1998 Year of the Ocean The Oceans and National Security 



OCEAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 

 IN SUPPORT OF NATIONAL SECURITY 



The ocean has always had a profound influence on human life and activities. It has been 

 an important source of food and means of commerce. In recent decades, the United States has 

 been the world leader both in basic ocean studies and research on the ocean's practical influence 

 on human activities. This pioneering work has been largely the result of remarkably successful 

 partnerships between federal agencies and universities, in which federal agencies support the 

 research of academic scientists who provide internal and external research through a variety of 

 mechanisms. 



Oceanographic research, funded in large part by the federal government, is important to 

 many of the nation's social concerns, including national security. World political changes are 

 redefining national defense interests, and altering our research and development priorities for the 

 littoral areas where our national defense operations are most likely to take place. Experience 

 gained in the 1991 Gulf War, highlighted the need for better information related to oceanic and 

 coastal processes. 



U.S. Oceanography since World War II" 



World War II thrust the United States into global affairs, and its many sea campaigns not 

 only drew public interest to the ocean but highlighted our lack of understanding of it. Most 

 members of the small marine science community turned to military oriented work in uniform, in 

 the civil service, or at universities and related institutions. Academic ships, as well as those of the 

 federal government, were put on Navy research and surveying tasks. The Navy needed 

 oceanographic help in everything from submarine warfare to amphibious landings. This 

 assistance contributed to the war effort and demonstrated to the nation that marine science was 

 more than an abstract endeavor and could contribute to the public good on many levels. 



Since World War II, the United States has been a world leader in most areas of 

 oceanography. Varmevar Bush's Science: The Endless Frontier is still the classic statement of 

 the essential ingredients of scientific excellence. He noted that "without scientific progress, no 

 amount of achievement in other directions can ensure our health, prosperity, and security as a 

 nation in the modem world. This essential new knowledge can only be obtained through basic 

 scientific research." The plan of Vannevar Bush for government support of university science led 

 to the formation of the Office of Naval Research (ONR), which is charged with ensuring the 

 development of strong academic research programs in scientific fields of interest to the Navy. 

 The Cold War and the threat from both surface vessels and, particularly, submarines led ONR to 

 conclude that expanding and strengthening the basic science of the ocean were in the national 

 interest. 



1 1 See generally, U.S. Naval Academy Press, Oceanography into the Next Decade, (1992) 



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