National Goals in Oceanography 



13 



on the ocean bottom many years ago, and some 

 minerals extractable from sea water have assumed 

 more importance. 



The Bureau of Mines now intends to initiate 

 both a comprehensive research program on the 

 extraction of dissolved chemicals and a program 

 to develop and explore sources on and beneath 

 the ocean floor. This program of exploration, to 

 begin most logically with the continental shelves 

 (and the Great Lakes) where the water is only a 

 few hundred feet deep and the geology similar 

 to that of the continents, summons up thoughts 

 of such past expeditions into the unknown, or 

 only partly known, as the Lewis and Clark Ex- 

 pedition. Although much can be done by sampling 

 and surveying from specially equipped surface 

 vessels, when the few tens of miles of the shallow 

 continental shelves are left behind for the vast 

 abyssal plains where the water is two or three 

 miles deep and the geology is unlike that ever 

 before seen, efficient exploration will necessitate 

 man's actually getting down and looking around. 

 The Bureau of Mines is, therefore, considering 

 the development of a manned deep submersible 

 to supplement its other exploratory techniques. 

 This submersible is to be shared with the Bureau 

 of Commercial Fisheries and possibly other agen- 

 cies. The landscapes seen for the first time by 

 these underwater explorers can hardly help but 

 produce strange and perhaps awesome exper- 

 iences. 



The Geological Survey will also participate in 

 developing information on and maps of mineral 

 resources. 



Another resource which will always be held in 

 common is the recreational value of the sea. 

 Sport fishing and boating have been the tradi- 

 tional forms of recreation at sea just as the beach 

 areas have been for swimming. To these tradi- 

 tional forms of ocean or oceanside recreation, 

 SCUBA diving and underwater exploration in 

 small submersibles and motorized underwater 

 scooters have recently been added or are in pros- 

 jject. As yet, it is not clear what needs to be done 

 not already in hand by the various federal agen- 

 cies long active on behalf of seagoing or seaside 

 recreation. As is well-known, the Bureau of Sport 

 Fisheries and Wildlife is engaged in game fish re- 

 search; the Geological Survey, the Beach Erosion 

 Board, and the Coast and Geodetic Survey provide 

 data and studies for the use of oceanside recrea- 

 tion industries; and the National Park Service, 



which has lately become interested in underwater 

 parks and nature trails for skindivers, maintains 

 and operates public beaches and recreation areas 

 while the Coast Guard and the Weather Bureau 

 provide storm warning and rescue services. 



Cultural patterns in the U.S. will continue to 

 change with the rapid growth expected in the 

 recreational industry. Private developments will be 

 watched for indications of the need for future 

 government activities on their behalf and on be- 

 half of the conservation of resources themselves. 



In 1963, about two percent of the oceanographic 

 budget was considered to support this goal. This 

 factor should double in the decade ahead. 



E, Protecting Life and Property Ashore; 

 Insuring the Safety of Operations at Sea 



1. PROTECTING LIFE AND 

 PROPERTY ASHORE 



Those living near a seacoast are all too well 

 aware of the hazard to life and property repre- 

 sented by a storm at sea. Hurricanes are most 

 likely in late summer and early fall, but extra- 

 tropical storms may strike our Atlantic and Gulf 

 Coasts at any season, sometimes with immense 

 damage. Although the high winds associated with 

 these storms can sometimes do great and freakish 

 damage, it is the water which is the greatest threat. 

 Tides sometimes run many feet higher than nor- 

 mal as so-called "storm surges" associated with the 

 storm moving along the coast. Huge waves 

 whipped up by the wind slam into shore, imposing 

 forces measured in the thousands of tons against 

 beaches, piers, and breakwaters with all the im- 

 pact of a sequence of freight trains. 



Both prediction and protection are important 

 for dealing with these hazards. The Army Corps 

 of Engineers through its Beach Erosion Board, 

 conducts studies on the numerous factors which 

 influence the way and amount waves and cur- 

 rents aff^ect the coasts, including the modification 

 of these effects by protective installations. The 

 Weather Bureau not only attempts constantly to 

 improve its ability to locate and predict the 

 movement of such storms but also to predict more 

 accurately the seas that they generate. That this 

 last problem is difficult and only partially solved 

 can be appreciated when it is realized that wind- 

 generated waves run constantly away from the 



