distribution and spreading of noxious substances; 
sedimentation processes at the continental margins; 
the history of individual regions of the Earth’s crust. 
A great part of this basic research work consisted in investigations 
which were intended to promote — directly or indirectly — marine 
shipping and sea fisheries. Further objectives were the improvement 
of weather predictions and the prevention of marine pollution. 
Nautical-technical problems like tests of new navigational methods 
and investigations related to radio communication via satellite often 
were included in the expedition programmes. Almost every research 
cruise yielded new data for the DHI’s charts and nautical publications. 
The meteorological station on board METEOR is one of the five 
floating meteorological stations of the Seewetteramt des Deutschen 
Wetterdienstes (Maritime Meteorological Office of the German 
Weather Service). 
The concept of interdisciplinary research cruises on which ’strong 
emphasis was laid at the beginning — but which temporarily had re- 
ceded into the background - now seems to regain more importance 
within the framework of complex. system models like the Fladen- 
ground Experiment (FLEX ’76) in the North Sea. 
After the first expedition to the Indian Ocean, the METEOR cruises 
concentrated, geographically, on the North Atlantic and the Mediter- 
ranean, with the focal points being the areas off East Greenland, 
Iceland and Norway; the North Sea; the region off Northwest Africa; 
the Mediterranean and the equatorial Atlantic. Apart from scientific 
considerations it was the shortage of ship-time that called for this 
soncentration. To meet the requirements of as many research groups 
as possible, the passages to the respective areas of research had to 
be short. 
METEOR’s research work cannot be seen detached from the other 
branches of German marine research, namely: 
— investigations in the fields of fisheries and pollution that are 
orientated towards practical application; 
studies of marine resources; 
coastal protection; 
work in shallow waters in the North and Baltic Seas, promoted 
in particular within the framework of “Sonderforschungsbereiche 
94 and 95“; 
theoretical and experimental work in oceanographic institutes.