V. Potential Programs of Kesearch 



Considering the broad geographical expanse of sea and the relatively- 

 limited knowledge about it, those working in the field have noted that 

 a potent frontier exists in all of the oceanic sciences. A shopping list 

 of projects can easily be assembled covering studies of the sea, the 

 bottom, its contents, its relationship with the continents, and with the 

 atmosphere. A sampling is presented in this section, mainly to 

 suggest to the reader something of the technical content which the 

 oceanographers refer to in discussions of an accelerated level of effort. 



Although necessity is the mother of invention, necessity may also be 

 considered the bm-r under the saddle which stimulates research. All 

 of the areas discussed subsequently are considered attractive by 

 scientists because concerted study would fill existing gaps of knowl- 

 edge; truly basic research is conducted without thought of application. 

 Nevertheless, the applications in many cases are so striking that their 

 omission would render this element of background incomplete. 



In introducing these examples, one additional fact seems evident. 

 The relatively limited effort that has been applied in the past has 

 created a unique opportunity for the futm'e — an opportunity in terms 

 of a high expectation of important discovery, eitiier geographic or 

 scientific. Many of these discoveries, thi'ough their public knowledge, 

 w^ill benefit all countries of the world. That nation associated with 

 the discovery is the initial beneficiary. This becomes particularly 

 important in terms of the application of results for defense. No more 

 dramatic example exists than basic discoveries of nuclear fission which, 

 far from being only of interest to the academic world, created a 

 revolution in warfare. 



A. MILITARY OCEANOGRAPHY 



The application of oceanography to military or defense require- 

 ments includes — ■ 



(a) the design and specification of new equipment to take 

 maximum advantage of the properties of the oceans; 



(b) tests of new equipment to meet operational requirements; 



(c) tactical use of equipment; and 



(d) strategic planning wherein knowledge of the ocean can 

 be used to select the time and location of militar}" operations. 



During World War II, oceanographic research and information 

 found intensive application in both amphibious and undersea war- 

 fare. The success of beach landings depended on acciu"ate knowledge 

 of conditions in the surf and at the shore zone, data on wave heights 

 and direction, and on tides. Loading and unloading of cargo was 

 obviously conditioned by such information. The Normandy opera- 

 tion was threatened by problems in predicting simply wave heights. 



Vastly oversimplified, the underl;ydng technical foundation of 

 warfare under the sea is the propert37- of water that limits penetration 

 of light and electromagnetic radiation. On the other hand, sound is 

 transmitted better through the ocean than through the air, 



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