CURRENT PROBLEMS IN DEVELOPING OCEANOGRAPHY IN 



THE UNITED STATES 



CHARACTERISTICS OF MODERN 



OCEANOGRAPHIC FACILITIES 



The original facilities for oceanographic 

 research both in this country and abroad 

 were chiefly developed by marine biolo- 

 gists. The work followed two major pat- 

 terns. Research on the high seas was con- 

 ducted by large-scale expeditions often last- 

 ing several years, such as those of the Chal- 

 lenger, Albatross, Meteor, Carnegie, Dana, 

 and Discovery. The relatively simple equip- 

 ment consisted chiefly of devices for col- 

 lecting samples of sea water, sediments and 

 other bottom material, and specimens of 

 marine organisms. The materials collected 

 were brought back to shore and distributed 

 among various experts throughout the 

 world for description or analysis. 



At the same time, many small marine sta- 

 tions were established to which university 

 people could go for the summer or for 

 vacation periods to do research. The scope 

 of the work was mainly determined by the 

 small size and short cruising radius of the 

 laboratory vessels. In the United States 

 these laboratories were supported princi- 

 pally from private funds and on a modest 

 scale as compared with those in Scandi- 

 navia, Germany, England, and Japan, where 

 government support was available. 



As a result of developments in the basic 

 sciences and in techniques of instrumenta- 

 tion, especially in the last ten years, oceano- 

 graphic research has changed in character 

 and the required facilities have increased 

 in complexity and cost. In this country it 

 now usually involves a concentrated and 

 coordinated attack on specific problems, in 

 which the field work is confined to limited 

 areas revisited at frequent intervals. For 

 example, a cooperative program of the 

 United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 

 the California Division of Fish and Game, 

 and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography 



to determine the relationships of hydro- 

 graphic conditions to the productivity of 

 the California sardine fishery, involves 

 monthly surveys (by four ships, each cruis- 

 ing about 2500 miles per month) of the 

 waters off the West coast of the United 

 States and Lower California. As many as 

 six ships have been used simultaneously in 

 a study (by the Woods Hole Oceano- 

 graphic Institution and the Hydrographic 

 Office, with the cooperation of the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service and the Naval Research 

 Establishment of Canada) of the detailed 

 structure of the Gulf Stream and its peri- 

 odic fluctuations in position and strength. 



Such investigations require laboratory ex- 

 perimentation and model studies and the 

 development of analytical methods, as well 

 as new instruments and techniques for work 

 at sea. For much of the latter, sturdy ves- 

 sels are needed, capable of operating in 

 any weather and of handling gear weigh- 

 ing two or three tons suspended from 

 heavy wire ropes often several miles long. 

 Extensive shop facilities are essential for 

 the development and construction of both 

 laboratory and field equipment. In these 

 developments there must be ready access 

 to ship facilities for testing at every stage. 



The requisites of modern oceanographic 

 investigations are thus comparable in many 

 ways to those of astronomy and present 

 similar organizational problems. Important 

 work can be accomplished by small groups 

 of scientists with relatively inexpensive fa- 

 cilities, but for many of the major problems 

 the facilities needed are extensive and com- 

 plex. Consequently large seaside labora- 

 tories with funds adequate to operate ocean- 

 going vessels are indispensable. The opera- 

 tion of such large institutions involves lo- 

 gistic planning on a scale unknown in most 

 laboratory sciences and rarely encountered 

 even in field work on land. 



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