EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COMMITTEE ON OCEANOGRAPHY 3 



Dr. Bowcn C. Does, Chairman, Training and Manpower Panel, 

 National Science Foundation. 



Dr. Donald L. McKernan, Chairman, Equipment and Facilities 

 Panel, Department of Interior. 



As you know, Mr. Chairman, our current emphasis on oceanography 

 was initiated by the report of the National Academy of Sciences 

 Committee on Oceanography "Oceanography 1960-70" issued in 1959. 



As a background to their organization for this study, I should like to 

 read for the record one of the letters addressed to Dr. Bronk which 

 requested the establishment for a group in the National Academy of 

 Sciences to perform just this function, and I think it also reflects the 

 character and the scope of our current endeavor in oceanography. 



On the 9th of August of 1956, Rear Adm. Rawson Bennett, Chief of 

 Naval Research at that time, addressed the following letter to Dr. 

 Bronk: 



In recent months there hay been an increasing demand for advice on oceano- 

 graphic problems of great magnitude. Many of these questions are of broad 

 scope and long range, having far-reaching effects on the safety and benefit of 

 mankind as well as considerable influence upon the foreign policy of the United 

 States. They often require the concerted action of oceanographers and scientists 

 in related fields. At present, there is no established means through which the 

 oceanographic institutions can act as a unit. 



After recent informal discussions between representatives of the Office of Naval 

 Research, the Atomic Energy Commission, the National Science Foundation, and 

 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we feel that there is an urgent need to estab- 

 lish a group which may be called upon for advice on current oceanographic prob- 

 lems and, in addition, will provide adequate planning, coordination, and direction 

 of oceanographic research. The group should include physicists, biologists, 

 engineers, and fisheries' experts in addition to the oceanographers. It is sug- 

 gested that a continuing committee with a rotating membership containing these 

 and possibly scientists of other disciplines be organized under the auspices of the 

 National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council. The committee 

 should have a full-time executive secretary and sufficient secretarial help so that 

 the members can be fully apprised of the needs of the oceanographers and sup- 

 porting agencies. 



Some of the matters on which the proposed committee might provide advice 

 and guidance are: 



1. Ever-present problems arising from the international character of the oceans 

 which must now be dealt with through organizations like UNESCO, the Pacific 

 Science Association, and the Pan American Institute of Geography and History. 

 Advice on international affairs should be obtained from the collected efforts of a 

 group assembled, by virtue of their knowledge and foresight, especially for this 

 purpose. 



2. The need for advice on the disposal of atomic wastes which has been clearly 

 demonstrated by the recent report of the "Committee on the Effects of Atomic 

 Radiation on Oceanography and Fisheries." One of this Committee's recom- 

 mendations was that a continuing committee on atomic radiation in relation to 

 oceanography and fisheries be established. It is felt that the subcommittee of 

 the latter type might logically evolve from the more general committee mentioned 

 above. 



3. Long-range planning which is essential now for the most expeditious and 

 judicious use of the oceans as a food and mineral resource for the world. 



4. The planning, coordination, and direction of the long-range, purely scientific 

 investigation of the oceans which require much additional effort. Some of this 

 may be provided by the Committee by keeping oceanographers informed of 

 technical advances in other fields, by bringing scientists of other disciplines into 

 oceanography and by advice to the agencies supporting oceanography with regard 

 to adequate support in both money and facilities necessary to carry out a funda- 

 mental research program. 



This office believes that the establishment of the proposed committee will be of 

 value to the Navy, and we hope you will give the suggestion your consideration. 

 Should you concur with these ideas, we will arrange to send representatives to 

 meet with you or your staff to discuss the establishment of the committee. 



