SOVIET OCEAN SCIENCE ACTIVITIES* 
(By Herman T. Franssen') 
SUMMARY 
The conduct of oceanographic research on a large scale is relatively 
young in both the Soviet Union and the United States. In the United 
States, oceanography underwent very rapid growth during the Second 
World War when the Government and the scientific community sud- 
denly realized that nature is often a limiting factor in the effectiveness 
of new devices designed for use in the ocean. Special units were 
set up for the conduct of ocean science within the Department of 
Defense, and a considerable number of university scientists were either 
assigned to defense research in DOD laboratories or received Govern- 
ment assistance to work on war-related research at their own universi- 
ties. An important result of the wartime activity was that for the 
first time a considerable number of university scientists became, to 
some degree, familiar with problems of oceanography and a much 
larger number of young graduate students in physics, chemistry, geol- 
ogy, geophysics,| meteorology, and engineering gained field experience. 
The United States went into the war with only about 50 people 
who could properly be called oceanographers. By the end of the 
war, about 300 professionals and a considerably greater number of 
technicians had acquired experience in the subject. 
The Soviet Union began its major oceanographic expansion in the 
1950’s, around the same time they pushed ahead with the development 
of a major worldwide fishing capability and a large merchant marine. 
All these developments were part of the overall post-Stalin plan for 
a global marine policy. 
In 1957-58 two events occurred which signalled a quantum jump 
in Soviet oceanological research capabilities. The first was the mount- 
ing of the largest oceanological research program to be associated 
with the International Geophysical Year. The second was the 
launching of the Michael Lomonsov, the fizst of a sizable number 
of large, first rate, oceanographic research ships. 
Evidence indicates that the United States was the world’s leader 
in oceanography (measured in terms of inputs: ships and scientific 
personnel) until the early 1960’s when the Russian program of expan- 
*Sources statement: The facts and figures in this section were drawn largely from the most 
knowledgeable agencies in the U.S. Government in the area of ocean science, and in particular the 
Department of Defense. With respect to the latter, absence of specific attributions was a condition of 
securing information. 
' The author is an analyst in science and technology with the Ocean and Coastal Resources Project 
of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress. Dr. Franssen has published nu- 
merous articles and Congressional studies on Energy, Ocean Resources Development, Law of the 
Sea, Scientific Research at Sea, and Technology Transfer. Prior to joining C.R.S. in 1974, Dr. 
Franssen taught and researched at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Medford, Mass.), The 
Woods Hale Oceanographic Institution (Woods Hole, Mass.), and the Scripps Institution of Oceanog- 
taphy, University of California at San Diego. 
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