NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 81 
the ocean in that area and we think we know the reason; that is, that 
those chemical elements, organic material, washed in from the land 
are of value to the organisms of the sea and provide the life material 
for their bodies. 
We were very much concerned in learning how far into the ocean 
these kinds of effects might be felt. So, in a joint project between the 
Navy, the National Science Foundation, and the Atomic Energy Com- 
mission, a rather major study was undertaken off of the Columbia 
River with the result that we were able to trace Columbia River water 
for as much as 450 miles away from the mouth of the river. 
This was a particularly interesting study for two reasons; No. 1, be- 
cause of its oceanographic implications; No. 2, it gave us a chance to 
test atomic energy equipment to determine how far we might be able 
to identify the waste materials in the Hanford reactors. 
As I indicated, it was possible to identify very minute quantities of 
materials in the orders of parts per 10 billion off of the Columbia River, 
approximately 450 miles. 
Another thing that I might mention as an example, which is not 
included in my statement, is the recent advance in fisheries, particular- 
ly the discovery of the large fishery potential in connection with up- 
welling in the ocean. Oceanographers now spend a substantial portion 
of their time studying the location of currents and the reasons for up- 
welling. Up-welling means that those organisms—that is to the 
biologists—those organisms that die on the surface of the ocean and 
fall to the depths of the ocean are releasing their elements toward the 
bottom of the ocean, having picked them up near the surface. 
So, in order to get a cycle established to return these nutrients, it is 
necessary to have the bottom water brought to the surface. In those 
areas where ocean bottom water comes to the surface of the ocean, we 
have greatly increased productivity. We can harvest fishes in larger 
number and we can find greater varieties of organisms. 
The Indian Ocean Expedition discovered such an area for the first 
time off the coast of Thailand and Indonesia at certain times of the 
year. This is connected, no doubt, with the monsoons. We are able 
to recommend to the governments of these countries that it would be 
desirable to investigate the possibility of establishing fishing indus- 
tries in the area. 
In oceanography, in the physical part, we have been able to identify 
various contributing currents to the gulf stream. Up until this time, 
as far as the map was concerned, the gulf stream began approximately 
at the coast of Florida and continued just off New England and was 
known to lead east. 
Its sources and contributing currents were not well known but recent 
data has certainly given us a much better understanding of the sources 
of the gulf stream from the central Atlantic, the equatorial current, 
which itself was only recently discovered, and from the circulating cur- 
rents that run through the Gulf of Mexico and, of course, from those 
currents that run along the northern coast of South America. 
Another recent development which I think is of interest, is the use 
of computers’ in environmental studies. For a long time, ecologists 
and biologists interested in organisms and their relationship to the 
environment were very much disturbed at their inability to handle 
the large amounts of data that could be accumulated. It was impos- 
