74 OCEANOGRAPHY 



Admiral Pierce. Well, sir, since I have held the floor for 40 min- 

 utes, I would like to have Dr. Stewart, here, read this and briefly 

 describe what he has done on this cruise. 



Dr. Stewart? 



Dr. Stewart. This, Mr. Chairman, is in eft'ect the line that our 

 thinking is taking now as to where the Coast and Geodetic Survey 

 could be going oceanographically. I will read this as I believe it is 

 the easiest way to do it. 



Mr. Miller. Is it very long, Doctor? Could you hit the high- 

 lights of it? We will put the rest of it in the record because we are 

 running a little short of time. 



Dr. Stewart. All right, sir. I shall. 



There is general thinking of increasing the oceanographic work of 

 the Coast and Geodetic Survey within the present framework of 

 our hydrographic surveys. 



A sampling of the type of thing that would be involved is that 

 oceanographic stations will be occupied over a grid in the area where 

 normal charting activities are going on. Bottom samples will be 

 taken in a grid in the same area. Tide and current observations 

 which we need anyway for our nautical charting could be increased 

 to provide specific oceanographic information in that particular area 

 with geophysical observations with the magnetometer, for example. 



The Bureau is receiving a magnetometer this spring, which, by 

 towing it behind our ship as we did a borrowed magnetometer this 

 spring behind our Explorer, adds tremendously. The expensive part 

 is having the ship there. As long as the ship is there the Coast Sur- 

 vey feels that we should utilize this as much as possible to obtain the 

 data. 



One of these factors is merely the towing of a magnetometer which 

 increases tremendously the value of routine surveys. 



It is also hoped that we will be able to get into seaborne gravity 

 meters and bottom photographs throughout the area. These can 

 reveal a tremendous amount of information. 



I have some of the bottom photographs obtained in this Explorer 

 trip, obtained by the Xavy Electronics Laboratory's deep sea camera 

 which they put aboard our ship. 



As an example of the way we are progi-essing, when the ship Pioneer 

 reverts to Coast and Geodetic Survey control in early July we are 

 tentatively planning that this ship will start work in the Aleutian 

 Trench. The Aleutian Trench is one of the great features of the 

 North Pacific. We still know very little about ocean trenches. Hav- 

 ing the Pione,er work in tliis area would give us a very closely spaced 

 bathymetric survey of this trench. Towing at tlie same time a mag- 

 netometer would give us the com]>lete magnetic ])icture of the area and 

 then, too, we would have a grid of oceanographic stations to sample 

 the general oceanographic infonnation in the area. 



This statement goes on to summarize some of tlie personnel require- 

 ments, some of the ship requirements, some of the equipment require- 

 ments to carry out this type of work, also pointing out the fact that 

 mere data collecting is not in fact oceanography. Put it this way: 

 You cannot measure the amount of oceanography in number of track 

 line miles, number of oxygen samples, number of sediment cores taken. 

 The worth of any program is to be measured in the degree to which 



