and providing a great amount of input into the study of volcanic chains and islands
(See Chap. 9).
Preparing an Expedition
The preparation of a sea-going expedition is often a one-person show, which is
undertaken by the person responsible for the idea or the topic of a proposal. Being
able to imagine your own expedition is a creative endeavor that starts from a kind
of ‘‘dream’’ and then slowly takes shape to become a reality on paper. However the
most difficult task is to organize the expedition once the proposal has been
approved and funded: Where can we go? What equipment do we need to use? Who
should be chosen to participate on the scientific team?
Even today, the Earth’s ocean floor remains practically unexplored and it still is
very difficult to sell a scientific program to most funding agencies. The Space
Program is more attractive to government agencies and to the general public than
ocean floor exploration. Maybe this is the result of not being able to excite public
interest and/or our politicians about the veritable need to understand everything
about the ocean’s depths. Also, since the ocean is right beside us, people might
think that that there will always be time to deal with it later on, or they may even
believe that we already have determined everything we need to know, which is far
from the fact.
To obtain appropriate funding for an oceanic program is an extremely difficult
task and requires considerable effort, energy and patience. These days in Europe, a
complicated administrative system has been put together to give grants to various
projects. These proposals need to involve several institutes from different countries, which is always scientifically rewarding. But the system which has been put
together is quite bureaucratic and heavy so it is difficult for a scientist to handle his
own research and at the same time to write a proposal, do the administrative work,
and lead the project to its conclusion if it has somehow managed to be accepted.
The need of a lawyer or specialized person familiar in dealing with the European bureaucratic system may become necessary. In any case, it is a long and
tedious job to present a project to such a bureaucratic organization and scientists
often become discouraged. Most of the time, projects are halted at the institutional
level because of their cost. Indeed, oceanic expeditions are very expensive and
they offer no (or very little) immediate economic return.
Only a highly developed country can afford the rich-man’s game of ocean floor
exploration. I am inclined to feel that if a country cannot afford oceanography,
then it is better to not even try. It is not wise to cut corners in order to reduce the
budget of exploration because in the end, the return of knowledge is priceless. I
believe that if a country cannot pay the price for oceanographic research, then this
nation should not pretend to do it for economic reasons. In my opinion, it is very
important that government agencies and those people who are responsible for
government-run oceanographic institutions encourage undersea research only if
Scientific Projects
15
(See Chap. 9).
Preparing an Expedition
The preparation of a sea-going expedition is often a one-person show, which is
undertaken by the person responsible for the idea or the topic of a proposal. Being
able to imagine your own expedition is a creative endeavor that starts from a kind
of ‘‘dream’’ and then slowly takes shape to become a reality on paper. However the
most difficult task is to organize the expedition once the proposal has been
approved and funded: Where can we go? What equipment do we need to use? Who
should be chosen to participate on the scientific team?
Even today, the Earth’s ocean floor remains practically unexplored and it still is
very difficult to sell a scientific program to most funding agencies. The Space
Program is more attractive to government agencies and to the general public than
ocean floor exploration. Maybe this is the result of not being able to excite public
interest and/or our politicians about the veritable need to understand everything
about the ocean’s depths. Also, since the ocean is right beside us, people might
think that that there will always be time to deal with it later on, or they may even
believe that we already have determined everything we need to know, which is far
from the fact.
To obtain appropriate funding for an oceanic program is an extremely difficult
task and requires considerable effort, energy and patience. These days in Europe, a
complicated administrative system has been put together to give grants to various
projects. These proposals need to involve several institutes from different countries, which is always scientifically rewarding. But the system which has been put
together is quite bureaucratic and heavy so it is difficult for a scientist to handle his
own research and at the same time to write a proposal, do the administrative work,
and lead the project to its conclusion if it has somehow managed to be accepted.
The need of a lawyer or specialized person familiar in dealing with the European bureaucratic system may become necessary. In any case, it is a long and
tedious job to present a project to such a bureaucratic organization and scientists
often become discouraged. Most of the time, projects are halted at the institutional
level because of their cost. Indeed, oceanic expeditions are very expensive and
they offer no (or very little) immediate economic return.
Only a highly developed country can afford the rich-man’s game of ocean floor
exploration. I am inclined to feel that if a country cannot afford oceanography,
then it is better to not even try. It is not wise to cut corners in order to reduce the
budget of exploration because in the end, the return of knowledge is priceless. I
believe that if a country cannot pay the price for oceanographic research, then this
nation should not pretend to do it for economic reasons. In my opinion, it is very
important that government agencies and those people who are responsible for
government-run oceanographic institutions encourage undersea research only if
Scientific Projects
15