OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 21 



All of these studies, together with others like them, will have bearing upon 

 the more immediate practical problems which confront us in the military area 

 and in the area of ocean resource development. In addition to this, however, 

 it is clear that the applied research and development programs in these areas 

 should be expanded. 



In the Committee's attempts to give quantitative indications of the relative 

 amount of effort which it believes should be placed upon various aspects of the 

 proposed program by individual Government agencies, suggested budgets have 

 been compiled for a 10-year period. These suggested budgets, in the Commit- 

 tee's opinion, present a reasonable representation of the magnitude and kind of 

 effort and the degree of interagency cooperation which will be required if the 

 recommended goals are to be achieved. In addition, a budget permits a direct 

 comparison of efforts in this field relative to the efforts in other fields of scien- 

 tific and technological endeavor. 



m. GENERAL EECOMMENDATIONS 



The key to the growth of oceanography in the United States lies in basic 

 research — research which is done for its own sake without thought of specific 

 practical applications. The very nature of basic research is such that the 

 problems which will be attacked and the results which will be obtained cannot 

 be predicted. The very nature of applied research is such that its success de- 

 pends upon the size of the reservoir of fundamental knowledge upon which it 

 must draw. The rate of progress in the applied marine sciences will be deter- 

 mined in the long run by the rate of progress in the basic marine sciences. 



The Committee has concluded that both the quantity and quality of basic 

 research in the marine sciences can and should be increased substantially dur- 

 ing the years ahead. Specifically the Committee recommends — 



1. The U.S. Government should expand its support of the marine sciences 

 at a rate which will result in at least a doubling of basic research activity 

 during the next 10 years.' 



It should be emphasized that doubling the basic research activity will require 

 more than doubling the total expenditures. 



A large part of the deliberations of the Committee were devoted to discus- 

 sions of the conditions under which basic research can flourish. First and 

 foremost, progress depends upon the interests, experience, and creative imagi- 

 nations of individual scientists. But the individual scientist does not work in 

 a vacuum. He must have instruments and facilities. He must live in an atmos- 

 phere which is conducive to creative activity. These necessities in turn give 

 rise to problems involving marine research laboratories — problems of leadership, 

 financial stability, flexibility, growth, academic associations, and physical 

 facilities. 



Not only for research but in order to exploit and use the oceans we need more 

 detailed knowledge which can only be obtained through systematic surveys in 

 three dimensions. These surveys should include such features as depth, salinity, 

 temperature, current velocity, wave motion, magnetism, and biological activity. 

 It is essential that these surveys be conducted on an oceanwide ocean-deep basis 

 as quickly as possible. Our knowledge is now largely limited to waters 100 

 miles from shore and even here it is inadequate for present and future needs. 

 Accordingly, the Committee recommends — 



2. The increase in support of basic research should be accompanied dur- 

 ing the next 10 years by a new program of oceanwide surveys. This will 

 require a twofold expansion of the present surveying effort. 



"We believe that, on a long-range basis, basic research coupled with systematic 

 ocean surveys are of paramount importance in solving a number of urgent prac- 

 tical problems involving military defense, the development of ocean resources, 

 and possible future increases of radioactive contamination of the seas resulting 

 from the rapid development of atomic energy. However, research and surveys 

 must go hand in hand with a vigorous and imaginative applied research and 

 development program. Accordingly, the Committee recommends — 



3. The United States should expand considerably its support of the ap- 

 plied marine sciences, particularly in the areas of military defense, marine 

 resources, and marine radioactivity. 



'In 1958 abont .?23 million were spent by applied and basic oceanoffraphic research. 

 The basic research share of the total was not over $9 million. About $8 million of this, 

 Including the 1958 share of IGY expenditures, was Federal funds. 



