461 



I -was extremely interested in your comments concerning the need 

 for coordination and the need to work together and the need to ex- 

 xjhange information and cross departmental boundaries. 



Do you find that presently we have the coordination which you think 

 is necessary ? 



Dr. Seamans. I don't want to imply from what I have said that 

 jDeople are holding back, one from another, but quite the contrary. We 

 have to work harder at improving the coordination because it is a 

 difficult thing to do. It takes effort to spend the time to understand the 

 other person's program and his problems and it takes very good data 

 transmission back and forth to make this possible. 



Mr. Edwards. You feel there is still room for improvement in that 

 area ? 



Dr. Seamans. No matter what happens there will always be room 

 for imj)rovement in an area such as this. 



Here in oceanography obviously we are neophytes and there are 

 many others who are now getting involved who are learning. I think 

 there is a great deal to be done to improve coordination and exchange 

 of data. I think this is generally recognized. I think the Vice Presi- 

 dent is performing an extremely useful role with the Marine Council 

 in this regard. 



Mr. Edwards. The Marine Council is doing a good job, then, in your 

 opinion, in drawing together the agencies and projects and data nec- 

 essai-y to fulfill this mission ? 



Dr. Seamans. I think it is doing an excellent job. I am very pleased 

 to see that the Marine Council, for example, is willing to delegate cer- 

 tain of the functions it might take on. At the last meeting of the 

 Marine Council there was a question of what agency would coordinate 

 the work which relates to use of spacecraft with some thought that 

 possibly this might be done by the staff of the Marine Council. 



When they found we were ready to take this on they were happy to 

 have us take on this responsibility, and that is the way it will be done. 



Mr. Edwards. From a mechanical standpoint and referring to page 

 1 of your statement you talk there about NASA's activities in space 

 and oceanography. 



Strictly from a mechanical standpoint how did NASA assume this 

 particular activity or responsibility? Were they delegated to you by 

 the Marine Council or were these projects that you felt could be 

 carried out and you therefore said to the Marine Council "These are 

 projects we think we can do." ? 



Dr. Seamans. First, we were doing the work. We were working 

 on a variety of data links and communications schemes using satellites 

 at the start, not really considering oceanography as one of the uses. 

 Mr. Jaffe and others, in the backs of their minds, were thinking of it. 



The same way with the Gemini program. We decided to take photo- 

 graphs from the Gemini as a means for gathering important infor- 

 mation. To begin with this was looked at as a general capability. Then 

 as we got into the program and into both of these areas we found at 

 the working levels between agencies there was interest in what we 



