As an extension of the geodetic satellite program, an Earth and ocean program should be established over the next decade, says a NASA panel, headed by William Kaula (UCLA). In its report, Solid‐Earth and Ocean Physics, the group outlined a program that would cost $10 million in the first few years, about $50 million in the middle of the decade and possibly double that figure. Goals would include:
▸ Identify the driving forces that account for motions, earthquakes and variations of the gravitational field.
▸ Study general ocean circulation at all depths.
▸ Improve understanding of global heat balance through study of ocean currents and heat transport of air‐sea interaction.
▸ Identify the internal driving forces and complex mechanisms of the interaction of the Earth's core, mantle and crust, to understand continental drift and seafloor spreading.
▸ Study energy dissipation in oceans to help explain the ocean‐tide pattern and the evolution of the Earth–Moon system.
▸ Explain the mechanisms connected with variations in the rotation rate and wobble of the Earth's rotation axis and their possible association with major earthquakes.
