OCEANOGRAPHY ISELIN 253 



carried out from almost any boat and with quite inexpensive equip- 

 ment. Deep-sea oceanography, on the other hand, is an expensive 

 undertaking requiring a strong, able vessel and elaborate winches 

 and instruments. For these reasons there are a number of scientific 

 institutions actively engaged in studies of the shallow-water areas 

 of the ocean, but relatively few can conduct researches outside the 

 hundred-fathom curve. In several ways this state of affairs has been 

 unfortunate in the development of some phases of oceanography, 

 because the shallow waters over the continental shelves are usually 

 much affected by the circulation of the waters of the ocean basins, 

 while tidal and other influences often obscure the picture to such 

 an extent that isolated problems can not be easily settled. 



On the other hand, the shallow-water areas are, of course, the seat 

 of the world's fisheries and for that reason merit governmental study. 

 But even in the case of fisheries investigations, the oceanic waters can 

 not be ignored, because it has been shown that the sudden failures of 

 a fishing ground are sometimes caused by movements of the oceanic 

 waters which periodically flood in over the banks, changing the tem- 

 perature of the bottom water and driving off the fish. In other 

 words, the investigation of the sea has progressed largely from the 

 shore outward, while it is now evident that there would have been 

 some advantage to oceanography as a whole if it had been possible to 

 put more effort into deep-sea investigations during the early stages 

 of the science. It is perhaps not an exaggeration to say that the 

 heart of most oceanographic problems is to be found in the deep ocean 

 beyond the limits of the continental shelves. 



The fact that there has recently been established in the United 

 States an institution largely devoted to deep-sea oceanography is 

 therefore of considerable interest. The Woods Hole Oceanographic 

 Institution, with its headquarters on Cape Cod, is ideally situated for 

 the investigation of the North Atlantic Ocean. The institution is 

 now a going concern with adequate money to support a well-equipped 

 laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass., and a specially designed research 

 ship. If, in the succeeding pages, the reader finds that we have 

 stressed the equipment and methods of this institution unduly, it is 

 because it was founded to counteract the situation in oceanography 

 outlined above and in many ways, we believe, holds a unique position 

 in the world to-day. 



The main distinction between an oceanographer and other men of 

 science is that the oceanographer goes to sea. His ship is the all- 

 important part of his scientific equipment for he must be able to make 

 observations in all kinds of weather and at great depths. Not only 

 must he often remain far out at sea for months at a time, but also he 

 must be ready to take an active part in securing his observations. 



