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36. Jahresber. Dt. Hydrogr. Inst. 1981 
The Research Vessel "Meteor", used jointly with the German Research As 
sociation, took part In the BIOMASS* Programme of the Antarctic Expedi 
tion and carried out three research cruises. 
Owing to the stringent personnel situation, research projects are car 
ried out only in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea and in the waters im 
mediately adjacent thereto, insofar as the investigations there are nec 
essary for the understanding of the processes in the North Sea and the 
Baltic Sea. 
The focal point of the oceanographic investigations lay in the environ 
mental sector. The monitoring of noxious substances in seawater and sed 
iments belong thereto. The progress of an extreme oxygen deficiency in 
the German Bight during the summer - which occurred owing to several 
unusually severe plankton blooms - was particularly intensively observed 
The preliminary work for the publication of a "Current Atlas of the Ger 
man Bight" has also to be arranged within the framework of the same 
focal point, the said current atlas will become an indispensable aid 
when evaluating the introduction of pollutants by rivers, the atmos 
phere, from ships, etc. 
The nautical services operated in the normal way. For ship safety, nau 
tical systems, equipment, and instruments were tested and the compli 
ance with the Ship Safety Regulations on board ship were controlled. 
The authorized agents and firms recognized by the DHI were supervised. 
In the Ship Data Bank, at present, the data of about 20,000 ships are 
archived, and are available for information purposes. 
Within national and international frameworks, there has been further co 
operation in the preparations for a sea distress radio system of the 
future "Future Global Maritime Distress and Safety System" (FGMDSS). 
The DHI, In accordance with the law concerning the continental shelf, 
permitted - in 14 cases - research, exploration, and exploitation in the 
region of the Federal German continental shelf. For the dumping into, 
and the incineration of wastes on the High Seas, 11 permits - in accord 
ance with the law concerning High Seas dumping - were granted. 
The Library, which also looks after the interests of the Seewetteramt of 
the German Weather Service and Maritime Transport Division of the Feder 
al Minister of Transport, enlarged its stock to 109,000 volumes. At the 
beginning of the year, the new Joint Computer Centre in the DHI, which 
is equipped with a Control Data Computer, came into operation. 
779 persons were employed in the DHI. 
The total budget comprised DM 10.5 million revenues and DM 61.2 million 
expenditures. 
* Biological Investigations of Marine Systems and Stocks