equipment, such as a bulldozer blade or a power shovel so that extensive 
excavations or structural work can be accomplished. It is realized that 
this type of effort is not of direct application to scientific oceano- 
graphy; one may however find it necessary in connection with oceanographic 
investigations to excavate the ocean floor or to install rather complex 
permanent structures thereon. 
A bottom-crawling vehicle may be equipped with an "underwater heli- 
copter''. This accessory will enable the operator to lift the vehicle off 
the bottom in order to avoid underwater cliffs, crevasses, or other 
obstacles. 
CONCLUSION 
The foregoing sections have outlined some of the major principles of 
hostile environment operating technology and the applications of these to 
oceanography. It is to be hoped that this discussion will stimulate new 
ideas in this general field. Experience to date in both nuclear labora- 
tories and underwater operations has clearly demonstrated that equipment 
of the type discussed is completely practical, and in many cases is also 
economic as compared to alternate methods of accomplishing the same func- 
tion. A great deal of activity is now in progress in this branch of en- 
gineering; it is to be expected that in the very near future numerous sys- 
tems of the type discussed will become a reality and will become a creative 
part of the total complex of equipment available to the oceanographer. 
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