596 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEG'ISLATION 



microanalyzer, X-ray equipment including diffractometers, histological equip- 

 ment, freezers and freeze-drying equipment, and special processing devices and 

 materials of great variety. 



In the navy yard annex 45,000 square feet of space is allotted to the Smith- 

 sonian Ocenagraphic Sorting Center. This will be described in more detail in 

 a later section. 



The Smithsonian Laboratory of Radiation Biology has the latest in equipment 

 to measure the radiation impinging on the ocean's surface and to study the effi- 

 ciency of transformation of physical energy to the potential energy in green 

 marine and land plants. The Canal Zone biological area has recently acquired 

 facilities for running sea water on the Pacific and on the Atlantic sides of the 

 Panamanian Isthmus in the zone. 



In fiscal year 1965, as excess property to the Navy Reserve Fleet, the Institu- 

 tion obtained custody of YF 86S, a covered freight lighter with a welded steel 

 hull. This vessel has been reactivated and is presently engaged in research 

 on coralline algae of the North Atlantic. Rechristened the Phykos (or sea 

 plant), the vessel is 133 feet 9 inches long with a beam of 30 feet and a draft 

 of 8 feet. The full load displacement is 650 tons. 



Phykos has twin screws and two 600-horsepower Fairbanks-Morse diesel en- 

 gines. Power comes from two diesel generators, 30 and 60 kilowatts in size. 

 The diesel fuel capacity is 16,000 gallons and the water capacity is 3,000 gallons. 

 The vessel provides accommodations for 11 persons. A cargo boom on the main 

 deck, rated at 11,200 pounds at 30 feet from the center line, has provided for on 

 and off loading an undersea research vessel, Asherah, both on the dock and at 

 sea for research. A gasoline winch was installed to work with a stern A frame 

 for operation of dredges. 



As indicated above, the principal new facility in the oceanography program is 

 the Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center, established in January 1963. 

 The Center was conceptualized to receive bulk, mixed, marine samples from 

 governmental and private sources, including the U.S. National Museum ; separate 

 them into appropriate taxonomic groups for identification and study by special- 

 ists ; obtain and coordinate the data taken at the original collection station at 

 sea to provide maximum environmental information ; experiment with preserva- 

 tion, labeling, accessioning, shipping, and storage of specimens ; train technicians 

 for all aspects of specimen handling; and provide information and forms to 

 oceanic expeditions to assure the collection of appropriate field data. 



Of special note is project support for strong involvement of the Sorting Center 

 in the U.S. Antarctic Research Program of the National Science Foundation 

 (NSF). With NSF support the Center is listing specimens taken from all past 

 U.S. efforts in the Antarctic, and both sorts and maintains records of specimens 

 now being taken from the Antarctic. In addition, the photographs of the ocean 

 bottom taken from the research vessel Eltanin are duplicated and distributed to 

 scientists. 



Also noteworthy are collections made available for study by the National 

 Science Foundation through the International Indian Ocean Expedition by the 

 Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and through the Intergovernmental Oceano- 

 graphic Commission's International Cooperative Investigations of the Tropical 

 Atlantic. Other collections have come to the Sorting Center from the Pacific 

 Halibut Commission, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, the Guinean 

 Trawling Survey, the Geological Survey, the Coast Guard, the Naval Oceano- 

 graphic OflSce, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the Coastal Engineering Research 

 Center, the Laboratory of Radiation Biology of the University of Washington, 

 the University of Michigan, the Atomic Energy Commission, and the Government 

 of Chile. 



As of May 15, 1965, when the last total was compiled, the Center had sorted 

 4..332.660 specimens and 2,589,886 had been shipped to 110 scientists for study and 

 identification. The results of these studies speak to the success of the Center 

 and of the significance of the Institution's new efforts. 



The Sorting Center has served as a unifying influence in the systematics of 

 marine organisms by providing specimens and information concerning the stages 

 of their processing, together with information on the commitments of specialists 

 scattered throughout the world. Visiting scientists may find working space in 

 the Center. An increasing number of the individual specimens from multiple 

 bulk collections are being processed for their research value and the results 

 may be fitted together more effectively. It is anticipated that this flourishing 

 activity will go on from its healthy beginning to do much to meet the challenge of 

 man's expansion into the ocean. 



