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NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 
Chapter III 
SPECIAL GROUPS CONCERNED 
WITH OCEANOGRAPHY 
One of the fundamental goals of the Federal 
Government is “to ensure the development (of the 
individual) and to enhance his opportunity.” 
There are several private seagoing groups whose 
development and opportunity can be considerably 
enhanced by oceanographic knowledge. Among 
these are the fishing industry, the shipping indus- 
try, the oil and mining industries, the ocean- 
related sport industries, and the community of 
oceanographic scientists itself. To the extent that 
it is compatible with broader national goals, the 
Federal Government should conduct its oceano- 
graphic program so that it supports the goals of 
these special groups as well. To see how this can 
best be done, let us next examine these individual 
goals as they involve oceanography. 
A. Oceanographic Science 
It has already been argued that there is an iden- 
tity between the federal goal of strengthening 
oceanographic science and the scientist’s goals in 
pursuing oceanographic knowledge for its own 
sake. Of course, it must be added that this identity 
is one of kind and not of degree. Some reasonable 
portion of the scientist’s time and effort must be 
directed toward the numerous other and more 
practical goals of the government which is spon- 
soring his work. As an oceanographic scientist, 
however, what is it that interests him? 
In oceanography, the National Academy of Sci- 
ences, through its Committee on Oceanography 
(NASCO), speaks for the scientific community as 
much as any committee can speak for people who 
are traditionally accustomed to speaking for them- 
selves. The particular front-lines in oceanography 
as they existed four years ago which were singled 
out for special mention in NASCO’s report of that 
year™* are typified by a few of the questions posed 
in Volume II of this report, “Basic Research in 
Oceanography during the Next Ten Years.” These 
fall into five main areas: 
*Oceanography 1960-1970, a Report of the National Academy of 
Sciences Committee on Oceanography, 1959. 
17 
1. THE HISTORY OF THE OCEANS 
“Why is the layer of unconsolidated sediments 
in the deep sea so thin, on the average only about 
300 meters in thickness?. . . Why do we find fossils 
of Tertiary or Cretaceous age but none older? 
(That is, under about 100 million years.) 
“In most cores taken in the Pacific and Atlantic 
there seems to be a sudden increase in radium con- 
tent at an age level of about 200,000 years. What 
is the cause of this increase? . . . 
“What is the history of the deep, narrow, almost 
sediment-free trenches that ring the Pacific Basin? 
. . . Why are these border features . . . apparently 
the loci of very low heat flow from the earth’s 
interior? 
“Existing abyssal plains are all adjusted to re. 
cent topography. Where are the ancient abyssal 
plains? ... 
“How have the broad swelling ridges that bisect 
the Atlantic and the South Pacific been formed? 
How old are they? Why are they the loci of very 
high heat flow from the earth’s interior? 
“Faults around the margins of the Pacific Basin 
appear to be right lateral as though the basin 
were rotating counterclockwise. Does submarine 
topography support this hypothesis? Are fracture 
zones the spokes of the wheel? 
“Is the base of the crust a phase transition, or 
is there a real difference in chemical composition 
between crust and mantle? 
“Are there pools or sheets of molten rock deep 
beneath the earth’s crust associated with inland 
arcs, trenches and fracture zones? . . . 
“What are the reasons for the large scale, re- 
markably regular magnetic topography of the deep 
sea floor off the west coast of North America? ... 
“What is the history of sea water? .. . 
“How did the pattern of the major ocean cur- 
rents during past times compare with that of to- 
daye. 1-7 
2. THE WAYS OF LIFE IN THE SEA 
“The fauna and bacterial flora of the great deeps 
provide unique opportunities for the general biol- 
ogist. Nowhere else can he find organisms adapted 
