181 



or I'eleased to float again, or they may stop at 

 some pre-set level and drift witli the current 

 until retrieved or expended. . 



Another class of devices could be self-pro- 

 pelled and automatically or remotely guided 

 along programmed courses. Diesel-driven 

 semisubmersibles could cruise the surface in 

 transocean patterns. Deep-diving torpedo 

 hulls with battery power could dive from 

 surface \-essels, run a search course, and re- 

 turn for recovery. Helicopters, aircraft, 

 drones, and rockets could cover great dis- 

 tances, carrying sensors with or without the 

 option of water entry. 



Other classes of recording devices are not 

 truly instruments, but they are equally im- 

 portant. Unmanned coring and rock sam- 

 pling techniques ultimately may be useful, 

 for it may not be possible to take good core 

 samples from a deep submersible. 



More continuous sampling and data re- 

 cording certainly are needed, and their tech- 

 nical development is sufHciently advanced to 

 be promising. The Tffardy plankton sampler 

 takes a continuous sample of plankton while 



Xeto occanographic insinimoits, 

 like thif: KuUnity-tempcraturc-ficpth 

 recorder and sound velocity sensor, 

 are permittiii;/ more rapid, better 

 observations of the physical 

 characteristics of the ocean. 



being towed, giving, in effect, a geographic 

 and chronological record of the sample over 

 a given distance. A few oceanographic vessels 

 are measuring properties of the sea surface 

 continuously, and some pump water through 

 their laboratories while underway for chemi- 

 cal analysis and for temperature and con- 

 ductivity measurements at short intervals. 

 Still another recent development that en- 

 hances the capability of a ship to collect vital 

 data at sea is the salinity-temperature-dej;th 

 recorder; one self-contained, battery-powered 

 version records data on a graphic plotter. 



While progress is being made, it should be 

 classified as pioneer work not adequate for 

 today's rapidly escalating needs for global 

 ocean measurements. The measurement of 

 many parameters in many places by many 

 methods must be accomplished. The task will 

 not be easy. Although it will require a long 

 time and a large investment, good engineer- 

 ing in ocean instruments must be achieved. 

 Besides retarding progress in field experi- 

 mentation, the present deficiencies are very 

 costly. In the fields of space or communica- 

 tions, it would be considered unthinkable to 

 initiate expensive operations without prop- 

 erly engineered equipment having reasonably 

 assured dependability. However, in marine 

 science today, it is not unusual to experience 

 a high failure rate of equipment. 



The Commission recommends that the 

 National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Agency take the lead in fostering a wide 

 variety of instrumentation development 

 programs required for ocean exploration. 



The Global Monitoring and 

 Prediction System 



The development of a system for monitor- 

 ing and predicting the state of the oceans 

 and the atmosphere is critical to all that the 

 Nation would do in the seas. Monitoring the 



