This report discusses the controversy over fishing rights between the United States and three South American nations (Chile, Peru, and Ecuador) which culminated in the seizure of U.S. tuna fishing vessels by Peru and Ecuador in waters the U.S. considered outside their territorial jurisdiction. The main events of the controversy, diplomatic actions taken by the nations involved, and policy options are discussed.

Methods being studied are as follows: the thermodynamic method based on water potential and thermocouple psychrometers; the tracer method using atmospheric tritium; the annual water balance based on the annual heat balance; the field lysimeter using thermocouple psychrometers; the influence of soil breathing as a result of changes in barometric pressure; and the influence of soil stratification. Progress to date has involved the installation of thermocouple psychrometers from the surface to the water table 310 feet below. These instruments are in the process of equilibration. Isothermal methods of analyzing water potential must be extended to include nonisothermal conditions which are dominant at the Hanford Reservation. Tracer techniques using tritium analyses of soil samples have successfully demonstrated that archaic water exists in virgin soil at the Hanford Reservation from a depth of approximately 7 meters to the water table, indicating that percolation has been limited to lesser depths. The annual heat balance indicates that quantities of water many times greater than the annual average precipitation of 16 centimeters can be evaporated from the soils at the Hanford Reservation during a normal summer. This indicates that the critical precipitation (P/sub c/) value may be greater than 30 to 50 centimeters of water. …

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Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Crawford Martin, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Liability of medical fraternities at University of Texas Medical School at Galveston for ad valorem taxes.

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