NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 273 



this morning to discuss the central problems and issues relating to the 

 organization of the Federal Government for oceanography, an area, 

 I believe, to be of high importance to this Nation's scientific and tech- 

 nological effort. 



I was privileged to appear before this subcommittee roughly 1 year 

 ago, at which time I discussed the nature of the oceanographic pro- 

 gram, its contribution to national and agency goals, and budget 

 proposals for Government-wide programs in oceanography. As a 

 result of those hearings, the subcommittee is generally familiar with 

 the broad aspects of the program itself, and, therefore, today I will 

 focus my discussion on the administrative and organizational ques- 

 tions relating to oceanography raised in the several congressional bills 

 you have before you. 



Nevertheless, any discussion of new administrative approaches to 

 oceanography should recognize what this country has already 

 achieved in this field. In the first place, the United States has main- 

 tained world leadership. No other country can match either the scope 

 or quality of our oceanographic program and our capabilities have 

 been improving. For example, since 1960 : 



The oceanographic budget has increased by nearly a factor of 

 three ; 



Thirty-four new or converted ships have been added and 22 

 additional ships are currently under construction or conversion; 



Seven new marine laboratories have been constructed ; 



The number of graduate students in oceanography has increased 

 by a factor of 3, from 110 in 1960 to 315 in 1964 ; 



Three thousand people are now engaged professionally in 

 oceanography, more than double the number in 1960. 

 In addition to these increased resources, new dimensions have been 

 added to the program : 



A national center provides services related to the quality con- 

 trol, stowage, and retrieval of oceanographic data; 



New towers and platforms such as FLIP, special-purpose ships 

 for sediment coring; oceanographic buoys, and communication 

 relay satellites are now employed in the program ; 



New deep submergence A^ehicles such as Triesta II and Alvin 

 are being used for research and exploration of the seas ; 



Laboratories have been built for underwater living, for divers 

 to perform useful work on the sea floor for prolonged periods of 

 time at great depths. 



Ocean engineering programs, in general, are accelerating. 

 In tenns of accomplishments, also, I believe the program has 

 progressed rapidly : 



Entirely new ocean current systems have been identified ; 



Improved ocean wave theories have been advanced ; 



A vast sedimentary basin that may be oil bearing has been dis- 

 covered under the Continental Shelf of the Northeastern United 

 States ; 



New sources of fish and shellfish have been discovered for the 

 fishing industry ; 



Reliable forecasts can be made of the distribution and abun- 

 dance of certain species of fish for the fishing industry : 



