56 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, January, 1947 
prove efficiency in growing all agricul¬ 
tural and forest products, whether in¬ 
tended as food or as industrial raw ma¬ 
terials for local industries and for com¬ 
merce, and (b) to conserve soils, waters, 
and forests. 
4. Gravity Investigations. Gravity observa¬ 
tions at several atolls and at selected 
points about the shores of the lands and 
islands of the Pacific. It is recommended 
that a U. S. Navy submarine, using 
Vening-Meinesz pendulum apparatus, be 
employed for one year to make gravity 
observations at sea, particularly in the 
vicinity of the Aleutian trench and other 
trenches. These observations are intended 
to increase knowledge of geological 
structure, of seismological conditions, 
and of deflections of the vertical. 
5. 'Precise Position Determinations. Employ¬ 
ment of all possible means to improve 
the quality of basic astronomic position 
determinations and extend first-order tri¬ 
angulation when feasible, in order to 
obtain better basic geographic positions 
for airports and for Loran and other 
navigational installations and for general 
aerial mapping. 
6. Seismology. Establishment and perma¬ 
nent maintenance of four additional seis¬ 
mological stations containing modern 
seismographs at selected points in the 
western Pacific, to improve the science 
of locating and studying Pacific area 
earthquakes, to increase knowledge of 
the geologic structure of the area, to 
study the relations between earthquakes 
and seismic sea waves, and to evaluate 
earthquake and seismic hazards. 
7. Microseisms. Additional study of extra- 
tropical meteorological disturbances in 
the north Pacific and Alaska area, 
through extending to the Aleutian Island 
area the observation and study of micro¬ 
seisms and their relation to meteorology. 
8. Seismic Prospecting. Promotion of seis¬ 
mic prospecting work about the subma¬ 
rine trench areas and at selected points 
about the shores and in the depths of the 
Pacific, for determination of sediment 
depths and of underlying rock structure. 
9. Structure of Atolls. Investigation of the 
structure of typical atolls, including sub¬ 
merged, atoll-like structures, by seismic 
prospecting and core drilling, magneto¬ 
meter prospecting, gravitational pros¬ 
pecting, and detailed bathymetric sur¬ 
veys of their flanks and approaches. 
10. Volcanology. Descriptive geological and 
geophysical observations of various types 
at a number of active volcanoes, par¬ 
ticularly any volcano showing unusual 
activity. Modern seismic, gravimetric, 
electric, and magnetometric techniques 
should be applied to the determination 
of underground structure in volcanic re¬ 
gions. 
11. Physics of the Ionosphere and Tropo¬ 
sphere. Investigation of atmospheric fac¬ 
tors influencing the propagation of elec¬ 
tromagnetic radiation at all frequencies, 
in relation to radio communication and 
geomagnetism and to telemetering and 
tracking at extreme altitudes. 
12. Geomagnetism. Establishment and main¬ 
tenance of permanent magnetic observa¬ 
tories in the Aleutians, in the Philip¬ 
pines, at Samoa, and at Christmas Island 
or Jarvis Island, for continuous record¬ 
ing of magnetic variations; employment 
of two field magnetometer parties for 
one year to investigate magnetic condi¬ 
tions at islands and along the shores of 
the Pacific, and complete repetition of 
such investigation after an interval of 
five years. 
Suitable airborne magnetic instruments 
should be utilized and further improved 
as necessary for investigations generally 
over the Pacific Ocean area, and two 
planes so equipped should be employed 
for one year in general magnetic work. 
These studies are designed to improve 
nautical and aeronautical charts, to in¬ 
vestigate magnetic anomalies as related 
to geologic structure and volcanism, and 
to achieve other scientific results. 
13. Hydrology. Investigation of infiltration 
of rainfall, stream flow and run-off, and 
flood hazards, and preparation of isohy- 
etal maps; investigation of storage and 
diversion for irrigation and hydroelectric 
power development, and of ground water 
resources; and research in dynamics of 
erosion. 
14. Mineral Industries. Initiation of pros¬ 
pecting operations to evaluate the im¬ 
portance of mineral deposits in the local 
economy, as the information on these 
deposits becomes available from geologi¬ 
cal studies. 
15. Mapping Activities. It is recommended 
that hydrographic, topographic, geophys¬ 
ical, and submarine contour mapping be 
supported and correlated. 
16. Geologic Timetable. Gradual establish¬ 
ment of a standard stratigraphic se¬ 
quence of geologic formations in the 
Pacific. In order to understand the suc¬ 
cession of geologic events in the area, a 
geologic timetable correlating the rock 
formations of the islands with those of 
the surrounding mainlands is essential. 
