MARINE SCIENCE 89 



that recomniemled will .ioopMidize the position of oceanography in the United 

 States relative to the position of the science in other major nations, thereby ac- 

 centuating serious military and political dangers, and placing the Nation at a 

 disadvantage in the future use of the resources of the sea. 



The deliberations of the Committee were complicated by a number (jf factors : 

 oceanography embraces many sciences — indeed "oceanography" encompaisses the 

 scientific study of all aspects of the oceans, their boundaries and their contents; 

 research is undertaken in a variety of private and Governiiient lalxjratories ; 

 numerous Government agencies have direct but differing interests in the ocean : 

 funds are derived from many sources. In order to expedite the formulation of 

 recommendations under these circumstances, several specialized panels ^ were 

 formed for the purpose of making specific studies : Oceanographic Research 

 Ships, New Devices for Exploring the Oceans, Ocean Resources, Radioactivity 

 in the Oceans, and International Cooperation in the Marine Sciences. 



The memberships of the panels are listed in the appendix. The Committee on 

 Oceanography is greatly indebted to the panel members, who gave extensively 

 of their time to these studies, and without whose help the rec-ommendations 

 could not have been formulated. 



The complete reports of the panels have been incorporated into the tinal re- 

 port of the Committee. Chapter headings of the final report are listed below 

 the table of contents of this summary. Individual chapters will be made avail- 

 able separately through the National Academy of Sciences as soon as possible. 

 In addition, a condensed version of the Committee's report shortly will be made 

 available for widespread distribution. The reader is referred to individual 

 chapters of the report for more detailed discussion of the background, facts, 

 and reasoning w^hich have led to the recommendations summarized in "Section 

 II — General Recommendations." 



THE IMPORTANCE OP THE PROBLEM 



The Committee has found that relative to other areas of scientific endeavor, 

 progress in the marine sciences in the United States has been slow. There has 

 been a substantial amount of excellent work, more often than not undertaken 

 under extremely difficult and trying circumstances. But generally speaking, 

 progress has not been rapid when compai-ed with the essential and exciting infor- 

 mation yet to be obtained by probing the vast and dark, but penetrable, depths 

 of water which cover so much of the earth's surface. 



The seas present a challenge to man which in magnitude approaches that of 

 space. At least we have been able to observe the moon, planets and stars directly 

 with our telescopes. But the ocean depths, shrouded in darkness, have been 

 obscured fi-om our view. We know less about many regions of the oceans today 

 than we know about the lunar surface. Yet Ave have learned enough to know 

 that major features of the ocean floor — 35,000 foot deep trenches : 2.000-mile- 

 long fracture zones ; flat-topped under sea mountains ; broad ocean long ridges : 

 abyssal plains as flat as a calm sea — are uniquely different from anything either 

 on the surface of the moon or on the land surfaces of eai*th. How and when were 

 these features formed and why are they so different'? An answer to these ques- 

 tions is essential if we are to decipher the history of our planet and its sister 

 planets. Part of the answer lies in the records of ancient earth history locketl 

 in deep sea sediments : part will come from an intensive study of the rocks under 

 the ocean. These studies, combined with studies of the waters and the living 

 creatures of the sea, will also tell us much about the origin and evolution of 

 life on earth. 



During the last few years, four great subsurface ocean currents — rivers in 

 the depths of the sea 1,000 times greater in flow than the :Mississippi — have 

 been discovered using newly developed current measuring techniques. We 

 suspect that others exist and we need to know where the waters come from and 

 where they go. 



On the practical side the problems to be solved concerning the oceans are at 

 least as urgent as those of space. How many fish are in the sea'? No man 

 knows, nor do we know what determines the number of fishes in dift'erent resions, 

 the quantities of plant and animal materials on which they feed, or what could 

 be done to increase these numbers. We must learn these things if we are to help 

 solve the increasingly acute problems of providing animal protein food for the 



3 The Committee as a whole acted as a panel on basic research, on education and man- 

 power, and on problems of operations, sponsorship, and funding. 



