OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 165 



Admiral Hayward. Yes, sir. When I went around the Horn to 

 the Antarctic with the Franklin Roosevelt, as in the case of any ship 

 we made a track of soundings. This is done as you are underway, of 

 course, and it is of great value. Even to this day we find of lot of 

 things not previously known. 



Mr. Drewry. Does that require very elaborate instruments? 



Admiral Hayward. No, sir. We have the instruments available 

 anyway. It does not require any great instrumentation from the 

 Navy's point of view. 



Mr. Drewry. Then is this done only within the Navy ? The Coast 

 Guard has vessels out also ? 



Admiral Hayw^ard. They furnish information to the Hydrographic 

 Office. You will find on all the charts, that all of the seagoing 

 fraternity furnish the Hydrographic Office with all types- of informa- 

 tion that they can possibly gather with the equipment they have on 

 their journeys. Weather reports, all of the soundings and things of 

 that kind. Any special circumstances, where it is found that some- 

 thing is wrong on the chart.. For instance where the somiding reads 

 20 fathoms instead of 200. These reports are all sent in by the sea- 

 going fraternity. 



Mr. Drewry. That includes the commercial operators as well ? 



Admiral Hayward. Yes. 



Mr. Drewry. Is that through a regular program that the Hydro- 

 graphic Office or the Coast Guard maintains ? 



Admiral Hayward. Well, Captain Munson is here, the Assistant 

 Director of the Hydrographic Office. Maybe he can answer. 



Captain Munson. Ever since the inception of the Office, the Hydro- 

 graphic Office has encouraged the merchant marine to exchange data. 

 We have a series of distributing offices known as branch hydro- 

 graphic offices in principal ports of the United States and over 100 

 commercial outlets or offices throughout the world. The merchant 

 mariners visit these offices and we have professional scientists visit 

 the ships for the purpose of exchanging information. The majority 

 of ships officers, at least one officer on each American ship is officially 

 designated as a cooperating observer. They furnish us information 

 on weather, oceanographic information, current, soundings where 

 their equipment permits them to be taken. The merchant marine, 

 generally speaking, is not equipped to take soundings in deep water. 

 They are restricted to shoal areas but this information is priceless 

 and valuable. 



I might say that through this medium of exchange of informa- 

 tion, we reward them by replacing the charts and furnishing the 

 forms and furnishing certain navigational assistance in payment for 

 their services. 



I might say that through the medium of this program, we have 

 succeeded in collecting the world's largest file of hydrographic and 

 oceanographic data. 



Mr. Drewry. This is one area where there not only is but has been 

 cooperation for a long time? 



Captain Munson. That program has been in effect for, one might 

 say, a century and a quarter. 



Mr. Drewry. I have just one other question. Reference was also 

 made to the weather routing system which MSTS has been working 



