OCEAN SCIENCES AND NATIONAL SECURITT 89 



with "improvement of a means for navigating safely the vessels of 

 the Navy and of the mercantile marine by providing, under authority 

 of the Secretary of the Navy, accurate and cheap nautical charts, 

 sailing directions, and manuals of instructions for the use of all vessels 

 in the United States and for the benefit and use of navigators, gen- 

 erally." 



Up untn 1928, oceanogi'aphic information was confined primarily to 

 bottom soundings and information concerning the ocean surface; but 

 in that year, as a result of inqumes of the first Committee on Ocean- 

 ography of the NAS, the Hydrographic OflBce expanded its program. 



During World War II these activities were fm-ther expanded and 

 particularly in June 1943, the Hydrographic Office was given responsi- 

 bility for furnishing oceanographic information required by aU the 

 armed services. To conserve the know-how accumidated during 

 World War II, the Division of Oceanography was established im- 

 mediately after the war, although some of its responsibilities sub- 

 sequently were absorbed by the Office of Naval Research. 



The preparation of manuals, atlases and tables has been a particu- 

 larly important contribution of the Hydrographic Office. Samples 

 include : 



HO 607, an instruction manual of oceanographic observations — 

 a cookbook of how to obtain aU types of data. 



HO 606C, a pamphlet on taking b a thy thermographic observa- 

 tions. 



HO 614, a standard treatise, internationally accepted, on the 

 processing of oceanographic data. 

 HO 604, on the forecasting of waves. 



At the present time, the Hydrographic Office operates the major 

 segment of research vessels devoted explicitly to charting and these 

 have been previously listed in Table 8. Virtually all of these activi- 

 ties are now focused on classified projects and as a consequence, for 

 program and budget purposes, activities of the Hydrographic Office 

 are now considered by the Navy as a phase of military oceanography^. 



(6) Bureau oj Ships.* — The Bureau of Ships has responsibility for 

 the design, construction, maintenance and overhaul of all elements of 

 the U.S. fleet, including all of the technical equipment placed on board, 

 with the exception of weapon systems. It is thus responsible for the 

 development of such materiel as needed for the detection, tracking, 

 and classification of undersea targets, making use of underwater 

 acoustics, disturbances of the Earth's magnetic fields by underw^ater 

 bodies and other phenomena. Quite obviously, the improvement of 

 performance of such equipment and the development of new principles 

 require a detailed understanding of the ocean, the physical and 

 chemical properties of its contents, etc. The manner in which oceano- 

 graphic research contributes to improved antisubmarine defense, for 

 example, was cited in testimony by Secretary Wakelin: 



1. Q. In what way will oceanographic research contribute to an improved 

 antisubmarine defense for the United States? 



A. The present antisubmarine defense for the United States is based almost 

 entirely upon the use of underwater acoustics. This applies to open ocean sur- 

 veillance, submarine detection, localization and classification as well as to the 

 operational use of ASW weapons systems. Oceanographic research will con- 

 tribute an improved antisubmarine defense by providing us with an understanding 

 of, or a working knowledge of the following phenomena of the sea: 



(a) Effect of wind on the water surface in producing ambient noise; 



