88 MARINE SCIENCE 



Columbus O'D. Iselin, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Mass. 



Fritz Koczy, Marine Laboratory of the University of Miami, Miami, Fla. 



Sumner Pike, Lubec, Maine, formerly Commissioner, U.S. Atomic Energy Com- 

 mission. 



Colin Pittendrigh, Department of Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J. 



Roger Revelle, Scripps Institution of Oceanograptiy, La Jolla, Calif. 



Gordon Riley, Bingham Oceanogi-aphic Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, 

 Conn. 



Milner B. Schaef er, Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, La Jolla, Calif. 



Athelstan Spilhaus, Institute of Technology, University of Minnesota, Minneapo- 

 lis, Minn. 



Richard Vetter (executive secretary), on leave from the Geophysics Branch of 

 the Office of Naval Research, Washington, D.C. 



I. Introduction 



Two-thirds of the earth's surface is covered by the waters of the seas. The 

 waters themselves greatly affect our lives — they play a major role in governing 

 our climate ; the provide inexpensive transportation : from them we derive impor- 

 tant quantities of nourishment: they have traditionally provided protection 

 against military attack. Beneath the surface a myriad of wonders is concealed, 

 there are trenches, the floors of which are as much as 7 miles below sea level. 

 Mountains which approach Mount Everest in height rise up from the ocean 

 floor. Sediments in the ocean deeps contain detailed records of earth history 

 and, associated with it, life history The more than 300 million cubic miles 

 of water contain huge assemblages of living matter of fantastic variety. 



As our technological civilization increases in complexity, as human popula- 

 tion grow more and more rapidly, as problems of military defense become in- 

 creasingly difficult, as man pushes forward with his relentless quest for greater 

 understanding of himself, his origins and the universe in which he lives — as 

 all of these changes take place, detailed knowledge and understanding of the 

 oceans and their contents will assume ever greater importance. 



Man's knowledge of the oceans is meager indeed when compared with their 

 importance to him. Recognizing that neglect in this area of endeavor might 

 well result in our being placed in a precarious position from the scientific, tech- 

 nological, and military poiffints of view, the National Academy of Science Na- 

 tional Research Council decided in 1957 to form a Committee on Oceanography.^ 

 In May of that year President Detlev Bronk appointed Harrison Brown, pro- 

 fessor of geochemistry at the California Institute of Technology, Chairman of 

 the Committee. The Committee itself was formed during the following months 

 and its first meeting was held in November 1957. 



The work of the Committee was made possible by the sponsorship of several 

 Government agencies, all of which have interests in the oceans ; Atomic Energy 

 Commission, Bureau of Commercial Fishei'ies, National Science Foundation, and 

 Office of Naval Research. 



The Committee was organized as a part of the Division of Earth Sciences 

 of the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council. 



At the request of President Bronk. the Committee has made a survey of the 

 present status of the marine sciences in the United States. It has attempted 

 further to assess the major problems of operation, administration, and funding 

 in this area and to evaluate the probable needs for oceanographic knowledge in 

 the years ahead. On the basis of its findings, the Committee has drawn up a 

 series of recommendations which, if followed, can resvilt in a strengthening of 

 the marine sciences during the next 10 years to a level which is consistent on 

 the one hand with the assessed needs, and on the other with limitations such as 

 the rates at which ships and laboratories can be built and new oceanographers 

 can be trained. It should be stressed, however, that the Committee considers 

 its recommendations minimal ones. Action on a scale appreciably less than 



" This is the third NAS-NRC Committee on Oceanography. iThe first was established in 

 1927 under the cliairmanship of Dr. Frank R. Lillie. The second, chaired by Dr. Detlev 

 Bronk, was established in 1949. iThe reader is referred to the following publications for 

 additional background material on these two committees : 



(1) "Oceanography," Henry B. Bigelow, Boston and New York: Houghton MifHin Co., 

 19.S1. 



(2) "International Aspects of Oceanography," Thomas W. Vaughn et al., Washington, 

 D.C. ; National Academy of Sciences, 1937. 



(3) "Oceanography 1951," NAS-NRC Tublication 208, Washington, D.C, 1952 (out of 

 print) . 



