The International Setting 



41 



her growing interest in deep sea oceanography, 

 is shown by the assignment of five out of her 

 approximately 24 survey and fisheries research 

 vessels to the International Indian Ocean Expedi- 

 tion. This fleet is comparatively new, three- 

 quarters of it being less than 12 years old. It is 

 also very capable, with six of the ships exceeding 

 1000 tons and only two under 200 tons in size. 

 The Oceanographic Society of Japan includes 

 more than 500 members, and the work force is 

 estimated at 200 - 225 professionals with about 

 600 technicians. Some 30 - 35 students graduate 

 with bachelor's degrees in oceanography each 

 year but only four or five doctorates are conferred. 

 The annual oceanographic budget is estimated at 

 about $10 - $12 million. 



C. United Kingdom 



It was the British "Challenger" Expedition in 

 1873-1876 which first opened the oceans of the 

 world to modern science, and the British have 

 maintained a leading place in world oceanography 

 ever since. 



British oceanography centers in the work of the 

 National Institute of Oceanography, generally 

 considered one of the outstanding oceanographic 

 institutions in the world. It was founded in 1949, 

 in Surrey, to centralize the work of three older 

 establishments — the Discovery Committee, the 

 Oceanographic Branch of the Admiralty, and the 

 Underwater Sound Establishment at Teddington. 



The work at NIO emphasizes physical oceanog- 

 raphy, including wave studies and current meas- 

 urements, but its program also includes some 

 marine chemistry, sea-floor geology, geophysics, 

 and marine biology. Its staff is led by some 20 

 senior scientists, and its major oceanographic 

 vessel is the new DISCOVERY. Its operating 

 budget has risen from about $3/4 million in the 

 middle of the last decade to about $1.8 million 

 today. 



The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries con- 

 ducts a program of applied oceanography at its 

 laboratory in Lowestoft, operating the research 

 vessel ERNEST HOLT. The Fisheries Biology for 

 Scotland has a laboratory in Aberdeen, and the 

 Marine Biological Association has a laboratory in 

 Plymouth. 



Education and research in physical oceanog- 

 raphy is conducted at the Department of Ocea- 

 nography at Liverpool where the University also 



maintains the famous Tidal Observatory. The 

 Department of Geodesy and Geophysics at Cam- 

 bridge conducts ocean-floor studies, and some 

 eight additional universities have recently initiated 

 programs also in marine geology. The British 

 Museum and the British Petroleum Company also 

 have programs in geological oceanography. 



Large-scale hydrographic survey work is con- 

 ducted on a world-wide basis by the Admiralty 

 with a survey fleet of about ten. 



There are about 300 professional oceanogra- 

 phers in the United Kingdom supported by about 

 900 technicians. Some 40 - 45 bachelor's degrees 

 in oceanography are granted each year, but only 

 5-6 doctorates. The ocean-going research fleet 

 includes about 16 vessels and the annual budget 

 is estimated at about $8 - $10 milFion. 



D. Canada 



Canada conducts a large, well-rounded program 

 in all phases of oceanography but with special 

 application to the Arctic and sub-Arctic. A cen- 

 tral Canadian Committee on Oceanogfraphy, 

 representing both universities and government 

 agencies, establishes basic policy and coordinates 

 the research program through four working 

 groups, each concerned with a different geograph- 

 ical area. 



There are approximately 170 professional 

 oceanographers and 500 technicians working in 

 a total of about 14 laboratories. The Canadian 

 research fleet consists of 17 vessels including 

 several refitted icebreakers, and ships normally 

 operated for the Fisheries Research Board. The 

 annual budget is estimated at about $58 million. 



E. Summary 



The international apparatus for cooperative 

 oceanographic enterprises is large, active, and 

 highly effective. The member nations with the 

 greatest capabilities are the United States, the 

 USSR, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Canada, 

 but there are 39 others represented as well. It is 

 estimated that more than 250 oceanographic re- 

 search ships exist capable of open ocean opera- 

 tions and that there are numerous smaller enter- 

 prises as well as the Ocean-Wide Survey Plan that 

 can best be executed through international 

 cooperation. 



