MARINE SCIENCE 91 



An integral aspect of a program for learning about the oceans involves our 

 surveying tliem more or less routinely. The topography of the ocean floor should 

 be mapped in detail. AVe should arrive at a complete picture of gravitational 

 and magnetic forces and of ocean currents in three dimensions. SuflScient bio- 

 logical information should be gathered so that we can prepare accurate maps 

 of the distribution of life in the sea. 



All of these studies, together with others like them, will have bearing upon 

 the more immediate practical problems which confront us in the military area 

 and in the area of ocean resource development. In addition to this, however, 

 it is clear that the applied research and development programs in these areas 

 should be expanded. 



In the committee's attempts to give quantitative indications of the relative 

 amount of effort which it believes should be placed upon various aspects of the 

 proposed program by individual Government agencies, suggested budgets have 

 been compiled for a 10-year period. These suggested budgets, in the commit- 

 tee's opinion, present a reasonable representation of the magnitude and kind of 

 effort and the degree of interagency cooperation which will be required if the 

 recommended goals are to be achieved. In addition, a budget permits a direct 

 comparison of efforts in this field relative to the efforts in other fields of scien- 

 tific and technological endeavor. 



II. GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS 



The key to the growth of oceanography in the United States lies in basic re- 

 search — research which is done for its own sake without thought of specific 

 practical applications. The very nature of basic research is such that the prob- 

 lem which will be attacked and the results which will be obtained cannot be 

 predicted. The very nature of applied research is such that its success depends 

 upon the size of the reservoir of fundamental knowledge upon which it must 

 draw. The rate of progress in the applied marine sciences will be determined 

 in the long run by the rate of progress in the basic marine scienes. 



The committee has concluded that both the quantity and quality of basic 

 research in the marine sciences can and should be increased substantially during 

 the years ahead. Specifically the committee recommends : 



1. The U.S. Government should expand its support of the marine sciences 

 at a rate which will result in at least a doubling of basic research activity 

 during the next 10 years.* 



It should be emphasized that doubling the basic research activity will require 

 more than doubling the total expenditures. 



A large part of the deliberations of the committee were devoted to discussions 

 of the conditions under which basic research can flourish. First and foremost, 

 progress depends upon the interests, experience, and creative imaginations of 

 individual scientists. But the individual scientist does not work in a vacuum. 

 He must have instruments and facilities. He must live in an atmosphere which 

 is conducive to creative activity. These necessities in turn give rise to problems 

 involving marine research laboratories — ^problems of leadership, financial stabil- 

 ity, flexibility, growth, academic associations, and physical facilities. 



Not only for research but in order to exploit and use the oceans we need more 

 detailed knowledge which can be obtained only through systematic surveys in 

 three dimensions. These surveys should include such features as depth, salinity, 

 temperature, current velocity, wave motion, magnetism, and biological activity. 

 It is essential that these surveys be conducted on an oceanwide ocean-deep basis 

 as quickly as possible. Our knowledge is now largely limited to waters 100 

 miles from shore and even here it is inadequate for present and future needs. 

 Accordingly, the committee recommends : 



2. The increase in support of basic research should be accompanied during 

 the next 10 years by a new program of oceanwide surveys. This will require 

 a twofold expansion of the present surveying effort. 



We believe that, on a long-range basis, basic research coupled with systematic 

 ocean surveys are of paramount importance in solving a number of urgent prac- 

 tical problems involving military defense, the development of ocean resources 

 and possible future increases of radioactive contamination of the seas resulting 

 from the rapid development of atomic energy. However, research and surveys 



* In 1958 about $23 million were spent for applied and basic oceanographic research. 

 The basic research share of the total was not over 9 million. About 8 million of this, 

 including the 1958 share of IGY expenditures, were Federal funds. 



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