1998 Year of the Ocean Marine Science, Technology, and Research 



BACKGROUND 



In the 19th century, oceanography was placed in a position of high visibility by a Naval 

 officer named Matthew Fontaine Maury. Maury, in service as the first Director of the Depot of 

 Naval Charts and Instruments, recognized the value of standardizing the measurement of 

 oceanographic properties, especially winds, currents and water depth. Maury knew that such 

 measurements, while of obvious value to the Navy, were likewise useful in a diverse range of 

 applications, including shipping, fishing, and transportation. 



Similarly, the bold model of public support for basic research that was developed by 

 Vannevar Bush subsequent to the end of World War II, ultimately demonstrated highly 

 rewarding returns on federal investment dollars in science and technology. This vision became 

 the foundation for today's highly efficient tools for directing public support toward academic 

 research programs, notably two of which are the Office of Naval Research and the National 

 Science Foundation. 



In 1969, the Stratton Commission extended many of these same concepts into defining a 

 national imperative for supporting research and development in the marine environment. The 

 outcome of that exercise was the establishment in 1970 of a highly visible National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The foresight represented in this visionary effort has been 

 fulfilled and strengthened by the research that has been conducted over the last two decades. The 

 ocean sciences community now recognizes that a focused research program, including the 

 interactive elements of oceanic and atmospheric dynamics, is critical to addressing a wide range 

 of society's needs. 



Clearly, the main need addressed by the federal investment in oceanography since World 

 War II has been in the area of national defense. Basic research into the fundamental physical, 

 chemical, biological, and geological properties of the sea was successfully exploited during the 

 Cold War. For example, the United States became a leader in the development of operational 

 systems which could detect Soviet submarines, while at the same time being capable of 

 conducting its own missions in a marmer of low detectability. Such successes would have been 

 impossible without the investments made possible by the visions of Vannevar Bush and the 

 Stratton Commission. 



In the post-Varmevar Bush era of the late 1960s through the mid 1980s, the federal 

 investment in basic research in the ocean sciences amounted to 7 percent of the federal budget in 

 basic research. It was during this time that the ocean sciences community developed the "tool 

 kif ' of skills that now allow it to: 



• 



Predict El Nifio and its devastating effects on regional climates and 



fisheries — through understanding the "coupling", or connectivity, between the ocean 



and atmosphere in terms of heat transfer, winds, and currents 



1-5 



