38 ADVANCEMENT OF MARINE SCIENCES 



Dr. David C. Chandler, director of the Great Lakes Research 

 Division of the Institute of wScience and Technology, University of 

 Michigan, was more specific on the role of science with respect to the 

 Great Lakes, In a letter to this committee he said in part : 



The role of our Great Lakes in advancing the marine 

 sciences is noteworthy, and I am pleased with the recogni- 

 tion they have received in your bill. 



In several respects these large lakes are intermediate in 

 characteristics between the small inland lakes and the oceans, 

 and therefore lend themselves uniquely to certain kinds of 

 investigations. Their evident lacustrine features are (1) 

 possession of both inlets and outlets, (2) typical lake thermal 

 characteristics, and (3) low salt content. Their oceanic 

 characteristics are (1) visible effects of Coriolis force (the 

 apparent tendency of wind-driven surface water to move to 

 the right of the wind direction), (2) distribution of upwellings 

 and sinking according to the relationship of current stream- 

 lines and the shore, and (3) the presence of distinct water 

 masses. 



The Great Lakes afford the following advantages in the 

 conduct of marine research: (1) Their size and ready acces- 

 sibility make investigations economical in respect to time 

 and outlay of equipment; (2) most oceanographic phenomena 

 exist in the Great Lakes and in such scale that the lakes may 

 be considered as laboratory-sized oceans; (3) lack of pro- 

 nounced tides and high salinities make many research prob- 

 lems simple and more readily solvable in these lakes than in 

 the oceans; (4) low electrical conductivity of fresh water and 

 its much less corrosiveness make possible a rapid and eco- 

 nomical testing and development of instrumentation; and (5) 

 the existence of scientific research and training centers in the 

 Great Lakes States, such as the Universities of Michigan, 

 Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ohio State, which contribute to 

 the national effort in marine sciences and are a source of 

 trained personnel. 



The committee commends this letter to the attention of all Govern- 

 ment officials who may administer this program following the enact- 

 ment of S. 901 and the appropriation of funds for research and surveys 

 authorized therein. 



The committee intends that the word "marine" in connection with 

 research authorized in this bill sliall be interpreted as applying to both 

 oceanographic and Great Lakes research, and not in relation to the 

 varying salinities of the waters. 



The Great Lakes, with opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway have 

 become an arm of the ocean reaching into tlie interior of the continent. 



Organisms and species whose normal habitat is the oceans are 

 appearing in the Great Lakes in increasing numbers. 



Some, like pink salmon, a few of which have recently been noted in 

 Lake Superior, smelt and white perch are beneficial, and alewives, the 

 latter found in brackish waters and used largely in prepared pet foods. 



Most destructive of the visitors from the oceans have been the 

 lampreys, which apparently found their way into the upper lakes 

 following the opening of the Welland Canal in 1931. 



