706 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 
ITI The ways and means of Oceanography 
Public understanding of oceanography ~ what it does and how it operates - 
is not always in pace with popular interest in the subject. Too often, questions 
are asked which suggest that the questioner understands no more than that oceanog- 
raphy involves going out on the ocean with a boat, or down to the bottom in a 
bathyscaphe, or perhaps drilling a hole through the bottom of the sea. The 
drilling of a hole in the bottom is only incidentally related to oceanography -- 
if it is to be done at all, it has to be somewhere in the sea where the earth's 
crust is thinner, and the budget for the Mohole is separate from oceanographic bud- 
getse Oceanography, is more, of course than people who study the ocean, although 
the people are the most essential part of oceanography. Oceanography is ships, 
shore bases, instruments and logistics. 
According to the 1961 compilation called Oceanographic Vessels of the world, 
some 161 vessels of all types were in use as oceanographic research vessels all 
over the world. ‘The list was probably incomplete before it was published, and 
some vessels are included which can hardly be considered oceanographic in the 
fullest sense of the word since they are 39-0 feet long and probably seldom get 
very far from land. Of the 161 research vessels listed, 3 are in the United 
States, and only 12 are listed for the Soviet Union. According to a more recent 
listing of new oceanographic vessels, some 31 new vessels are now in service or 
will be in the next few years in the United States alone. This however includes 
some rather special objects, like FLIP, which is a long tube with a cabin on one 
end that is towed to sea and upended to form a sort of floating submerged tower 
to study the acustic properties of sea water, and a small two man submarine, 
Another 3 vessels are conversions. While there is some duplication in the lists, 
and some of the new ships or conversions will replace others now in service, it_ 
is nevertheless evident that the United States is doubling its oceanographic fleet 
in about ten years time or less. A good part of this increase is due to the so- 
called Navy Tenoc (Ten years oceanography) program. Each year the Navy is sup- 
plying two or more vessels, generally termed AGOR, which is short for Auxiliary 
General Oceanographic Research. These are not all constructed to a uniform plan, 
although they are usually 200 feet or more in length. ‘Some are conversions -- 
adaptations of existing vessels, others are new, specially ocnstructed ships. 
New research vessels cost between 2 and 3 million dollars to construct, and con- 
version of an existing ship may cost a half million dollars. Among the AGOR 
ships is the Eltanin, operated in Antarctic waters by the National Science Founda- 
tion as part of the Antarctic Research Program. The Davis, used primarily by the 
Navy, is based in San Francisco. Another is the Conrad, operated by Lamont 
Geological Observatory. ‘his is not mamed for Joseph Conrad, but for Robert 
Dexter Conrad, who had much to do with the Office of Naval Research in its early, 
formative years. Another group of large research vessels is operated by the 
Bureau of Commercial Fisheries of the Fish and Wildlife Service. It was the 
predecessor agency, the U. S. Fish Commission, which built and maintained the 
first vessel specifically built for the oceanographic research, the Albatross. 
The name is now carried by the Albatross IV at Woods Hole. A few research vessels 
are maintained by industries for special purposes such as testing instruments or 
classified research related to military contracts. In all, it is possible that 
by 1970 the United States alone will have an oceanographic fleet equal to the 
world fleet of 1960. 
As anyone who owns a boat -- even a fibreglass job with a trailer that is 
towed out to a lake on weekends -- knows, it's not the initial cost, it's the up- 
keep, that runs into money. The cost of oceanographic ships is high - good sized 
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