316 



global atmospheric circulation, energy content and dynamics, ozone, 

 cloud physics, and radio atmospherics and electricity. Plans for 

 oceanographic studies were included because of the interrelationships 

 among the oceans, the weather, and terrestrial dynamics, and also 

 because of the enormous natural resources of the oceans. It was well 

 known that the oceans exert a sizable impact upon the weather of 

 the lower atmosphere, and it was hoped that investigation of the deep 

 ocean basins would shed light on the structure and history of the 

 earth. 



Plans for seismological studies were included as part of the general 

 effort to gain further understanding of the solid earth: its form, size, 

 and rotation; its bodily tides; and its earthquakes, which provide the 

 best means of studying the interior of the earth. Solar activity plans 

 included observations of radiation, sunspots and flares, the corona, 

 and general spectroscopy. It was known that the "electrical weather' 

 was greatly influenced by changes in the sun, and it was hoped that' 

 these studies, utilizing vastly improved instruments, would advance 

 man's knowledge of these cnanges, particularly in the Antarctic. Fi- 

 nally, upper atmospheric studies were included because of their close 

 relation to large-scale topography determinations of the earth. Such 

 determinations depend partly on radio time signals between distant 

 astronomical observatories. Intensive studies of the upper atmosphere 

 enabled the time of passage of such signals to be estimated with high 

 accuracy. Considerable interest existed in obtaining complete north- 

 south profiles of air circulation and the electrified layers of air above 

 the weather. Much interest also concerned explorations of outer space. 

 It was anticipated that satellite vehicles would provide otherwise 

 inaccessible information concerning the aurora, fluctuations in the 

 earth's magnetic field, the influence of solar ultraviolet and other 

 radiations, and cosmic ray phenomena, as well as providing scientists 

 with their first views of the earth from outside its atmosphere. 



Implementation of the Program 



Various participating nations devised separate means for implement- 

 ing their individual IGY programs, but all of these diverse programs 

 were coordinated on an international level by the CSAGI and its 

 advisory council, as shown schematically in figure 5. The U.S. 

 technical program was directed by the IGY Committee of the Na- 

 tional Academy of Sciences, in cooperation with many scientists from 

 both public and private organizations and institutions. Technical 

 panels, representing the various scientific disciplines, were established 

 to plan the basic technical program for each discipline and assure its 

 execution by appropriate groups of scientists. 



The overall tasks of program and budget planning, of coordinating 

 various activities among projects and related scientific fields, of 

 assisting in the technical direction of the U.S. program, and of prepar- 

 ing technical and general articles on operations and results, were 

 under the direction of the National Academy of Sciences IGY staff, 

 working closely with the USNC. 68 



« NAS IOY Program Report, p. vlll. 



