will not be reduced before mid- 1970. However, preliminary analysis of cer- 

 tain data have revealed — 



(1) Strong eastward-moving currents in the Atlantic off Barbados, 

 where ocean atlases show predominantly westward flow ; 



(2) A large water mass, probably from the Amazon River, that re- 

 mains unmixed with ocean water as far as 1,000 miles from its source; 



(3) The presence of small atmospheric "fronts" 3 to 4 miles long, 

 with sudden temperature and humidity increases often followed by a 

 rapid temperature drop, while the humidity decreases slowly over a 

 period of 10 minutes — suggesting the existence of patches of moist 

 and dry air a mile or more in diameter with little change in tempera- 

 ture; and 



(4) Twice as much incoming solar radiation being absorbed in the 

 tropical atmosphere as had been believed — indicating that the amount 

 of solar radiation available to heat the oceans is less than previously 

 estimated. 



BOMEX follows closely the recommendations of the Joint Panel on 

 Sea-Air Interaction and the Panel on International Meteorological Cooper- 

 ation of the National Academy of Sciences ( 1962) . These panels pinpointed 

 the problem of sea-air interaction as one of the most important, but also 

 most difficult research problems of our time, requiring the close cooperation 

 of the atmospheric and oceanographic scientific communities. Such coopera- 

 tion has been achieved in BOMEX. 



Understanding Ocean Properties Through Research 



During the past year a number of significant discoveries have been made 

 at the oceanographic institutions and at various marine science departments 

 which have increased our basic understanding of the living and nonliving 

 properties of the ocean. Generally these are contributions of individual sci- 

 entists to develop hypotheses concerning the ocean, its contents, boundaries, 

 interactions and evolution. 



Extremely sensitive instruments were used to detect the presence of 10 

 radionuclides in the ocean down to 1,500 meters.'* Specific activities of zinc- 

 65 and cobalt-60 detected in marine organisms were several orders of magni- 

 tude higher than sea water probably indicating that the chemical and physi- 

 cal forms of radionuclides are selectively concentrated, especially in the 

 differential chemical absorption among certain invertebrates. 



Continued investigations into the major geological structures of the cen- 

 tral North Pacific have significantly advanced the development of theories 

 of sea floor spreading and plate tectonics.^ Studies of bathymetric and mag- 



* Robertson, D. E., Ranscitelli, L. A., and R. W. Perkins; "Multi-element Analysis 

 of Sea Water, Marine Organisms and Sediments by Neutron Activation without 

 Chemical Separation," Proceedings of International Symposium on the Applications 

 of Neutron Activation Analysis in Oceanography, Brussels, June 1968. 



^ Peter, G., Erickson, B. H., P. J. Grim; "Magnetic Structure of the Aleutian and 

 Northeast Pacific Basin," The Sea, vol. 4, Interscience Press, 1969, 



154 



