86 ADVANCEMENT OF AIARINE SCIENCES 



These are some of the reasons which compel us to embark upon a 

 national effort in oceanography. I am therefore requesting funds for 

 1962 which will nearly double our Government's investment over 

 1961, and which will provide $23 million more for oceanography than 

 what was recom^mended in the 1962 budget submitted earlier. A 

 summar}- and comparison of the 1960, 1961, and 1962 budgets is 

 contained in two tables which are enclosed with this letter. 



1 . Ship construction 



The proposed program for 1962 includes $37 million for ship con- 

 struction, an increase of $23 million over 1961. This will provide 

 for 10 oceanographic vessels. Only two will replace existing ships. 

 The others mil be used to meet needs that have long existed in Federal 

 agencies and other oceanographic institutions conducting research 

 for tlie Government. 



The present U.S. oceanogi'aphic fleet is composed of 27 research 

 ships and 17 survey vessels. All but two were constructed prior to 

 the end of World War II; many are over 30 years old. Only two of 

 the ships were designed specificall}'' for research purposes; the remain- 

 der has been converted from a variety of ships designed for other uses. 

 Thus, the success of the national oceanographic program will depend 

 heavily on the construction of the new specially designed vessels 

 proposed for 1962. 



2. Shore facilities and data center 



Shore facilities are urgently required to provide laboratory space 

 for analysis and interpretation of data and to train new oceanog- 

 raphers. 



In oceanographic research about five scientists and technicians are 

 required ashore for each scientist aboard ship. 



For 1962, $10 million is being requested for laboratories and wharf- 

 side facilities. This represents a fivefold increase over 1961. It 

 includes, for example, funds for a new Bureau of Commercial Fish- 

 eries laboratory to replace a 40-year-old structure and additional 

 laboratory space at universities and other oceanographic institutions. 



An essential part of the Shore Establishment is the new National 

 Oceanographic Data Center which will begin its first full year of 

 operation in 1962. This center will make available to the scientific 

 community oceanographic data collected throughout the world. 



3. Basic and applied research 



The conduct of research is the central purpose of our whole national 

 effort in oceanography. New ships and shore facilities are essential 

 tools of scientific research, but it is the research itself that will yield 

 new knowledge of the earth's "inner space," and new uses of the sea. 

 The proposed program includes $41 million for basic and applied 

 research in oceanography. This is an increase of $9 million over the 

 1961 level. 



Basic research is the cornerstone on which the successful use of the 

 seas must rest. Progress here is largely dependent on the work of 

 scientists at many universities and laboratories throughout the United 

 States and on ships at sea. Their investigations cover all aspects of 

 the marine environment, the motion and composition of ocean waters, 

 the evolution and distribution of marine plants and animals, the shape 

 and composition of the ocean bottom, and many other geophysical 



