of such oceanographic phenomena as sea-sur- 

 face waves. 



(3) Improve navigation techniques and systems 

 (based upon more detailed knowledge of the 

 ocean) to reduce damage from collisions and 

 strandings. 



(4) Improve naudcal charting techniques. 



(5) Develop techniques to prevent ship and port 

 facility damage from fouling and boring organ- 

 isms (based upon an improved understanding 

 of the life histories, behavior and physiology' of 

 these organisms). 



(6) Improve harbor construction and sea- 

 terminal operations (based upon better knowledge 

 of oceanographic conditions). 



C. Program to Achieve National Goals 



To help achieve the above goals, a national 

 program of ocean exploration and development 

 is envisioned, requiring the participation of 

 Federal, State, and local governments, industry, 

 universities, and research institutions. This 

 program consists of three distinct efforts: Scientific 

 Exploration — the Oceanographic Research Effort; 

 Geographical Exploration — the Oceanographic 

 Survey Effort; and Maritime Development — the 

 Ocean Engineering Effort. 



1. Scientific Exploration 



The scientist-explorer and the oceanographic 

 engineer seek to apply such disciplines as chem- 

 istry, biology, geology, physics, geophysics, and 

 mathematics to achieve a better understanding 

 of the ocean's contents, boundaries, and processes. 

 To gain this understanding, he observes and mea- 

 sures ocean phenomena: the modon of its waters; 

 the rocks and sediments of its basins; the ways 

 of life in the sea. He seeks to interpret; to dis- 

 cover relationships underlying observed phe- 

 nomena. He asks, "why?", "how?". His explora- 

 tions result in new knowledge abotit the world 

 in which we live. 



Some scientists seek fundamental knowledge, 

 others explore the ocean to help solve problems 

 important to our security, welfare, and economic 

 well-being. The oceanographic programs of the 

 National Science Foundation, for example, sup- 

 port the first type of basic, discipline-oriented 

 research. Other ICO member agencies conduct 



programs more clearly directed toward scientific 

 and non-scientific goals of society. These "mis- 

 sion" or "problem" oriented agencies, however, 

 do support some basic research and consider it 

 essential for futme applications. Such research 

 is performed to obtain knowledge, not for its own 

 sake, but rather to fulfill the agencies' missions. 



2. Geographical Exploration 



This is a broad ocean reconnaissance — a 20th 

 century extension of a worldwide effort begun 

 five centuries ago, when Renaissance explorers 

 first began the systematic description of the ocean's 

 uncharted boundaries. The objective today is to 

 survey the world ocean: at the air-sea interface; 

 throughout the water column; and across the 

 ocean floor. In contrast to scientific exploration — 

 where oceanographers seek to imderstand re- 

 lationships between observed phenomena — the 

 geographic investigator is concerned primarily 

 with the, "what?", "where?", and "when?" of the 

 ocean's features. His is an ocean-wide, descriptive 

 effort, with far-reaching economic and political 

 implications. 



Geographical exploration serves two important 

 purposes: first, to collect data required by agencies 

 to fulfill statutory missions (i.e., national defense, 

 navigation, pollution control, resource develop- 

 ment, and ocean engineering), and second, to 

 provide an archive of exploratory information 

 needed by the research oceanographer and 

 industry. 



3. Maritime Development 



In previous years only two engineering pro- 

 grams (one conducted by the Army Corps of 

 Engineers and the other by the Bureau of Mines), 

 were reported in the National Oceanographic 

 Program, and both of these were considered 

 under the broad category of research. In recent 

 years, however, ocean technology has received 

 new impetus. The search for the ill-fated sub- 

 marine, THRESHER, focused national attention 

 on our technological limitations for penetrating 

 and working in the ocean depths. Recognizing 

 a need for this capability, the Navy in 1964 in- 

 augurated the Deep Submergence Systems Pro- 

 ject, in which the resources of government 

 and industry were mobilized in a major ocean 



