710 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 
weary, and the last joint meeting of NASCO and ICO could only approve what was 
already decided and further recommend air-sea interface studies as the most im- 
portant thing yet to do. 
From the sense of all these meetings has come statements of the broad aims 
of oceanography. The ICO has surmarized these in terms of five objectives: One 
- to describe the distribution of physical and chemical properties of the oceans 
and to understand the dynamic processes which affect this distributions; two - to 
increase knowledge of interactions between sea and atmosphere; three - to deter- 
mine the kinds, distribution, adaptations and productivity of the living popula- 
tions of the sea and to understand the interactions of the marine organisms to 
each other and to the physical and chemical properties of the sea. This is to 
many of us the ultimate and most essential mission of oceanography, and all other 
objectives relate directly to it. Already the potential backlog of specimens 
that must be handled from our increasing oceanographic effort has resulted in 
the establishment of anew division of the Smithsonian Institution to sort the 
specimens and see that they are placed in the hands of those who will study them. 
The fourth objective is to describe and understand the geological, geochemical 
and geophysical nature of the sea floor, including its relation to the adjoining 
land masses. Insofar as the Mohole can be considered oceanography, it will fulfill 
a small part of this objective. The fifth and last major objective is to deter- 
mine the modification of the ocean resulting from man's activities. It is re- 
assuring that at the highest levels of our committee establishment this problem 
is recognized. Nor too many years ago the possibility that man could alter the 
ocean was not seriously considered at all. 
These objectives are carried out not only by the large government agencies 
such as branches of the navy, coast and geodetic survey -- and the army, which 
because of its charge for harbor engineering, studies beaches and harbors, and 
the Fish and Wildlife Service, but by universities and private research institu- 
tions. There are three big oceanographic institutions as such in this country, 
Scripps Institution (not Institute, please) at La Jolla, the Woods Hole Oceanogra- 
phic Institution at Woods Hole and the Institute of Marine Science at Miami. 
There are quite a few other oceanographic institutions and departments of univer- 
sities, andithere is even an oceanography department at Ann Arbor, “ichigan. 
The work, of course, is actually done by oceanographers and the people at 
the shore bases. The usual procedure is for those who actually want to do the 
work to propose their project. Funding is provided in one way or another, through 
grants or contracts. But the growing problem is that ship time eats up so much 
of these budgets (since usually ship time is charged against each project) that 
serious concern is now being expressed. It seems inevitable that ways must be 
found to operate ships separately from specific missions as well as developing 
more realistic accounting systems. One oceanographic ship operated, according 
to the books, 13 months in one year! 
In any event, the broad mission has filtered down fron the establishment, 
and a lesser committee somewhere has approved the project and the money. Final- 
ly the oceanographer can go to sea. 
The life of an oceanographer at sea is not much different from that of the 
commercial fisherman -- getting good data or observations is often as uncertain 
as making a good catch of fish. Nor is it always certain that instruments will 
work properly. Most of them do, but there is always the peril of a parted cable 
-- and the valuable gadget sinks to the bottom. One of the informal standard 
