parts of the sea with equal effectiveness, it must have the 
ocean-wide data which the Ocean Surveys Plan is designed to 
provide. 
26 The Coast and Geodetic Survey is charged with the gather- 
ing and dissemination of knowledge in the form of publications 
and charts on bottom topography, currents, tides, and certain 
geophysical aspects of the sea. This agency, through con- 
certed Ocean Surveys, will be better able to fulfill these 
responsibilities. The resulting data will be used as charts 
for navigation and as basic (background) surveys for the 
future development and utilization of the sea as a natural 
resource. Improved current charts and wave forecasting tech- 
niques will promote economic growth by allowing goods to be 
transported faster - and therefore more cheaply - to foreign 
markets. The surveys are also important to the geodetic 
program of the Coast and Geodetic Survey through the provid- 
ing of gravity data taken at sea. Since the shape’of the 
earth can be determined from a complete picture of the gravity 
field, it is essential that the distribution of the gravity 
field at sea be known. The gravity data are needed not only 
for positioning remote islands, but also for predicting per- 
turbations in satellite orbits and the effects of the 
earth's gravity field on manned space travel. 
on The Weather Bureau and military weather services have 
pressing requirements for the improved forecasting that will 
come from a thorough understanding of the air-sea interaction. 
