Surveying the Environment 



engineers in planning for possible participation in future programs. 



Inherent in the advancement of space oceanography capabilities to benefit 

 many agencies is the need for closer coordination of related programs. The 

 Council accordingly recommended that NASA assume lead agency respon- 

 sibility for coordination of sensor technology, techniques for space oceanog- 

 raphy and testing of new developments. 



It also endorsed FY 1969 initiatives by (a) ESSA, to employ an advanced 

 camera system and high resolution scanning radiometer, piggyback, in the 

 TIROS M and advanced TIROS operational satellites for mapping sea and 

 lake ice and surface temperatures, locating major currents, and estimating 

 the state of the sea; and (b) the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, to expand 

 studies of the usefulness of satellite radiometric data and photographs in 

 locating high density fisheries. 



Planning Ahead 



The need for intensified ocean exploration has been highlighted by de- 

 liberations of the General Assembly of the United Nations on questions 

 related to jurisdiction over the deep ocean floor and its resources. A broad 

 base of understanding about the oceans and their resources can contribute to 

 informed judgments on legal issues of both national and international 

 importance. 



A comprehensive national program for ocean exploration was recom- 

 mended in 1959 by the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on 

 Oceanography. The Committee called for ocean-wide surveys : "Not only for 

 research, but in order to exploit and use the oceans, we need detailed 

 knowledge which can be obtained only through -ystematic surveys in three 

 dimensions. . . It is essential that these surveys be conducted on an ocean- 

 wide, ocean-deep basis as quickly as possible. Our knowledge is now limited 

 largely to waters 100 miles from shore and even here is inadequate for present 

 and future needs." The recommendation was reinforced by the Committee's 

 1966 report which urged that "the program be carried out in a systematic 

 and expeditious manner." 



As yet, only a limited program of ocean-wide mapping has been incor- 

 porated in agency plans. Moreover, despite coojjerative exchanges of data 

 and of scientists between agencies, Government-wide planning for ocean 

 exploration and mapping and ocean observation and prediction on a con- 

 tinuous basis has not been achieved. 



The Marine Sciences Council is beginning to remedy this deficiency. 



Recognizing the need for long-range planning to implement Federal 

 agency missions in these areas and to support policies and objectives of the 



109 



