NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 89 
The fourth category—structure and history of the sea floor—has enjoyed 
rather great advances in experimental methods during the past few years. Iso- 
tope fractioning techniques for determining the rates of accumulation of marine 
sediments have been: applied to bottom materials from the Pacific, Atlantic, and 
Indian Oceans. Sediment deposition in the South Pacific is believed to be in 
the order of 0.3 to 0.6 millimeters per thousand years, an extremely low rate, 
which is probably related to the relatively low percentage of land in the Southern 
Hemisphere. By comparison, sedimentation in the North Pacific and in the 
South Atlantic oecurs at a rate of a few millimeters per thousand years and in 
the North Atlantic it may be a few centimeters per 1,000 years. Data from the 
Indian Ocean has been more variable. 
During the cruises of oceanographic vessels, an echo sounder usually makes 
traces indicating the more prominent features of the sea bottom. In recent years 
the stepped-up oceanographic ship activity has resulted in the discovery of many 
previously unknown sea mounts—submerged peaks arising from the ocean floor. 
In the Indian Ocean the Russian research vessel Vityaz found that several of 
the previously located peaks were actually part of an unrecognized undersea 
mountain range which extended for more than 2,000 miles, stretching from the 
Bay of Bengal toward the Antarctic seas. 
Such echo tracings are not completely reliable. In February of this year 
geologists from the Scripps Institution for Oceanography found that they were 
grossly mistaken in their interpretation of the shape of Scripps Canyon (off San 
Diego) from echo soundings. Using a diving saucer, rented from France and 
flown to California by Navy plane, the scientists were surprised to learn more 
about Seripps Canyon in 5 days than they had in the hundreds of trips across as 
well as from the sediment cores taken from the area. 
Although Project Mohole is not considered to be oceanography, the develop- 
ment of a capability of taking cores of 1,000 feet or longer has occurred through 
oceanographic efforts. Oceanographers are very eager to obtain a vessel that 
will enable them to take long cores throughout the world ocean. Such cores will 
provide much new information on the structure and history of the earth. 
With regard to research category 5, the modification of the ocean, we have 
many ideas but essentially no accomplishments. In addition to weather predic- 
tion on possible control, one of the most interesting developments in this area 
is the appearance of a new technique of the use of rhodamine and other dyes to 
simulate the distribution and mixing rates of radioactive and sewage wastes, 
which may be introduced into the ocean. Such studies can provide theoretical 
information of great value in prediction of the effects of detonation of nuclear 
devices or of accidental venting of nuclear reactors into the ocean. HExperi- 
ments with dyes are completely safe to conduct and a sufficient number have been 
completed to justify a special conference on dye distribution, which is planned 
for August 26-28 of this year. 
If I may, Mr. Chairman, I would like to conelude with two especially interest- 
ing discoveries. The first concerns the transmission of sound in water. Not 
long ago the Lamont Geological Observatory exploded a 1-pound charge of TNT 
in the Indian Ocean. Listening devices off Bermuda were able to pick up the 
sound of this explosion some 3 hours and 45 minutes later, thus confirming a 
theory of sound transmission which had little support and is still very poorly 
understood. 
To the biologist a fascinating discovery in the Indian Ocean concerns a very 
large area in the Arabian Sea which is productive of biological organisms near 
the surface yets offers a tremendous puzzle. Apparently no organisms live on 
the bottom in this area, and for a substantial distance above the bottom, because 
the zone is devoid of oxygen. This oxygenless zone occasionally may approach the 
surface, to cause tremendous kills of biological organisms. We would like to 
know whether, why, and how this occurs. It would certainly be interesting to 
know the source of the organic matter which uses up the oxygen, particularly 
since the land masses adjoining the area are mostly desert. 
Although many papers have been published as a result of research in ocean- 
ography, which has been encouraged by our committee, the results appear in 
perhaps a thousand journals and in large numbers of Government reports. They 
are not easy to locate. The Interagency Committee on Oceanography has initi- 
ated a project to develop a bibliography of publications, stemming from the 
national oceanography program during calendar years 1962 and 1963 as well as 
sebernennt years. This bibliography should be available within the next few 
months. 
