448 



No ivy-towered dweller, Dr. Hargis is easily conversant in his 

 complicated field and his enthusiasm for a Science, which means 

 increasingly more to all of us, is highly contagious. He's a native of 

 Russell County, Virginia, earned his A. B. and M. A. at the Univer- 

 sity of Richmond, went on to Florida State University to get his 

 Ph.D. He has been actively engaged in research since 1950. He has 

 been an educator in Biology, Chemistry and Marine Science since 

 1951. 



His list of memberships in professional societies, service commit- 

 tees — and his honors — fill almost a page. He is, for example, past 

 president of the Atlantic Estuarine Research Society, Chairman of 

 the Exploration of the Atlantic Shelf, a member of the Board of 

 Trustees, Mariners Museum of Newport News, Va., and a fellow of 

 the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has 

 been named by Governor Godwin as a representative for Virginia to 

 important study groups related to pollution problems in the nation's 

 estuaries and to a Chesapeake Bay Study in connection with Cheas- 

 peake Bay Model. Author of 41 research publications and editor of 

 15 scientific translations. Dr. Hargis names sailing, powerboating, 

 painting and photography as his principal hobbies. 



INTRODUCTION 



Twice daily the ocean tide rises and falls in the 13 thousand square miles of 

 the Virginia Sea and Chesapeake Bay. Along the 4,000 miles of shoreline, salt 

 and fresh waters of Tidewater alternately cover and uncover rich shallows and 

 marshlands — ^mixing fertility of soil and sea. Wildfowl, marsh animals, fish and 

 shellfish are spawned in, sheltered or nourished by the enriched broth of the 

 sea. Mineral deposits, fashioned by the ages, are hidden by the inconstant face 

 of the ocean. By surf, beaches are huilt ; under its turbulent roar, coasts are de- 

 stroyed and highlands fall. Into the waters of the sea, wash the soil of misused 

 land and others of the thousand wastes of man. 



Houses, cities and factories irise along the shore. A newly christened ship slides 

 silently down the ways. Upon the ocean a ship moves majestically, commerce or 

 pleasure bent. iSilent submarines angle slowly to stations below the sea's blue 

 deck. Fishermen toring from the shallows of the Bay an abundant but varying 

 harvest of crabs, clams, oysters and fish. From deeper shelf waters of the 

 Virginia Sea, draggers scoop fish and scallops and other creatures. A sail shim- 

 mers over tolue-green waters, while on shore recreationists and householders are 

 refreshed or solaced toy the sea. 



Beaches and marsh, highlands and deeps, bottoms and shallows, fish and fowl, 

 sea and sky all are of great aesthetic and economic value to the Commonwealth. 

 Each year over 7 billions of dollars change hands in Maritime Virginia, much 

 of it due directly to the marine environment, its resources and attractions. 



The early ocean explorer. Captain John Smith — ^who called that vast shallow 

 area of ocean lying hetween Capes Cod and Hatteras the Virginian Sea, was 

 among the first Europeans who recognized and publicized the New World's 

 marine resources. By his voyages, observations and writings, he urged their use. 

 Later Virginians and Virginia-Jbased explorers extended man's knowledge of and 

 dominion over the seas markedly. Among those who contributed notably are : 

 Lt. John Mercer Brooke, Virginian and early geological oceanographer, and 

 Admiral Richard E. Byrd, scientists and polar explorer. The worldwide scientific 

 expedition led by Lt. Charles Wilkes, iwhich preceded the renowned voyage of 

 EMS Challenger, fitted out and sailed from Hampton Roads in 1838. 



Among the earliest proponents of marine research was Virginia's Matthew 

 Fontaine Maury. Maury, a primary founder of modern physical oceanography, 

 recognized the potential importance of marine science or oceanography to man. 

 Along with many other useful projects, he espoused the utility of properly 

 oriented and conducted marine research. As often happens, the prophecy of 

 Maury was far in advance of its realization. Oceanography in the United States 

 languished from his day (the mid-1800's) until very recent times. It is only since 

 1940 that its military importance has toeen strongly realized. Civilian ocean- 

 ography did not develop markedly until 1950. It may be safely estimiated that 

 90 percent of all the activity in marine science has (taken place since World War II 



