Chapter 4 Basic Science— Key to Action 



We are just at the threshold of our knowledge 

 of the oceans. Already their military importance, 

 their potential use for weather predictions, for 

 food and for minerals are evident. Further research 

 will undoubtedly disclose additional uses. 



Knowledge of the oceans is more than a matter 

 of curiosity, our very survival may hinge upon it. 



Basic research is the cornerstone on which the 

 successful use of the seas must rest. 



John F. Kennedy 

 March 29, 1961 



In approaching its task of defining the role of 

 basic science in the National marine effort, the 

 Panel was confronted with the question: Basic 

 science for what purpose? 



A certain amount of effort must be devoted to 

 the understanding of the processes of the oceans if 

 only to insure the availability of knowledge about 

 one of the most important areas of National 

 activity. 



An equally pressing and more immediate need 

 quickly became apparent: the realization that the 

 principal programs advocated by the Commission 

 as the very core of the Nation's thrust into the sea 

 would be seriously impeded— and in some cases so 

 limited as to be defeated— by ignorance of specific 

 types of basic oceanic processes. In many parts of 

 these programs, acquiring this fundamental knowl- 

 edge represents the only hope of success. 



The programs advocated by the Commission go 

 to the heart of important segments of National life. 

 Among them are plans for dealing with the 

 management and development of our estuaries, 

 coastal waters, and Great Lakes, of our living and 

 mineral resources, for the use of the seas for 

 National security and the monitoring and predic- 

 tion of the ocean environment. 



A determination was sought as to how the 

 programs were limited by scientific knowledge, 

 and to attempt to make the Nation aware of those 

 areas which need radical acceleration. 



I. BASIC SCIENCE AND THE NEAR SHORE 

 WATERS 



The effective use of coastal and estuarine zones 

 and the Great Lakes is among the most urgent 



marine problems facing the Nation. The Commis- 

 sion calls for the institution of an improved system 

 for the rational management of these vital areas. 



Near shore waters and the Great Lakes and 

 their adjacent waterfront lands are some of the 

 most valuable in the Nation. They have a great 

 variety of uses: transportation, shoreline develop- 

 ment, recreation, the recovery and exploitation of 

 living and mineral resources. National defense, 

 wildlife preservation, and waste disposal. 



The Panel Report on Management and Develop- 

 ment of the Coastal Zone investigates in detail 

 the problems arising from the many uses of these 

 zones. 



Figure 6. Degradation of shore area due to 

 uncontrolled pollution, Pinellas County, 

 Florida. (Federal Water Pollution Control 

 Administration photo) 



From the viewpoint of basic science, the 

 conflicts among uses and users of these areas are 

 many and of increasing severity. One cannot 

 expect to dredge gravel from the right-of-way of a 

 submarine pipeline, to plant stakes for a fish trap 

 in a shipping lane, or to water ski in a gunnery 

 range. Adjudicating conflicting claims to the uses 

 of these valuable areas is difficult at best, but a 

 prerequisite for any rational use is an understand- 

 ing of the consequences of one use on others. In 

 many cases the necessary knowledge is not avail- 

 able. It is here, in the management of these zones, 

 that the greatest urgency for action in the face of 

 insufficient knowledge appears. 



A. Changing the Shape of the Coast 



Man's technology has given him the power to 

 reshape his coasts, and he has used it extensively 

 and, for the most part, well. The record of the 

 past, however, will not satisfy the needs of the 



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