute the most immediate and obvious effect of oil spills, and this mortality can have a serious impact at certain times of year if a major part of a population of a given species is present in the area either for breeding or during their migratory passage. In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that the only ultimate solution to the problems of pollution is to recycle the materials that we produce and use in our civilization. Discharging these materials to the environment is both wasteful of resources and causes undesirable impacts upon the marine ecosystem. Complete recycling is probably an unattainable goal, but certainly every effort should be made to recycle materials as completely as possible, not only to conserve our natural resources, but also to prevent the further deterioration of our environment, which we must preserve for the ultimate benefit of man. REFERENCES Bertine, K. K. and E. D. Goldberg (1971). Fossil Fuel Combustion and the Major Sedimentary Cycle. Science, 173: 233–235. CEQ (1970). Ocean Dumping-A National Policy. A report to the President prepared by the Council on Environmental Quality, October, 1970, x + 45 pp., U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. CEQ (1972). Environmental Quality-The Third Annual Report of the Council on Environmental Quality, August, 1972. xxvi + 450 pp. U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Harvey, G. R., V. T. Bowen, R. H. Backus and G. D. Grice (1972). Chlorinated Hydrocarbons in Open-Ocean Atlantic Organisms. 177–186. In: The Changing Chemistry of the Oceans, Nobel Symposium 20, ALMQVIST & WIKSELL, Stockholm, and John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 365 pp. Horn, M. H., J. M., Teal and R. H. Backus (1970). Petroleum lumps on the surface of the sea. Science 168: 245–246. IMCO (1967). International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil. Sales No.: 1967.4 (English/French) 1967.3 (Spanish) 101-104, Piccadilly, London WIVOAE. Ketchum, B. H. (1969). Eutrophication of Estuaries. 197-209. In: Eutrophication: Causes, Consequences, Correctives. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., vii + 661 pp. Ketchum, B. H., Editor (1972). The Water's Edge: Critical Problems of the NAS (1973). Workshop on Inputs, Fates and Effects of Petroleum in the Marine NAS (in press). Water Quality Criteria. The National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. Pearce, J. B. (19.0). The effects of waste disposal in the New York Bight. Interim report. Sandy Hook Marine Laboratory, U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. Revelle, R. E. Wenk, B. H. Ketchum and E.R. Corino (1971). Ocean Pollution by Petroleum Hydrocarbons. 297-318. In: Man's Impact on Terrestrial and Oceanic Ecosystems. Ed. by W. H. Matthews, F. E. Smith and E. D. Goldberg, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 540 pp. SCEP Task Force (1971). Chlorinated Hydrocarbons in the Marine Environment. 275–296. In: Man's Impact on Terrestrial and Oceanic Ecosystems. Ed. by W. H. Matthews, F. E. Smith and E. D. Goldberg, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 540 pp. Waldichuk, M. (1972) (personal communication). To be published in National Academy of Sciences, Water Quality Criteria (in press). Woodwell, G. M., P. C. Craig and H. A. Johnson (1971). DDT in the Biosphere: Where does it go? Science 174: 1101-1107. Senator HOLLINGS. Next we have Dr. Karl K. Turekian of Yale University. I think you are the professor of geology and geophysics at Yale, and we are very pleased to have you with us here this morning. STATEMENT OF DR. KARL TUREKIAN, PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS, YALE UNIVERSITY Dr. TUREKIAN. I have, Mr. Chairman, a book that has just come off the press that my colleague Dr. B. J. Skinner and I have written. called "Man and the Ocean." I would like to give it to you. It deals with the different problems of man and the ocean. Senator HOLLINGS. We appreciate it very much. Dr. TUREKIAN. I will keep away from detailed technical discussions involving our scientific work in the coastal areas and get right to what I have given to you as a written statement. Man's mandate to exploit the land is taken as axiomatic since we can hardly argue against farms, cities or esthetically cultivated areas called parks. But farms represent the replacement of a wild diverse flora with single-species crops like wheat or cotton, and cities represent the replacement of a wild diverse fauna with a single species, man. All of these acts in some way perturb the environment. On land we can try to make man's interventions esthetically and hygienically acceptable but we can never go back to the primeval natural system short of complete abandonment of the terrain. Our attempts, successful or not, are based on management principles based on millenia of experience. Because of the vastness of the sea and, until very recent times, the relatively small impact of the time honored oceanic activities of transportation, fishing, warfare, and piracy the concept of the management and use allocation of oceanic regions appeared inapplicable. But of course things have changed now, especially in coastal regions, and criteria for the proper management of oceanic resources are being sought. A maior difference between oceans and land is that the dynamic, three-dimensional nature of the perturbable ocean system can result in consequences remote from the point of perturbation. In addition, the ocean system varies in its properties depending on depth, geography, wind, proximity to land, and continental runoff. The natural qualities of the highly diverse ocean system must be understood if we are to |