OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 19 



Mr. DoRN. Should 3'0ii not be receiving more cooperation from the 

 Air Force in the Azores than you do? 



Mr. Reichelderfer, They have been cooperating 100 percent. 

 They are as much interested in this as we are. 



With the shift in empliasis on different types of weapons, we are 

 informed that they simply had to curtail in conventional aircraft and, 

 while they are maintaining weather reconnaissance near the coast and 

 over the West Indies, they will not be able to cover as well those areas 

 on toward Africa and in the Azores. 



We have made very strong representations on this. This has been 

 taken up by the Secretary of Commerce with the Secretary of Defense 

 so that it is not asleep. We are after it. 



Mr. DoRN. Wiiat would you say would be the ultimate goal of all 

 this research? 



Mr. Reichelderfer. In very simple terms, it is the ability to 

 describe everything about the atmosphere of significance to man at 

 every point in the atmosphere. This is not as abstract as it might 

 seem, because aircraft are going higher and liiglier and, if there is 

 severe turbulence in clear air at 40,000 feet over Baltimore and an 

 aircraft happens to come through at the wrong time, it may be serious; 

 so that, our job, really, is to do this and, while it is a stupendous 

 task, and perhaps we will never quite reach it, we are making great 

 strides with these various means toward knowing more about it. 



I have not mentioned the radar in mxy remarks but the weather 

 radar iias given us a really revolutionary step forward in seeing the 

 weatlier in space rather than just the spot weather that the human 

 obsei'ver sees. 



Tlie radar can detect most of the disturbances in the atmosphere 

 for distances of 150 and sometimes 250 miles, which means that for 

 such an installation the observer's eye is no longer limited to 5 or 10 

 miles, or in fog to less than that, but the observer's eye through the 

 radar can now see everything right through tlie curtain of fog, clouds, 

 and rain in a radius of 100 to 250 miles. 



I should put everything in quotes. 



Of course, there are problems, but in general the statement is true. 

 We can see through intervening rain and pick up rain at 75 or 100 

 miles, pick up disturbances that far away. Radar will undoubtedly 

 be developed for even greater capabilities to give us a complete space 

 view of what is going on in weather. 



Mr. DoRN. Talking about the Sahara and the possible origin of 

 hurricanes, do the French have tlie advanced type of reporting and 

 machinery for it that we do? 



Mr. Reichelderfer. The French Meteorological Service is one of 

 the most advanced, yes. Tliey have systems of upper air soundings. 

 They take some upper air soundings over French Africa and those 

 reports are all fed into the international distribution system for 

 analysis by our people here in Washington, by the French in Paris, 

 by the British in London, and so on. 



Air. DoRX. In reply to a question from Mr. Oliver, you mentioned 

 that there was some perhaps remote attempt at jostling a hiuTicane 

 or changing its course. I wonder if you could give an example of 

 what lias happened or what is contemplated? 



Mr. Reichelderfer. I would be glad to say what little we know 

 about it. The theorj^ is, and it is not a complete theory but just a 



