MARINE SCIENCES AND RESEARCH ACT 13 
One of the most obvious benefits will be to commerce generally. 
Greater knowledge of currents, winds, and weather already enable our 
modern transocean carriers to clip a full day from the previous sched- 
ules. These are surface ships. 
Merchant ships of the not too distant future may be nuclear- 
propelled submersibles that could cross the oceans far beneath the 
surface. They might move at approximately twice the speed of 
present-day. craft, will seek out the favorable subterranean currents 
much as high altitude aircraft today take advantage of the jet stream, 
and avoid wind and wave resistance and be undisturbed by storms. 
Sonar would take the place of vision, and this will be a gain because 
underwater acoustic ranges will be far longer than line of sight ranges. 
Fog will be a forgotten problem. 
Underwater mariners will follow detailed charts of the bottom 
topography of the oceans much as motorists scan their roadmaps, and 
midocean automatic devices, many of them located on sea mounts, 
would substitute for lighthouses. 
To plot these sea mounts and the ocean bottom will require ex- 
tensive surveys by the Coast and Geodetic Survey and Hydrographic 
Office, and such surveys would be authorized in S. 2692. 
Welfare benefits would accrue from climatological studies, from 
extensive investigation of the effects on the marine environment of 
atomic fallout and radioactive wastes, and from research into methods 
of counteracting pollution of estuarine and inshore coastal waters. 
Medical possibilities were hinted by Dr. Ray, who told the committee: 
No marine invertebrate is known to suffer from cancer or 
any tumorous condition. 
Perhaps the most important benefit that can result from a long- 
range, coordinated oceanographic research program was voiced by Dr. 
Spilhaus when he testified: 
Like atoms for peace, we can use the oceans for peace. 
To do this, continued Dr. Spilhaus: 
We must have leadership on the oceans in the face of the 
threat of war and equally we must have leadership on the 
oceans in our hopes and our work toward peace. 
EXPLANATION OF THE BILL 
The bill would authorize a 10-year program of marine research, 
surveys, and education in which 5 departments of the Federal Govern- 
ment and 14 agencies would participate. 
Three of the agencies are independent; the remainder are within 
departments. 
The departments and agencies are: 
Departments: 
Commerce: 
Weather Bureau. 
Coast and Geodetic Survey. 
Maritime Administration. 
Bureau of Standards. 
