ABSTRACT 



The proceedings include the 25 papers presented at the Govern- 

 ment-Industry Oceanographic Instrumentation Symposium by top 

 administrators and scientists, answers by panel members to ques- 

 tions received from the floor, lists of the scientific and industrial 

 laboratories concerned with oceanographic research and develop- 

 ment, lists of instrumentation developments now required for 

 oceanographic survey and research, and other miscellaneous 

 information. 



It was pointed out in these papers that: Our Nation's lines of 

 defense, weather control, new sources of protein, and untold 

 mineral wealth lie in the sea, and it is essential that we increase 

 our understanding of this important portion of man's realm. 



A major requirement for the necessary growth in oceanography 

 is the availability of reliable, precise, and easily-used instruments 

 to record the parameters of the oceans. Most of our present-day 

 instruments are of primitive design and largely of the "homemade" 

 variety. A great movement is now unaerway to introduce new 

 devices and modern techniques into this field. The entire ocean 

 floor, three quarters of the earth's surface, must be mapped 

 in topographic and geological detail. The conditions affecting the 

 transfer of sound must be known in general principle and in 

 specific local detail. The earth's heat budget and energy transfers 

 from the atmosphere to the water must also be defined. The range 

 of the animals and plants in the sea and the extent and nature of the 

 environment affecting the individual species must be understood 

 if they are to be harvested efficiently, and if the farming of the 

 sea is to become an accomplished fact. Rock specimens, cores, 

 deep drilling, and the strata of the ocean bottom must be plotted 

 if we are to use the sea's mineral resources. Many of the instru- 

 ments to do these tasks have been invented; many have not yet 

 been conceived; some are still in the predevelopment stage'and 

 much refinement needs to be done to make them generally appli- 

 cable. The instrument needs for the rapidly expanding National 

 Oceanographic Program were comprehensively outlined in the 

 two-day Symposium. Industry was invited to assume an ever- 

 increasing responsibility in this field. 



