FRONTIERS IN OCEANIC RESEARCH 6 



than that, but we know that the rays from the Sun decompose water 

 in the upper atmosphere, that the hydrogen that is formed escapes, 

 and that the oxygen which results oxidizes the surface rocks of the 

 Earth, and disappears. But the net result is a loss of water, and we 

 believe that about 10 percent of our oceans have disappeared in this 

 way. 



To ward off any qualms you might have, even were this process to 

 go on into the indefinite future, we have another 50 billion years or so 

 of water left. 



Fortunately for us we have continents. Fortunately we have moun- 

 tains, with the result that the Earth is not completely covered by 

 water. But two-thirds of it is. 



This large quantity of water greatly affects the lives of all living 

 species, both in the water and on the land — not the least, man. 



The vast oceans determine in large measure what our climate is 

 going to be like. 



The oceans provide vast highways for transportation. They pro- 

 vide vast quantities of nourishment for human populations. And in 

 the past they have traditionally supplied protection against enemy 

 attack. 



There are tremendous cycles which take place in the ocean. These 

 cycles involve mass transport of water in the form of great ocean cur- 

 rents. They take the form of the evaporation of water by the rays 

 of the Sun, the condensation of that water, which then falls back into 

 the oceans or over the land areas. When it falls over the land areas 

 it returns to the oceans by way of the rivers. 



In doing this, the water erodes the great land areas and we find 

 huge chains of mountains which at one time were as high as the 

 Rocky Mountains which have been worn down by these processes. 



The eroded material goes into the oceans and gets precipitated in 

 the form of sediments. 



These sediments frequently contain the remains of once living 

 creatures and provide what we know as the fossile record, which, were 

 we able to interpret it, would tell us the complete history of life upon 

 our planet. 



Were we to drain the oceans in some way we would find a myriad 

 of geologic wonders. We would find trenches which go down as far 

 as 7 miles, and I understand you are going to hear more about that 

 today from persons who have actually visited one. 



You would find mountains which approach Mount Everest in 

 height. And in the oceans, as they exist today, we see a fantastic 

 array of living things. It is complex. The array is enormous, and 

 we have only begun to understand the interrelationships which exist 

 among the various living species in the oceans. 



Unfortunately, man's knowledge of the oceans is very small com- 

 pared with their importance to him, and it is amply clear to those of 

 us who have paid some attention to them that as time goes by their 

 importance to man will increase. 



Now, I should point out one other aspect of the oceans which is 

 very important to us, to us creatures who are alive today. It is 

 rather clear that the oceans provided the environment within which 

 life had its origin on Earth, and indeed provided the environment 

 within which a large part of evolution took place. 



