22 



Oceanography 1951 



Woods Hole Oreanonraphic Institution. 



The Albatross III, one of the vessels of the Fish and Wildlife Service, U. S. Department ot 



the Interior. 



Although one of the responsibilities is to 

 carry on unbroken series of routine obser- 

 vations, the major responsibility should 

 always be to use the facilities creatively in 

 advancing our understanding of the oceans. 

 It is vital to preserve the flexibility of 

 method and freedom of choice of objectives 

 which have proved so essential for the 

 healthy development of all the sciences. 

 One means of insuring optimum creative 

 use of the facilities of the oceanographic 

 institutions is to provide for a flow of visit- 

 ing scientists from universities and abroad. 



SHIPS 



Deprived of vessels with adequate labora- 

 tory arrangements, oceanography would 

 soon cease to produce new means of attack- 

 ing problems. This is the weak link in 

 the chain on which the effective use of 

 the available government appropriations 

 for applied oceanography depends. Oceano- 

 graphic ships should be regarded as vehicles 

 on which investigators and their instruments 

 are carried to sea. Their operation must 

 be directed by men who understand and 

 can coordinate the varying requirements of 

 the scientists, and the crews must learn 

 the special needs of the scientific work on 

 which the success of a voyage depends. 

 Because it is inefficient to use a large 



ship for work that a small one can do, there 

 is need for a variety of oceanographic ves- 

 sels. These range from motor launches to 

 ships capable of crossing the ocean and 

 remaining at sea for long periods. Larger 

 ships are equipped with special winches 

 for lowering heavy equipment to the bot- 

 tom in the deepest water. They have labora- 

 tories and modern electronic equipment 

 for position finding and for exploring the 

 ocean depths. The operating budget of 

 such vessels ranges from $50,000 to more 

 than $150,000 per year. 



It is often suggested that oceanographers 

 make more frequent use of government 

 survey and fisheries vessels, but most gov- 

 ernment vessels are inadequately equipped 

 for oceanographic work. Some have win- 

 ches that are suitable for shallow water 

 investigations but not for deep water. 

 Laboratory accommodations are poor or 

 entirely lacking. However, the chief trouble 

 is that the vessel usually has a primary 

 mission other than oceanography. Hence 

 the route is prescribed by other require- 

 ments, and relatively few hours of a voyage 

 often lasting several weeks or months can be 

 devoted to such secondary work. Occa- 

 sionally security problems are involved, 

 especially on naval ships. Some naval and 

 other government agencies, to be sure, have 



