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technological developments. In all probability the job of 
surveying our oceans will never be completely done. Just as 
the job of mapping our land areas continues as needs for more 
information arise, so the job of obtaining oceanographic data 
will continue. The point to be made, however, is that the 
Ocean Survey Plan is a start on a tremendous job. It is an 
effort to provide for the systematic and efficient collection 
of data at sea in response to the current demands for these 
data. The plan is flexible. As the demands change the plan 
will change to reflect these demands. 
Even though Ocean Surveys will be a continuing effort, 
some of the alternatives available in terms of numbers of 
ships and the amount of work they might accomplish on under- 
way surveys within various finite periods of time are pre- 
sented in Appendix III. 
M. International Cooperation 
Although this plan is designed as a guide for the prose- 
cution of systematic Ocean Surveys by the United States to 
meet this country's demands tor accurate oceanographic data 
on a world-wide scale, the magnitude of the task obviously 
precludes any realization of world-wide coverage of meaning- 
ful data by a single nation within any reasonable period of 
time. For this reason, close international cooperation in 
furthering oceanographic surveys of the world ocean is an 
absolute necessity. 
