6 FRONTIERS IN OCEANIC RESEARCH 



An analogy which members of my committee have used is that in 

 the old days of the Indian wars the Indians often achieved victory 

 over the whites, not because they were superior in strength, but 

 rather because they knew how to handle themselves in the forests and 

 in the woods. 



Similarly, in the oceans, we must learn how to handle ourselves, and 

 it is for this reason that essentially anything that we learn about how 

 to maneuver in the oceans, how to find things in the oceans, will help 

 us should we be forced to fight such a war. 



Now, the problems of offense in the age of undersea warfare are 

 difficult. 



We have long-range nuclear submarines, but these submarines have 

 to find out where they are under the water. 



Now, how are they going to find out where they are under the 

 water ? 



Well, one way is to recognize certain geographic objects such as 

 mountains or valleys. 



If they cannot find where they are under the water, then they have 

 to surface, and then they are in danger of being found. 



Similarly, how are they going to find out where they are without 

 emitting radiation ? 



It is very difficult to communicate without giving out some kind 

 of a signal or receiving some kind of a signal, and if you give out 

 some kind of a signal then enemies as well as friends can find you. 



So the problem of self-protection in relation to communications is 

 extraordinarily difficult. 



These problems really will only be answered as we learn more and 

 more about the properties of water — sea water — and the properties of 

 the life forms which exist within the sea. 



Let us take the analogous problems of defense. 



Today we find submarines using what is known as sonar. Here we 

 take sound waves and shoot them down and they are reflected off 

 objects. 



The whole problem of the behavior of sound waves in sea water is a 

 very complex one. For example, arrays of living organisms will give 

 off background sound or noise. This has to be interpreted. 



Aggregates of living organisms can confuse and attenuate acoustic 

 signals which we ourselves send out- 

 All of these things make the problem of using sound waves for detec- 

 tion purposes, or for that matter for communication purposes, ex- 

 tremely difficult. And indeed, I believe myself that the long-range 

 nuclear-powered submarine capable of carrying long-range missiles 

 is in the long run the most serious military threat that the United 

 States faces. And learning how to find such submarines is perhaps 

 the most serious and difficult technical problem which we face today in 

 the military field. 



I don't believe that this problem is going to be solved really until 

 we learn a lot more about the oceans than we now know. 



If I might move to another area of defense, it involves the handling 

 of submarines and it involves the handling of surface ships. 



More knowledge of (lie oceans can greatly improve our capabilities 

 involving forecasting. The forecasting of tides, today, we pretty 

 much tnke for grunted. But the forecasting of surf and of waves in 

 the oceans is a relatively recent development. 



