80 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 
talk briefly about the kinds of operations the committee engages 11; 
which might be summarized by saying that we have operated through 
subpanels. We established a subpanel in biology which has examined 
the field of marine biology, helped to define the field, and helped to 
choose that part of marine biology we wanted to consider as a part 
of the oceanographic program. 
After this decision was made, we were able to incorporate the re- 
sults of this Panel in the 10-year plan so that we have not prepared a 
specific report. 
Another subpanel was formed to meet a different kind of a prob- 
lem. We established a panel on radiobiology because there was some 
question as to the adequacy of communications among the various 
agencies. Some of the people had raised questions concerning the 
desirability of declassification of some of the projects. So, this Panel 
was asked to consider the-problem. 
As a result of their considerations we were able to define rather 
clearly the roles of the U.S. Public Health Service, the Atomic Energy 
Commission, the National Science Foundation, and the Navy. Those 
agencies which had the primary interest in this field. 
There, again, we did not require a report of the subpanel. 
Another panel of which we did require a report was established to 
consider undersea research vehicles. We had received, particularly 
as a result of the loss of the 7’hresher, considerable stimulus to consider 
ocean engineering. You saw in the film and have otherwise heard 
of the Deep Submergence System Review Group which considered 
particularly the engineering problems involved in getting to depths 
in the ocean. 
It was the job of the Research Panel to try to pick out those kinds of 
research which could only be done with these vehicles. We hoped to 
set the standards which the engineers should meet in order to develop 
the vehicles. 
We expect to have copies of this report on undersea vehicles within 
the next 2 months. 
Another recently established subpanel is concerned with micro- 
biology. Microbiology is of particular interest to us because of the 
applications of pharmaceuticals, poisons, toxins, wastes, plankton or- 
ganisms, bacteria, and so forth, as they affect humans. 
We are asking the microbiology panel to go through this field of 
science, pick out those parts of the field that are oceanographic in 
nature and determine what the level of effort is at the present time. 
They should make recommendations with regard to how the oceano- 
graphic program may more adequately treat this field. 
Now if I might go beyond the organization of panel into the sub- 
ject matter of research and oceanography, I have listed some examples 
of the effectiveness of oceanographic research in developing new in- 
formation. 
Perhaps I can take advantage of the fact that my formal statement 
has been presented for the record, Mr. Chairman, and talk about some 
other things not in my statement. 
One of them that I might start with is a study of circulation off of 
the mouth of rivers. We have known for a long time that river dis- 
charge into the ocean must have a substantial effect on the sea. For 
example, it affects us by increasing the production of organisms in 
