OCEAN SCIENCES AND NATIONAL SECURITY 117 



grees of impact, but the fact that oceanography has not developed 

 without such outside stimulation is a special point deserving of study. 

 This most recent request, formulated by the Office of Naval Re- 

 search in conjunction Avith the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the 

 Atomic Energy Commission, and the National Science Foundation, 

 was transmitted to the NAS-NRC by the Chief of Naval Research 

 and received an immediate favorable reply from Dr. Bronk, now 

 President of the Academy. A Committee of ten was appointed, 

 with Dr. Harrison S. Brown, Professor of Geochemistry at the Cali- 

 fornia Institute of Technology, as chairman. The other members 

 included : 



Maurice Ewing, director, Lainont Geological Observatory, Columbia Univer- 

 sity; Columbus O'D. Iselin, retired director. Woods Hole Oceanographic Insti- 

 tution; Fritz Koczy, professor at the Marine Laboratories, University of Miami; 

 Sumner Pike, Lubec, Maine, formerly Commissioner, U.S. Atomic Energy Com- 

 mission; Colin Pittendrigh, professor of biology, Princeton University;' Roger 

 Revelle, director, Scripps Institution of Oceanographic Laboratory, Yale Univer- 

 sity; Milner B. Schaefer, director, Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission; 

 and Athelstan Spilhaus, dean of the Institute of Techuologj^, University of 

 Minnesota. 



Mr. Richard Vetter, formerly of the Office of Naval Research, was 

 made Executive Secretary. 



The investigation was then undertaken over a period of about 1 year 

 by the members of the Committee on Oceanography, as a part-time 

 endeavor while on periodic intervals of leave from then- main post, 

 supplemented by five panels of specialists who contributed to the 

 program similarly, 



A summary report of the Committee was released by the NAS- 

 NRC on February 15, 1959: Chapter 1— "Oceanography, 1960-70." 

 Eleven supplementary documents are planned, to amplify the basic 

 study and the recommendations as follows : 



Chapter 2. Basic research in oceanography during the next 10 years 



Chapter 3. Ocean resources 



Chapter 4. Oceanographic research for defense applications ™ 



Chapter 5. Artificial radioactivity in the marine environment 



Chapter 6. New research ships 



Chapter 7. Engineering needs for ocean exploration 



Chapter 8. Education and manpower 



Chapter 9. Oceanwide surveys '* 



Chapter 10. International cooperation 



Chapter IL History of oceanography ™ 



Chapter 12. Marine sciences in the United States 



On the basis of its findings, the Committee drew up a scries of 

 recommendations which the members felt would strengthen the 

 marine sciences during the next 10 years to a level consistent on the 

 one hand with the assessed urgent needs, and on the other hand, with 

 certain inherent limitations such as the rates at which ships and 

 laboratories can be built and new oceanographers trained. 



The Committee stressed, however, that its recommendations were 

 minimal. They went on to say: 



Action on a scale appreciably less than that recommended will jeopardize the posi- 

 tion of oceanography in the United States relative to the position of the science in 

 other ynajor nations, thereby accentuating the serious military and political dangers, 

 and placing the natioii at a disadvantage in the future use of the resources of the seaJ'^ 



"' These three chapters are still in preparation. 



s" "Oceanography 1960-70; Introduction and Summary of Recommendations," NASCO Report. Ch. 1, 

 p. 2. 



56612—60 9 



