Recommendations by the 
Socorro Conference 
Following the symposium at which the foregoing papers were 
presented, 71 participants Joined in the field trip and then met at 
the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology at Socorro 
to examine the implications of these findings for new research. In 
an informal atmosphere the group sought to identify the major 
gaps in knowledge and possible ways of closing them. Stress was 
placed upon lines of research that appeared to require cooperation 
across national or disciplinary frontiers. 
The first day was devoted to a review and evaluation of the 
problems and development of the Rio Grande Valley as a typical 
arid area and of problems and procedures involved in planning and 
conducting integrated surveys of semi-arid and arid zones. 
On the second day, the conference separated into three working 
groups with the following general assignments: new approaches 
needed in meteorology and applied climatology; the concept of the 
water budget and its areal application; and closing the gap be- 
tween scientific knowledge and its application to arid lands de- 
velopment. Each group formulated a series of recommendations 
to be considered by the conference as a whole on the final day. The 
conference considered each recommendation, combined, modified, 
and clarified some, and approved those that follow. 
Anthropology, Archaeology, and Geography 
1. A bibliography of our present knowledge of biological 
adaptations of man and the cultural patterns in arid climates, 
past and present, is needed to promote specific research in these 
areas. Such research would contribute to the betterment of living 
conditions and to planning for greater safe use of arid areas. 
2. Further research, in addition to the diffusion of information, 
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