28 OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 



In addition to our laboratory facilities here in Washington we util- 

 ize other laboratories of the Government whicli have specialized equip- 

 ment and personnel that could assist us, such as the Waterways 

 Experiment Station at Vicksburg. 



We also make contracts with universities and oceanographic insti- 

 tutions to do specialized work in which they are particularly well 

 equipped both with facilities and personnel. 



Over the past 10 years, we have usually had about five research 

 projects each year with the various oceanographic institutions or 

 universities and we found this a very satisfactor}'^ and rewarding 

 method of accomplishing some of our research. 



The results of our research program are published in our Technical 

 Memorandum series. I have brought three of them. I do not pro- 

 pose to read them, of course. 



The title of this one is "Study of Sediment Sorting by Waves on a 

 Plane Beach." 



Here is one, "Wave and Lake Level Statistics for Lake Michigan," 

 in which we made a study of the waves that reached the various sliores 

 of the lake. 



We publish these memorandums in about 500 copies and they are 

 sent to a rather wide distribution list in the country and overseas. 



These particular studies are quoted very widely in the technical 

 and scientific press and constitute quite a book in the literature of 

 beach erosion and what might be called inshore oceanography. 



Our area of interest might be defined as the shallow water inside 

 the 300-foot contour, everything from the 300-foot contour up to the 

 dune line, which is the active shore face in most cases. A considerable 

 part of our research effort is devoted to a study of the waves as they 

 are generated at sea and as they travel in as wave trains to break on 

 the shore. 



The fact is that in our research program we got a group up at the 

 New York University working on this idea of wave action. Then 

 we underwrote the development of the wave spectrum theory which 

 shows that the ocean wave trains are spectrums of various sizes and 

 lengths just as a glass prism shows us that our sunlight is a spectrum 

 of various colors. 



To aid in our work, we have now established a group of wave-record- 

 ing stations in a number of localities and have cleveloped a magnetic 

 tape recorder in which we put the wave signal on the tape and run it 

 through a high speed analyzer to break it down into its component 

 waves. 



I think with that much introduction, we will have a few slides. 



I mentioned our categories of research. You might say the first is 

 the wave forces, the forces molding the shore, and the second is the 

 reaction of the shore to the forces. 



The third is the functional design of sliore structures and the fourth 

 is the selection of the material we should use in these structures, 

 breakwaters, seawalls, in order to give them the proper durnbility. 



'Ihe next slide 1 believe will show us one of these wave facilities 

 wiiicii I mentioned, This is a large wave tank and shows n (l-foot 

 wave coming down a beach which is located at this end of the tank. 

 Tliis enal)les us to take our rather small studies that we do in the 

 small tanks (about a foot wide and 2 feet deep) and see how nearly 

 these results compare with what wc could expect to happen out in the 

 ocean itself. 



