28 



OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 



Table 9. — Capital and operating costs for shore facilities for survey work {over 

 and above present level in millions of 1958 dollars) 



Engineering needs for ocean exploration 



1. A vigorous program should be conducted for the development of manned 

 submersibles that can operate down to and on the bottom of most of the ocean : 



(a) An improved bathyscaph using the best materials and techniques 

 available should be designed and built immediately. 



(&) Following up the recent commendable ONR action in bringing the 

 bathyscaph Trieste to the United States, it is recommended that funds be 

 made available for a mother ship ^ together with auxiliary equipment in order 

 to make maximum use of this deep submersible. 



(c) A continuous design and development program should be initiated 

 aimed at building deep and middepth manned vehicles as the need arises and 

 as the state of the art progresses. 



2. The need for open-ocean manned research platforms which are stable, and 

 which can remain in place so that time studies can be made, seems essential and 

 the design for such a buoy should be started. 



3. A major program should be supported aimed at developing and using an- 

 chored and drifting buoys for obtaining space and time coverage of ocean char- 

 acteristics. 



4. It seems likely that aircraft can be used effectively for some research and 

 surveys on the open ocean, particularly for studies involving the joint problems 

 of oceanography and meteorology. Nearly all laboratories will need single en- 

 gine planes ; several will need twin engined amphibious planes ; some will need 

 four-engined commercial-type aircraft. 



5. Surface icebreakers are of limited value to Arctic oceanographic research 

 compared to properly equipped submarines. Efforts should be made to develop 

 a submarine capable of breaking into and out of the ice. 



6. Instruments should be developed for survey purposes which are more ac- 

 curate, effective and trouble-free than those now in use. The techniques needed 

 to use them more effectively should be developed. Specialized devices such as 

 loran C, inertial navigation equipment, gravity meters and stable platforms 

 should be made available for research as well as surveys as soon as i)ossible. 



7. A major program aimed at developing new high-seas engineering techniques 

 should be started. Our abilities to handle heavy equipment and to conduct such 

 operations as drilling and bottom sampling at sea limit our operations at present. 

 Alany of these difficulties would be appreciably lessened given proper effort. We 

 have not included the very important problem of drilling to the Mohorovicic 

 discontinuity in our budget because another academy group is studying this prob- 

 lem. 



8. Machine aids to computation and data storage have much to offer and should 

 be budgeted. 



9. High pressure facilities to permit controlled physical and biological experi- 

 ments in the laboratory are needed. 



10. Efforts should he made to secure the active participation of private industry 

 in the developnionr and manufacture of new devices and instruments for ocea- 

 nographic research and surveying. 



*This 1h listed In th(.> eectlon on new ulilps. 



