18 OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 



well result in our being placed in a precarious position from the scientific, tech- 

 nological, and military points of view, the National Academy of Sciences and 

 National Research Council decided in 1957 to form a Committee on Oceanog- 

 raphy.^ In May of that year President Detlev Bronk appointed Harrison Brown, 

 professor of geochemistry at the California Institute of Technology, chairman 

 of the Committee. The Committee itself was formed during the following 

 months and its first meeting was held in November 1957. 



The members of the Comhiittee are : 

 Harrison Brown (chairman), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, 



Calif. 

 Maurice Ewing, Lamont Geological Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, 



N.Y. 

 Columbus O'D. Iselin, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Mass. 

 Fritz Koczy, Marine Laboratory of the University of Miami, Miami, Fla. 

 Sumner Pike, Lubec, Maine, formerly Commissioner, U.S. Atomic Energy 



Commission. 

 Colin Pittendrigh, Department of Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J. 

 Roger Revelle, Scripps Institution of Oceonography, La Jolla, Calif. 

 Gordon Riley, Bingham Oceanographic Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, 



Conn. 

 Milner B. Schaefer, Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, La Jolla, Calif. 

 Athelstan Sphilhaus, Institute of Technology, University of Minnesota, Minne- 

 apolis, Minn. 

 Richard Vetter (executive secretary), formerly with the Geophysics Branch 



of the OflSce of Naval Research, Washington, D.C. 



The work of the Committee was made possible by the sponsorship of several 

 Government agencies, all of which have interests in the oceans : 

 Atomic Energy Commission. 

 Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. 

 National Science Foundation. 

 Ofiice of Naval Research. 



The Committee was organized as a part of the Divison of Earth Sciences of 

 the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council. 



At the request of President Bronk, the Committee has made a survey of the 

 present status of the marine sciences in the United States. It has attempted 

 further to assess the major problems of operations, administration and funding 

 in this area and to evaluate the probable needs for oceanographic knowledge 

 in the years ahead. On the basis of its findings, the Committee has drawn up a 

 series of recommendations which, if followed, can result in a strengthening of 

 the marine sciences during the next 10 years to a level which is consistent on 

 the one hand with the assessed needs, and on the other with limitations such 

 as the rates at which ships and laboratories can be built and new oceanographers 

 can be trained. It should be stressed, however, that the Committee considers its 

 recommendations minimal ones. Action on a scale appreciably less than that 

 recommended will jeopardize the position of oceanography in the United States 

 relative to the position of the science in other nations, thereby accentuating 

 serious military and political dangers, and placing the Nation at a disadvantage 

 in the future use of the resources of the sea. 



The deliberations of the Committee were complicated by a number of factors : 

 oceanography embraces many sciences — indeed "oceanography" encompasses the 

 scientific study of all aspects of the oceans, their boundaries and their contents; 

 research is undertaken in a variety of private and Government laboratories; 

 numerous Government agencies have direct but differing interests in the oceans : 

 funds are derived from many sources. In order to expedite the formulation of 



iThls is the third NAS/NRC Committee on Oceanography. The first was established 

 In 1027 under the chairmanship of Dr. Prank R. LlUie. Tlie second, chaired liy Dr. Detlev 

 lironk, was established In 1949. The reader Is referred to the following publications for 

 additional background material on these two Committees. 



(1) "Oceanography," Henry B. Blgelow, Boston and New York; Houghton Mifflin Co., 

 1931. 



(2) "International Aspects of Oceanography," Thomas W. Vaughn et al., Washington, 

 N.C. ; National Academy of Sciences, 1937. 



(3) "Oceanography, 1951, NAS/NRC Publication 208," Washington, D.C, 1952 (out 

 of print). 



