104 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 
Commander Nyeren. Yes. I amsure the Navy hasa large program 
designed to take advantage of ships, of opportunity. 
Mr. Baurr. Is your Panel familiar with this program ? 
Commander Nyeren. We are aware of the fact that is within their 
plans; yes, sir. 
Mr. Bauer. Does the Coast Survey contemplate using any of the 
ships of opportunity in the production of hydrographic data for the 
Coast Survey ? 
Commander Nycren. We will accept hydrographic information 
from whatever source we can. 
Mr. Bauer. Has the Coast Survey gone and looked for it? 
T am particularly interested in the survey of the Gulf of Mexico. 
The oil industry there has had very good geodetic control and know to 
a matter of feet bathymetry, the salinity, the temperature of the water, 
the magnetics, the gravity and the subbottom structure. That is their 
business. They have been doing this on the Continental Shelves of 
the world for some years. Currently the oil industry and the geo- 
physical industry have over 100 ships at sea. It is of concern to me 
to find out whether or not we are tapping that source of information. 
This is being done all over the world. There are 28 ships in one com- 
pany’s fleet in the North Sea. There are some ships in the Persian 
Gulf, off the coast of Africa, South America, as well as the Gulf of 
Mexico and the Pacific coast. 
Are we using this information to get the knowledge of the bathy- 
metry, magnetics, gravity, salinity, and temperature at a particular 
time and a known position ? 
Commander Nyeren. We have within the Coast and Geodetic Sur- 
vey contacted 16 geophysical survey and research corporations within 
the last 2 years. We have examined the data in some of their files. 
We have been invited to examine it in other cases. I do not mean to 
imply we have scrutinized with a fine eyeglass the holdings of all 16 
companies. However, we have been in contact with these 16 com- 
panies. Our regional officers are under instructions now to continue 
these contacts. 
Mr. Bauer. With respect to that source of information, I have a 
chart here which is somewhat out of date, prepared by the former 
oceanographer of the Navy, showing the areas here with the green 
spaced lines as being areas of the oceans of the world where we do not 
have what is called bathymetry. The fine crosshatched lines show 
areas of good bathymetry. The pink shows areas of the world’s oceans 
where we have a modern knowledge of the vertical temperature struc- 
true, and the red areas show areas where we have good coverage. 
On this chart, the Hydrographer of the Navy overlaid at the request 
of the staff the preferred steamship lines of the American merchant 
marine which our country subsidizes. 
You will see these steamship lines plying on regular voyages cover 
a lot of the white area where we have nothing on oceanic structure. I 
am just wondering whether or not that type of a platform for survey 
purposes could not be used. . 
Has your Panel given any thought to the use of this source of what 
one might call ship bottoms? 
Commander Nyecren. This Panel in the period I have observed has 
not. concerned itself with the methodology of obtaming the data. 
