206 OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 



Captain Munson. It is not at all necessary. The matter we have 

 brou<iht up is not classilied. We think it will be of general concern 

 and lielj^ to focus our minds on precisely what oceanography turns 

 out. 



This chart [exhibiting H.O. Miscl. 8514] usually brings a laugh 

 particularly when you examine the date on it. It is a whale chart. 

 Who ever heard of charting whales ? It is a product originally com- 

 piled over a century ago, but the information contained on it is of 

 military significance today. There is not the slightest use of attempt- 

 ing to conceal it. Hundreds of thousands have been distributed 

 worldwide. It was obtained, of course, by careful researching of 

 the records of whaling ships. Catches per square mile was the index 

 to the whale production. 



Today our approach could be more different as we have more knowl- 

 edge of the ocean and what whales eat and where the food goes. 



This chart is, as I say, important militarily today as reflected in 

 another product. 



The Sonar operator has to know where interfering marine bodies 

 are wdiich show on Sonar as a submarine. Hence, the density, the 

 probability of locating a whale when you are looking for a submarine 

 is a very valuable point. It may affect the routing of ships. 



This next chart grew out of this data. This is a formalized mili- 

 tary operational chart. It is dated 1954, 103 years later. 



Mr. Miller. And it is from the data projected in the earlier chart? 



Captain Munson. Yes, sir. 



Now, sir, if we can project ourselves 100 years hence, this chart will 

 be republished but instead of whales you will have tuna, halibut, and 

 other edible fish. Maybe it will not be one chart but a series, showing 

 where to go to catch the food which will be necessary to support an 

 expanding population. 



Oceanographic science will provide this information. 



Mr. Miller. I wonder if the press would like to take a look at this? 



Captain Munson. This one is so old that it is completely forgotten. 



We talked about the pilot charts of Maury and we should like to 

 offer one to each member of the committee, probably our best-known 

 product. 



This chart is published monthly for the North Atlantic, the North 

 Pacific, and additionally a somewhat smaller one for a portion of 

 the Arctic Ocean. For the southern oceans we find that the informa- 

 tion changes so infrecjuently and with the traffic being so much lower 

 we publish that in athis form. It is an expensive thing. It represents 

 the accumulated know-how of 130 years. Hundreds of thousands of 

 observations are averaged out on this, much of it supplied through the 

 weather service. 



Mr. MiLi.ER. Do these show the currents? 



Captain Munson. Some are currents, some are meteorological fac- 

 tors, an amazing lot of information. 



On the back you will find tlie chait of the world currents still of 

 vital im]:)ortance. We acknowledge Lieutenant INfauiy's origin on the 

 chart. We will not take that oil". 



At this time I would like to ask the Director of the Division of 

 Oceanography to display some of our standard oceanographic 

 publications. 



